Quinten Lynch

Quinten Peter Lynch (born 24 January 1983) is a former Australian rules footballer who played with the Collingwood Football Club and the West Coast Eagles in the Australian Football League (AFL). Originally from Grass Patch, a rural farming community near Esperance, Western Australia, he played for the West Perth Football Club in the West Australian Football League (WAFL) before being recruited to West Coast with the 19th pick overall in the 2002 Rookie Draft.

Quinten Lynch
Lynch playing for West Coast in 2005
Personal information
Full name Quinten Peter Lynch
Nickname(s) "Big Q", "Q-Stick", "The Big Unit", "TBU"
Date of birth (1983-01-24) 24 January 1983
Place of birth Goldfields-Esperance, Western Australia
Original team(s) Gibson(EDFA)
Draft 19th overall, 2002 Rookie Draft
Height 192 cm (6 ft 4 in)[1]
Weight 103 kg (227 lb)[1]
Position(s) Utility
Playing career
Years Club Games (Goals)
2001–2012 West Perth 047 0(51)
2002–2012 West Coast 209 (281)
2013–2014 Collingwood 018 00(9)
Career highlights
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

A utility player, Lynch began his career as a defender, but later switched to the forward line, leading West Coast's goalkicking in 2006 and 2007, as well as playing in the club's 2006 premiership side. He also finished second in the club's best and fairest award in 2008. Lynch quit West Coast at the end of the 2012 season, moving to Collingwood under newly implemented free agency rules. Overall, he played 209 games for West Coast.

Career

West Coast

Originally from Grass Patch,[2] a farming community in the Goldfields-Esperance region of Western Australia, Lynch attended Aquinas College, Perth, where he was captain of the First XVIII team that won the Alcock Cup, and also rowed in the school's First VIII.[2] He was recruited to the WAFL club West Perth, and in 2001 won selection as the All-Australian centre half-back at the under-18 carnival. He was selected by the West Coast Eagles in the 2002 Rookie Draft at Pick 19.[3]

In 2002 he was elevated from the Rookie List after as a replacement for Phil Read, who had sustained a long-term knee injury. He was selected to represent the WAFL in a match against the QAFL, but was instead selected to play his debut match for the West Coast Eagles. He went on to play 11 games that season.[3]

Lynch spent all of 2003 playing in the WAFL. He returned to the Eagles in 2004, playing mainly as a defender. In May, he was charged with drink-driving, reckless driving and leaving the scene of an accident, after failing to stop at a random breath test while drink driving.[4]

He played in the forward line for almost all of the 2005 season, playing all 22 games of the regular season, and the qualifying final, but not being selected for the Preliminary and Grand Finals. During that year he kicked 31 goals, coming second on the Eagles' goal-kicking list. However, he was criticised for his tendency to drop simple chest marks.[5]

During the 2006 pre-season, Lynch underwent mental therapy aimed at improving his marking. His form improved considerably, and he took 43 marks in the first eight rounds of the regular season. During the season he kicked four goals in one game, five in another, and a career-best eight in the round 20 match against the Brisbane Lions. He kicked a total of 65 goals for the year, making him the first Eagle to kick over 50 goals in one season since Scott Cummings.[6] In the 2006 finals series, he kicked more goals than any other player for that year. He was the Eagles' leading scorer in the 2006 grand final, kicking three goals in the Eagles' one-point victory.[7]

2007 did not start well for Lynch, with his goal kicking ratio dropping under 50% at one stage. His marking, however, had improved considerably when compared to that to the two previous years. Towards the end of the season his kicking noticeably improved, kicking a 7-goal haul against Richmond in round 20. He finished the home and away season with 48 goals, adding another four in the two finals West Coast played in. Lynch was one of the few Eagles to have played all 24 games in 2007.

The 2008 season saw a slightly different role for Lynch as the season progressed. He rarely misses games and with a large injury list and poor club performance through the season he started to play a more midfield role, with his big body around the contest and booming kick being valuable weapons. A valuable player for the Eagles due to his durability and hard work, although he did not kick as many goals in season 2008 as in previous years. Lynch played his 200th AFL game in round 13, 2012 against Collingwood.

