Daniel Giansiracusa

Daniel Giansiracusa (born 11 March 1982) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Western Bulldogs in the Australian Football League (AFL). He had been used in various positions such as the midfield, half back flanks and half forward flanks. He currently serves as the forwards coach of the Western Bulldogs.[1]

Daniel Giansiracusa
Giansiracusa in August 2018
Personal information
Full name Daniel Giansiracusa
Nickname(s) Gia, Guido
Date of birth (1982-03-11) 11 March 1982
Place of birth Melbourne, Victoria
Original team(s) Western Jets (TAC Cup)
Draft 32nd overall, 1999 National Draft
Height 182 cm (6 ft 0 in)
Weight 80 kg (176 lb)
Position(s) Forward
Playing career1
Years Club Games (Goals)
2001–2014 Western Bulldogs 265 (331)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 2014.
Career highlights
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

AFL career
Giansiracusa playing with the Bulldogs in 2007

Giansiracusa was selected by the Bulldogs in the 1999 AFL Draft with pick 32. He made his senior debut in round 11, 2001 against Adelaide at Football Park, and joined a special group of players when he goaled with his first kick.

After an exciting start to 2005 he missed 6 weeks due to injury but returned and ended up kicking 23 goals for the year. He had an outstanding game in round 18 against the Brisbane Lions collecting 27 possessions and kicking 2 goals. That same year he was chosen to represent Australia in International Rules.

Giansiracusa injured an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) over the 2007–2008 off-season. The injury was not serious and he recovered in time for the 2008 season opener against Adelaide.

In 2010, Giansiracusa led the Bulldogs to the Nab Cup Grand Finale. He was acting captain due to Brad Johnson being absent. He led the Bulldogs to a 40 point victory against St Kilda. That same year he finished 3rd in the Bulldogs Best and Fairest.

Giansiracusa continued to display fine form in 2011, despite the team's poor season overall. He kicked 45 goals in 20 games playing mainly as a small forward, finishing second on the goalkicking list behind Barry Hall and seventh in the club's Best and Fairest Award count. He reached a personal milestone in Round 10 when he played his 200th game for the Bulldogs.

Providing an experienced head in the Western Bulldogs forward line, Giansiracusa’s reliability around goals was imperative in 2012. In the 17 games he goaled on all but one occasion, while contributing multiple majors on eight occasions. He finished the year as the Club’s leading goal scorer.

In 2013, Giansiracusa began to substitute more regularly matches. His ability to be substituted late in games and make meaningful impacts led to him being called the "Super Sub". In round 19, Giansiracusa kicked an amazing alley-oop goal, which was a serious contender at being crowned Goal of the Year.

In 2014, Giansiracusa played his final season. Despite having limited game time he played a vital role for the Bulldogs, especially up forward. In round 3, after receiving a free kick he kicked a goal late in the final term to put the Bulldogs in front by 2 points and effectively win them the game against Richmond. Giansiracusa played his last game in round 23 against GWS, despite Giansiracusa playing well and kicking 2 goals the Bulldogs lost by 6 points.

Justin Koschitzke incident

In round 6, 2006, against St Kilda, midway during the third quarter the Western Bulldogs were heading downfield when Giansiracusa clashed heads with Justin Koschitzke, resulting in both players lying motionless for several minutes. Giansiracusa managed to get up but Koschitzke could not. Despite the severity of the incident, the AFL Tribunal decided Giansiracusa had no case to answer for this bump.

Statistics
[2]
Legend
 G  Goals  B  Behinds  K  Kicks  H  Handballs  D  Disposals  M  Marks  T  Tackles
Season Team No. Games Totals Averages (per game)
G B K H D M T G B K H D M T
2001 Western Bulldogs 1312106955414959150.80.57.94.512.44.91.3
2002 Western Bulldogs 13222521234135369122341.11.010.66.116.85.51.5
2003 Western Bulldogs 1321201122212434685411.00.510.65.916.54.02.0
2004 Western Bulldogs 13155111719126257510.30.711.46.117.53.83.4
2005 Western Bulldogs 13172317228128356102251.41.013.47.520.96.01.5
2006 Western Bulldogs 131613319712432197390.80.212.37.820.16.12.4
2007 Western Bulldogs 13222213252150402131611.00.611.56.818.36.02.8
2008 Western Bulldogs 13253311330200530163701.30.413.28.021.26.52.8
2009 Western Bulldogs 1318211221814636492481.20.712.18.120.25.12.7
2010 Western Bulldogs 13253513297192489130941.40.511.97.719.65.23.8
2011 Western Bulldogs 13204518229135364114562.30.911.56.818.25.72.8
2012 Western Bulldogs 131728151619525663371.60.99.55.615.13.72.2
2013 Western Bulldogs 1320361618510629192361.80.89.35.314.64.61.8
2014 Western Bulldogs 131515101006316341181.00.76.74.210.92.71.2
Career 265 331 177 2919 1743 4662 1348 625 1.2 0.7 11.0 6.6 17.6 5.1 2.4

Personal life

Giansiracusa attended Altona Meadows Primary School and Emmanuel College. He married his longtime partner, Kelly Tisdale, in December 2007. The couple currently have two children: daughter Ruby Iris (born in November 2008),[3] and son Otis.

References
  1. "Assistant Coaches". westernbulldogs.com.au. Western Bulldogs. Archived from the original on 29 June 2015. Retrieved 23 August 2015.
  2. "Daniel Giansiracusa". AFL Tables. Retrieved 4 September 2014.
  3. Baby joy for Daniel Giansiracusa
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