Rory Laird

Last updated

Rory Laird
Rory Laird 2019.1.jpg
Laird playing for Adelaide in June 2019
Personal information
Full name Rory Laird
Nickname(s) Desk, Dos, Doozle
Date of birth (1993-12-29) 29 December 1993 (age 31)
Place of birth South Australia
Original team(s) West Adelaide (SANFL)
Kenilworth (SAAFL)
Draft No. 5, 2011 rookie draft
Debut Round 4, 2013, Adelaide  vs. Western Bulldogs, at AAMI Stadium
Height 178 cm (5 ft 10 in)
Weight 78 kg (172 lb)
Position(s) Midfielder / Defender
Club information
Current club Adelaide
Number 29
Playing career1
YearsClubGames (Goals)
2012– Adelaide 250 (30)
Representative team honours
YearsTeamGames (Goals)
2020 All Stars 1 (0)
International team honours
2017 Australia 2 (0)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of round 3, 2025.
Career highlights
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

Rory Laird (born 29 December 1993) is a professional Australian rules football player who plays for the Adelaide Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He was drafted by Adelaide with pick 5 in the 2012 Rookie Draft.

Contents

Early life

Laird grew up in the suburb of Eden Hills, South Australia. [1] He attended Colonel Light Gardens Primary School [2] and Scotch College, Adelaide in his teenage years, [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] where he was coached by Brownlow Medalist Gavin Wanganeen [4] and future Crows coach Matthew Nicks. [8]

Laird played soccer until making the switch to Australian rules football at age 10. Only two years later, he was invited to join the West Adelaide Football Club's junior program. [2]

Laird played club football for the Kenilworth Football Club in the South Australian Amateur Football League as well as playing for West Adelaide in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL) reserves. In the lead up to the AFL drafts in 2011, Laird was interviewed by Adelaide and trained with Essendon in Melbourne, Victoria. After missing out on the 2011 AFL national draft, he was drafted by the Adelaide Crows with pick 5 of the rookie draft a few weeks later. [2]

AFL career

Early career

In his first season in the AFL, Laird did not play for Adelaide. He played 18 consecutive games for West Adelaide in the SANFL, including three finals, but was dropped from the team that played in the 2012 SANFL Grand Final. [9]

The Crows elevated Laird to the senior list as a replacement for the injured Sam Shaw in April 2013, and he made his AFL debut against the Western Bulldogs in round 4 of the season. [10] He immediately became a regular in the side, missing only one further game in the season through injury, and averaging 18.5 disposals per game as a small defender. [11] Laird received the Round 20 nomination for the 2013 AFL Rising Star award, following a 24-possession game against North Melbourne, and signed a two-year contract with the club in the same week. [12] Laird played 16 games in 2014 despite injury issues, playing in defence and occasionally in the midfield. He was dropped to the SANFL late in the season but responded with a 42-possession game to earn a recall. [11]

All-Australian years

Laird had a breakout year in 2015, playing every game and averaging 24.4 disposals in defence while blanketing his opponents, which earned him a place on the 40-man shortlist for the All-Australian team. [11] During the year, he signed a three-year contract extension with the club. [13] In 2016, he was named in the 40-man All-Australian squad but did not make the team. He improved even more on his form in 2017, starting the season with a 40-possession game against Greater Western Sydney. [14] His form continued to stay at an elite level throughout the season, including a 34-possession game against St Kilda in Round 12. [15] His consistency was rewarded with both an All-Australian selection and being nominated by his team for the AFL Players' Association MVP Award. [16]

In 2018, Laird won the Malcolm Blight Medal as the Crows' best and fairest player. [17] He was also selected in the All-Australian team for the second season in a row. [18]

Midfield move

Following a move to the midfield in 2020 and a second-place finish in the Malcolm Blight medal, Laird signed a five-year contract extension with the Crows in March 2021. [19] He continued his success in his new position, winning back-to-back Malcolm Blight Medals in 2021 and 2022. A highlight of his 2022 campaign came against Collingwood as he broke the AFL's record for tackles in a single game, collecting 20. [20] [21] Laird starred in his 200th game against West Coast in round 22 as he collected 36 disposals and kicked 2 goals in the victory. [22]

Laird had another successful year in 2023 as he was again the runner-up in the Malcolm Blight Medal. In Gather Round against Carlton, Laird had 37 disposals, nine clearances and a goal, ultimately being awarded with three Brownlow votes for his performance. [21] He finished the year with a career-best 20 Brownlow votes.

