Dustin Fletcher

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Dustin Fletcher
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Fletcher in August 2007
Personal information
Full name Dustin Andrew Fletcher
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Original teamTemplate:Pluralize from text Western Jets (TAC Cup)
Draft (F/S), 1992 national draft
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PositionTemplate:Pluralize from text Defender
Playing career1
Years Club Games (Goals)
1993–2015 Essendon 400 (71)
International team honours
Years Team Games (Goals)
2005–2015 Australia 8 (0)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 2015.
2 Representative statistics correct as of 2015.
Career highlights

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Dustin Andrew Fletcher (born 7 May 1975) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played his entire 23-season career for the Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He is widely acknowledged as one of the finest defenders in the history of the league.[1]

AFL career

Fletcher was recruited by the Essendon Football Club in the 1992 National Draft. He played his first senior game against Carlton in his senior year of high school at Penleigh and Essendon Grammar School.

Right from the get-go, Fletcher proved to be a highly impactful player. At 18 years old, he won a Longest Kick competition, a highly desirable trait that would serve him well for the next 22 years.[2] He was a key member of the 1993 premiership team in his first AFL season, a team which is often referred to as the "Baby Bombers".

Fletcher also played in the 2000 premiership team, a year in which he also won the Crichton Medal as Essendon's best and fairest and was selected in the All-Australian team.

A banner congratulating Fletcher in 2010

Noted for his longevity in the game, Fletcher played a total of 400 senior VFL/AFL games, which stands as the fifth-highest number of games by any player as of 2023. His AFL career length of 22 years and 58 days is an all-time league record (edging out Vic Cumberland, whose former record was five days shy of 22 years). Fletcher played his 400th game in Round 9, 2015, becoming the third player in VFL/AFL history to reach the milestone (after Michael Tuck and Kevin Bartlett); it would end up being his final game, as he was unable to recover from a groin injury sustained during the match.[3] He holds the outright Essendon games record, having overtaken the previous record of 378 games held by Simon Madden in Round 1, 2014.[4] He is the second-oldest player to play a VFL/AFL game, aged 40 years and 23 days at the time of his final game, behind only the aforementioned Vic Cumberland (who played the 1920 season at the age of 43).[5] With his father, Ken, the Fletchers hold the record for the most VFL/AFL career games played by a father and son, with 664 games between them.

On 12 January 2016, during the summer after his retirement, Fletcher was named as one of 34 past and present Essendon players found guilty over their use of illegal supplements during the 2012 AFL season. As a result, Fletcher was suspended from playing at all levels for 24 months, which with backdating and provisional suspension served resulted in suspension until November 2016. However, Fletcher had already retired the previous year, so the suspension was moot.[6]

After serving his suspension, Fletcher returned in 2017 to play suburban football for Essendon Doutta Stars.[7]

Kicking style

Fletcher's execution of the torpedo punt was often used as a set-play clearing strategy by coach Kevin Sheedy. In a game in 2007, he kicked a torpedo punt goal from more than 70 metres.[8] According to The Sunday Age, it was the fifth-longest kick in the history of the VFL/AFL.

International rules series

Fletcher served as the Australia international rules football team's goalkeeper for five series: the 2005 series, the 2006 series, the 2010 series, the 2014 series, and the 2015 series. Along with Barry Hall, Fletcher was one of Australia's co-captains for the 2006 series. He is regarded as Australia's greatest keeper throughout the series. He retired from top-level football with a final International Rules match, at the 2015 series in Ireland.[9]

Personal life

Dustin's son Mason is the former punter for the University of Cincinnati Bearcats in American football. Dustin's son Max is the current punter for the University of Cincinnati Bearcats and formerly played at the University of Arkansas. In Mason's freshman (first) season in 2021, the Bearcats became the first-ever team from a Group of Five conference to reach the College Football Playoff.[a][10] Mason's sophomore season in 2022, the Bearcats' last before joining the Power Five Big 12 Conference, saw him named the special teams player of the year in the American Athletic Conference.[11][12]

Statistics

[13]

