Fletcher Roberts

Fletcher Roberts (born 3 June 1993) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Western Bulldogs in the Australian Football League (AFL).

Fletcher Roberts
Roberts in August 2018
Personal information
Full name Fletcher Roberts
Date of birth (1993-06-03) 3 June 1993
Original team(s) Sandringham Dragons (TAC Cup)
Draft No. 11, 2012 pre-season draft
Height 196 cm (6 ft 5 in)
Weight 90 kg (198 lb)
Club information
Current club AFL Essendon VFL
Number 18
Playing career1
Years Club Games (Goals)
2012–2019 Western Bulldogs 51 (0)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 2018.
Career highlights
  • AFL premiership player (2016)
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

Early life

Roberts was educated at De La Salle College, Malvern and Melbourne Grammar School[1] and attracted attention after kicking four goals in the last quarter of the 2011 TAC Cup Grand Final to lead the Sandringham Dragons to victory.[2] He was then recruited by the Bulldogs in the 2012 Pre-season Draft, with pick #11.

AFL career

Roberts made his AFL debut in round 20, 2012, against Richmond at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.[3]

Roberts struggled to hold down a spot in the senior side in 2014, playing only five games, but started to show signs of developing into a tall defender for the Bulldogs' VFL side Footscray. The highlight of the season was in the final round against Richmond's VFL side at Punt Road Oval. Trailing by 33 points in the final quarter, Footscray fought back to snatch the lead, only for the Tigers to steady with a goal and seemingly have the game won. With seconds remaining, Roberts took a pack mark and as the siren sounded, lined up from 60 metres. He kicked truly to give Footscray a memorable three-point victory and secure second place on the VFL ladder.[4] Sadly, Roberts would miss Footscray's 2014 VFL premiership triumph through injury.[5]

In 2016, Roberts was not selected until the Round 6 clash against North Melbourne due to recovery from an injury interrupted pre-season,[6] but would then play 15 of the remaining 16 games during the home-and-away season. He was one of the players dropped for the Elimination Final, but would be recalled for the Preliminary Final to replace the injured Matt Suckling. Despite suffering an early facial injury, Roberts returned to play arguably his best game for the club, holding the dangerous Jeremy Cameron goalless as the Bulldogs advanced to the Grand Final.[7] After some uncertainty early in the week leading up to the Grand Final, it was announced that Roberts retained his place in the team ahead of Suckling,[2] which meant that the Bulldogs would field a team that had no experience in an AFL Grand Final. In the match, Roberts combined with Joel Hamling to shut down Sydney's twin threats of Lance Franklin and Kurt Tippett, limiting their output to just one goal to help the Bulldogs clinch an emotional 22-point win, ending their 62-year premiership drought.

Personal life

Roberts is currently studying a Bachelor of Psychology at Deakin University.[8]

Statistics
Statistics are correct to the end of the 2016 season[9]
Legend
 G  Goals  B  Behinds  K  Kicks  H  Handballs  D  Disposals  M  Marks  T  Tackles
Significant statistics
# Played in that season's premiership team
Season Team No. Games Totals Averages (per game)
G B K H D M T G B K H D M T
2012 Western Bulldogs 1820016521710.00.08.02.510.53.50.5
2013 Western Bulldogs 180——————————————
2014 Western Bulldogs 1850119163510100.00.23.83.27.02.02.0
2015 Western Bulldogs 181201556111641190.00.14.65.19.73.41.6
2016# Western Bulldogs 181800729216447250.00.04.05.19.12.61.4
Career 37 0 2 162 174 336 105 55 0.0 0.1 4.4 4.7 9.1 2.8 1.5

Honours and achievements

AFL

  • Team
    • AFL premiership: 2016

VFL

References
  1. "Congratulations to our Old Melburnian sportsmen". Melbourne Grammar School. December 2016.
  2. Landsberger, Sam (30 September 2016). "Fletcher Roberts filled with confidence ahead of remarkable Grand Final appearance". Herald Sun.
  3. "McCartney happy to stay patitent". Sky News. 13 August 2012. Retrieved 14 August 2012.
  4. "VFL: Footscray top Tigers after siren". westernbulldogs.com.au. 25 August 2014.
  5. Beveridge, Riley. "Joel Hamling and Fletcher Roberts: Western Bulldogs duo go from VFL heartbreak to AFL premiership". Fox Sports.
  6. "Season review: Fletcher Roberts". westernbulldogs.com.au. 24 October 2016.
  7. Cherny, Daniel (26 September 2016). "AFL grand final 2016: Fletcher Roberts waits ahead of Western Bulldogs selection". The Age.
  8. "Elite Athlete Program Profiles". Deakin University. Retrieved 10 August 2020.
  9. "Fletcher Roberts Stats". AFL Tables. Retrieved 18 October 2016.
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