Late career

To begin the 2025 season, Laird returned to the backline. He starred with 32 disposals off of half-back in his 250th game against North Melbourne. [23] During the same game, Laird also broke the record for the most disposals by a Crow, overtaking Scott Thompson's 6,752 disposals. [24]

Statistics

Statistics are correct to end of Round 23 2024 [25]
Legend
  G  
 Goals
  K  
 Kicks
  D  
 Disposals  
  T  
 Tackles
  B  
 Behinds  
  H  
 Handballs  
  M  
 Marks
  †  
Led the league for 
the season
SeasonTeamNo.GamesTotalsAverages (per game) Votes
GBKHDMTGBKHDMT
2012 Adelaide 460–––––––––––––––
2013 Adelaide 46181218015333374510.10.110.08.518.54.12.80
2014 Adelaide 29162212612925565370.10.17.98.115.94.12.30
2015 Adelaide 292324289273562133580.10.212.611.924.45.82.52
2016 Adelaide 291911251270521127400.10.113.214.227.46.72.111
2017 Adelaide 292531367369736143550.10.014.714.829.45.72.29
2018 Adelaide 292034319325644124430.20.216.016.332.26.22.219
2019 Adelaide 292201322301623125470.00.014.613.728.35.72.12
2020 [a] Adelaide 29173118620338946700.20.110.911.922.92.74.14
2021 Adelaide 292238314390704821300.10.414.317.832.03.75.916
2022 Adelaide 292078284375659531620.30.414.218.8†33.0†2.68.110
2023 Adelaide 2922310262375637671750.10.511.917.028.93.07.920
2024 Adelaide 292325271364635831320.10.211.815.827.63.65.77
Career2473047317135276698112210000.10.112.814.327.14.54.073

Notes

  1. ↑ The 2020 season was played with 17 home-and-away matches per team (down from 22) and 16-minute quarters with time on (down from 20-minute quarters with time on) due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

References

  1. ↑ The Blackwood Times , April 2017, p. 1.
  2. 1 2 3 Gill, Katrina (10 November 2016). "Recruiting Files: Laird". afc.com.au. Retrieved 30 March 2025.
  3. ↑ Gill, Katrina (10 November 2016). "Recruiting Files: Laird". afc.com.au. Retrieved 31 August 2018.
  4. 1 2 Porter, Ashley (13 April 2017). "Rory Laird, the rising Adelaide Crow who was nearly an Essendon Bomber". The Age. Retrieved 31 August 2018.
  5. ↑ Holderhead, Sheradyn (28 January 2011). "Scotch siblings make a neat double". Adelaide Now. Retrieved 31 August 2018.
  6. ↑ Capel, Andrew (19 July 2013). "Laird lets footy to the talking". Herald Sun. Retrieved 31 August 2018.
  7. ↑ Walsh, Scott (28 May 2014). "Laird stumped by Crow wobbles". NewsComAu. Retrieved 31 August 2018.
  8. ↑ Balnaves-Gale, Emmalie (17 October 2019). "Rory Laird's past connection to new Crows coach Matthew Nicks". afc.com.au. Retrieved 30 March 2025.
  9. ↑ Capel, Andrew (18 July 2013). "Grand final omission helped fuel resolve for Rory Laird". The Advertiser.
  10. ↑ Gill, Katrina (19 April 2013). "Laird to debut against Dogs". AFC.com.au. Adelaide Football Club. Retrieved 28 July 2013.
  11. 1 2 3 "Rory Laird – AFC.com.au". AFC.com.au. Adelaide Football Club.
  12. ↑ Thring, Harry (13 August 2013). "Young Crow's smooth transition". AFL.com.au. Australian Football League. Retrieved 13 August 2013.
  13. ↑ Homfray, Reece (22 June 2015). "Rory Laird re-signs with Adelaide until the end of the 2018 season". The Advertiser.
  14. ↑ Gaskin, Lee (26 March 2017). "Five talking points: Adelaide v Greater Western Sydney". AFL.com.au. Australian Football League. Retrieved 1 September 2017.
  15. ↑ Gaskin, Lee (9 June 2017). "Match report: Ruthless Crows crush Saints". AFL.com.au. Australian Football League. Archived from the original on 14 March 2017. Retrieved 5 September 2017.
  16. ↑ McNicholas, Aiden (8 September 2017). "AFLPA MVP nominees announced". afc.com.au. Adelaide Football Club. Retrieved 11 September 2017.
  17. ↑ Fjeldstad, Jesper, "All-Australian defender Rory Laird takes out first Malcolm Blight Medal in a canter.", The Advertiser, August 31, 2018.
  18. ↑ Turner, Kieron, "Rory Laird earns All Australian honours", afc.com.au, August 29, 2018.
  19. ↑ "Laird Signs On", Adelaide Football Club, Mar 4, 2021.
  20. ↑ Whiting, Michael (22 July 2022). "Best of the best: The AFL all-time records that will blow your mind". afl.com.au.
  21. 1 2 Burtenshaw, David (26 March 2025). "From a Prelim Final milestone to breaking an AFL record: Relive 10 of Laird's best games". afc.com.au.
  22. ↑ Schmook, Nathan (7 August 2022). "Match report: Crows fly over Eagles in Laird's milestone match". afc.com.au.
  23. ↑ Welsh, Sophie (30 March 2025). "Crows roll on with clinical win over improved Roos". afl.com.au. Adelaide Oval.
  24. ↑ "Player Statistics - Adelaide Player Totals". AFL Tables. Retrieved 31 March 2025.
  25. ↑ "AFL Tables – Rory Laird statistics". AFL Tables.
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