Template:AFL player statistics legend

Template:Alternating rows table |+ ! scope=col rowspan=2 style=width:3em | Season ! scope=col rowspan=2 style=width:11em | Team ! scope=col rowspan=2 style=width:2em class=unsortable | No. ! scope=col rowspan=2 style=width:3em | Games ! scope=col colspan=7 | Totals ! scope=col colspan=7 | Averages (per game) |- ! scope=col style=width:2em | G ! scope=col style=width:2em | B ! scope=col style=width:2em | K ! scope=col style=width:2em | H ! scope=col style=width:2em | D ! scope=col style=width:2em | M ! scope=col style=width:2em | T ! scope=col style=width:2em | G ! scope=col style=width:2em | B ! scope=col style=width:2em | K ! scope=col style=width:2em | H ! scope=col style=width:2em | D ! scope=col style=width:2em | M ! scope=col style=width:2em | T

|- style="background-color: #EAEAEA" |style="text-align:center;background:#afe6ba;"|1993† |style="text-align:center;"|Essendon | 31 || 17 || 0 || 0 || 128 || 45 || 173 || 43 || 24 || 0.0 || 0.0 || 7.5 || 2.6 || 10.2 || 2.5 || 1.4 |- ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | 1994 |style="text-align:center;"|Essendon | 31 || 13 || 2 || 0 || 76 || 41 || 117 || 27 || 10 || 0.2 || 0.0 || 5.8 || 3.2 || 9.0 || 2.1 || 0.8 |- style="background-color: #EAEAEA" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | 1995 |style="text-align:center;"|Essendon | 31 || 22 || 4 || 3 || 199 || 101 || 300 || 94 || 23 || 0.2 || 0.1 || 9.0 || 4.6 || 13.6 || 4.3 || 1.0 |- ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | 1996 |style="text-align:center;"|Essendon | 31 || 23 || 16 || 10 || 235 || 52 || 287 || 105 || 16 || 0.7 || 0.4 || 10.2 || 2.3 || 12.5 || 4.6 || 0.7 |- style="background-color: #EAEAEA" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | 1997 |style="text-align:center;"|Essendon | 31 || 16 || 9 || 2 || 175 || 62 || 237 || 76 || 14 || 0.6 || 0.1 || 10.9 || 3.9 || 14.8 || 4.8 || 0.9 |- ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | 1998 |style="text-align:center;"|Essendon | 31 || 18 || 4 || 2 || 186 || 39 || 225 || 57 || 16 || 0.2 || 0.1 || 10.3 || 2.2 || 12.5 || 3.2 || 0.9 |- style="background-color: #EAEAEA" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | 1999 |style="text-align:center;"|Essendon | 31 || 19 || 3 || 8 || 198 || 51 || 249 || 74 || 18 || 0.2 || 0.4 || 10.4 || 2.7 || 13.1 || 3.9 || 1.0 |- |style="text-align:center;background:#afe6ba;"|2000† |style="text-align:center;"|Essendon | 31 || 23 || 14 || 6 || 276 || 81 || 357 || 93 || 26 || 0.6 || 0.3 || 12.0 || 3.5 || 15.5 || 4.0 || 1.1 |- style="background-color: #EAEAEA" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | 2001 |style="text-align:center;"|Essendon | 31 || 21 || 4 || 4 || 239 || 62 || 301 || 78 || 18 || 0.2 || 0.2 || 11.4 || 3.0 || 14.3 || 3.7 || 0.9 |- ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | 2002 |style="text-align:center;"|Essendon | 31 || 18 || 3 || 2 || 202 || 44 || 246 || 51 || 30 || 0.2 || 0.1 || 11.2 || 2.4 || 13.7 || 2.8 || 1.7 |- style="background-color: #EAEAEA" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | 2003 |style="text-align:center;"|Essendon | 31 || 14 || 0 || 0 || 145 || 34 || 179 || 44 || 14 || 0.0 || 0.0 || 10.4 || 2.4 || 12.8 || 3.1 || 1.0 |- ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | 2004 |style="text-align:center;"|Essendon | 31 || 20 || 1 || 3 || 220 || 42 || 262 || 70 || 28 || 0.0 || 0.2 || 11.0 || 2.1 || 13.1 || 3.5 || 1.4 |- style="background-color: #EAEAEA" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | 2005 |style="text-align:center;"|Essendon | 31 || 17 || 0 || 0 || 226 || 37 || 263 || 70 || 13 || 0.0 || 0.0 || 13.3 || 2.2 || 15.5 || 4.1 || 0.8 |- ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | 2006 |style="text-align:center;"|Essendon | 31 || 16 || 0 || 0 || 211 || 67 || 278 || 98 || 12 || 0.0 || 0.0 || 13.2 || 4.2 || 17.4 || 6.1 || 0.8 |- style="background-color: #EAEAEA" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | 2007 |style="text-align:center;"|Essendon | 31 || 19 || 3 || 2 || 309 || 85 || 394 || 144 || 30 || 0.2 || 0.1 || 16.3 || 4.5 || 20.7 || 7.6 || 1.6 |- ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | 2008 |style="text-align:center;"|Essendon | 31 || 18 || 2 || 3 || 198 || 84 || 282 || 96 || 18 || 0.1 || 0.2 || 11.0 || 4.7 || 15.7 || 5.3 || 1.0 |- style="background-color: #EAEAEA" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | 2009 |style="text-align:center;"|Essendon | 31 || 18 || 1 || 1 || 218 || 102 || 320 || 86 || 30 || 0.1 || 0.1 || 12.1 || 5.7 || 17.8 || 4.8 || 1.7 |- ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | 2010 |style="text-align:center;"|Essendon | 31 || 16 || 1 || 1 || 216 || 75 || 291 || 79 || 28 || 0.1 || 0.1 || 13.5 || 4.7 || 18.2 || 4.9 || 1.8 |- style="background-color: #EAEAEA" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | 2011 |style="text-align:center;"|Essendon | 31 || 19 || 1 || 0 || 213 || 76 || 289 || 77 || 32 || 0.0 || 0.0 || 11.2 || 4.0 || 15.2 || 4.0 || 1.7 |- ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | 2012 |style="text-align:center;"|Essendon | 31 || 18 || 1 || 2 || 244 || 45 || 289 || 88 || 20 || 0.1 || 0.1 || 13.6 || 2.5 || 16.1 || 4.9 || 1.1 |- style="background-color: #EAEAEA" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | 2013 |style="text-align:center;"|Essendon | 31 || 13 || 0 || 0 || 151 || 47 || 198 || 63 || 14 || 0.0 || 0.0 || 11.6 || 3.6 || 15.2 || 4.8 || 1.1 |- ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | 2014 |style="text-align:center;"|Essendon | 31 || 15 || 1 || 0 || 198 || 81 || 279 || 103 || 11 || 0.1 || 0.0 || 13.2 || 5.4 || 18.6 || 6.9 || 0.7 |- style="background-color: #EAEAEA" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | 2015 |style="text-align:center;"|Essendon | 31 || 7 || 1 || 1 || 80 || 36 || 116 || 35 || 6 || 0.1 || 0.1 || 11.4 || 5.1 || 16.6 || 5.0 || 0.9 |- class="sortbottom" ! colspan=3| Career ! 400 ! 71 ! 50 ! 4543 ! 1389 ! 5932 ! 1751 ! 451 ! 0.2 ! 0.1 ! 11.4 ! 3.5 ! 14.8 ! 4.4 ! 1.1 |}

Honours and achievements

See also

Footnotes

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  1. ^ The Group of Five is a de facto grouping of five conferences that participate in NCAA Division I FBS, the top level of American college football. It is distinguished from the Power Five in that the Power Five are primary partners in the de facto FBS championship, the College Football Playoff.

References

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  1. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Anderson, Jon (27 May 2010). "Pick 1: Fletcher or Scarlett?". Herald Sun.
  2. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."AFL / VFL Kicking Competitions". www.topendsports.com. Retrieved 31 March 2023.
  3. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Dustin Fletcher: Facts and figures of 400 games". Herald Sun. 29 May 2015.
  4. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Baum, Greg (21 March 2014). "Essendon ignores drama to notch memorable win". The Age. Retrieved 4 August 2015.
  5. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Anderson, Jon (6 May 2015). "Essendon's Dustin Fletcher is the second-oldest player to play the game as Michael Tuck lauds his longevity". The Age. Retrieved 4 August 2015.
  6. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Travis King (12 January 2016). "Guilty: court bans the Essendon 34 for 2016". Australian Football League. Retrieved 12 January 2016.
  7. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Chris Cavanagh (6 November 2016). "Essendon champion Dustin Fletcher commits to play local footy with Essendon Doutta Stars". Moonee Valley Leader. Essendon, VIC. Retrieved 6 November 2016.
  8. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Clough, Michael (24 April 2007). "AFL Round 4 Review". Ohmy News. Retrieved 11 August 2013.
  9. ^ Dustin Fletcher set for Irish farewell tour after fitness test
  10. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Mason Fletcher - Football".
  11. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."2022 Postseason Football Honors" (Press release). American Athletic Conference. 30 November 2022. Retrieved 30 November 2022.
  12. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Max Fletcher - Football".
  13. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."AFL Tables - Dustin Fletcher - Stats - Statistics".

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