Collingwood

At the end of the 2012 season, Lynch announced his intention to quit West Coast and become an unrestricted free agent, taking advantage of newly introduced rules allowing players over a certain games threshold to bypass the AFL's draft and trade week.[8] He had previously been offered a one-year contract by West Coast, which he turned down.[9][10] A number of clubs were considered chances to sign Lynch, with Carlton, Collingwood and Melbourne each having expressed interest in signing him.[11][12] He eventually chose to sign a two-year contract with Collingwood.[13]

Retirement

On 25 August 2014, Lynch announced that he will retire at the end of Collingwood's 2014 AFL and VFL campaigns.[14]

Personal life

Lynch married Daneka O'Brien in December 2008 at a ceremony in Margaret River, after dating for seven years. The couple have three children.[15][16][17] The couple took over a clothing business, O'Brien's Clothing Co., from O'Brien's parents in May 2011,[18] and own two properties in Western Australia: a house in Waterford and a farming property near Narembeen.[19]

Statistics
[20]
Legend
 G  Goals  B  Behinds  K  Kicks  H  Handballs  D  Disposals  M  Marks  T  Tackles  H/O  Hit-outs
Season Team No. Games Totals Averages (per game)
G B K H D M T H/O G B K H D M T H/O
2002 West Coast 45111711692594339141.51.06.32.38.53.00.81.3
2003 West Coast 210————————————————
2004 West Coast 21226217380253723090.30.17.93.611.53.31.40.4
2005 West Coast 21233122168492179122481.41.07.32.19.44.01.02.1
2006 West Coast 2126653325311136414331372.51.39.74.314.05.51.21.4
2007 West Coast 212452462908437416731182.21.912.13.515.67.01.30.8
2008 West Coast 2122232028012440414342491.00.912.75.618.46.51.92.2
2009 West Coast 21221824279156435127391470.81.112.77.119.85.81.86.7
2010 West Coast 2114817136762128023180.61.29.75.415.15.71.61.3
2011 West Coast 2124282026212538715733441.20.810.95.216.16.51.41.8
2012 West Coast 212133201897426311333241.61.09.03.512.55.41.61.1
2013 Collingwood 211891014910925899201290.50.68.36.114.35.51.17.2
2014 Collingwood 210————————————————
Career 227 290 225 2248 1013 3261 1225 309 537 1.3 1.0 9.9 4.5 14.4 5.4 1.4 2.4

References
  1. Quinten Lynch profile Archived 3 August 2011 at the Wayback Machine, westcoasteagles.com.au; retrieved 3 March 2012.
  2. Gullan, Scott (16 September 2006). "Eagles hopes rest on man mountain". Herald Sun. Retrieved 15 February 2008.
  3. Wilson, Ray (3 August 2007). "Eagles pair tons of derby trouble". The West Australian (Pre Game liftout). pp. 8–9.
  4. Ryan, Melissa (4 May 2004). "Hawk, Eagle on drink-driving charges". The Age.
  5. Duffield, Mark (30 May 2005). "Eagles just too hot to handle". The Age. Archived from the original on 27 January 2008. Retrieved 15 February 2008.
  6. "AFL Player Profiles". Yahoo! Sports. Retrieved 15 February 2008.
  7. O'Shea, Joe (30 September 2006). "Eagles hold off Swans in thriller". ABC News Online. Retrieved 15 February 2008.
  8. Conway, Mark (2012). Veteran Eagle flies coop: Free agent on the move Archived 2 October 2012 at the Wayback Machine – Australian Football League. Published 29 September 2012. Retrieved 30 September 2012.
  9. Pierik, Jon (2012). Eagles' Lynch to decide on his flight plan – WAtoday. Published 19 September 2012. Retrieved 30 September 2012.
  10. Quartermaine, Braden (2012). Deal not enough to secure 209-gamer – news.com.au. Published 30 September 2012. Retrieved 30 September 2012.
  11. Clark, Jay (2012). Carlton first in queue for West Coast free agent Quinten Lynch – Herald Sun online. Published 7 September 2012. Retrieved 30 September 2012.
  12. Clark, Jay (2012). Quinten Lynch quits West Coast and is set to play for a Victorian team next AFL season – news.com.au. Published 30 September 2012. Retrieved 30 September 2012.
  13. Rielly, Stephen (2012). Lynch joins Collingwood – Collingwood Football Club. Published 2 October 2012. Retrieved 2 October 2012.
  14. Rielly, Stephen (25 August 2014). "Lynch hears retirement call". Collingwoodfc.com.au. BigPond.
  15. Taylor, Nick (2008). Gloves off for Lynch's best match, PerthNow.com.au; retrieved 15 July 2012.
  16. Clarke, Tim (2010). Eagles' big man has a little one, WAToday.com.au; retrieved 15 July 2012.
  17. Tressler, Rachel (2012). West Coast's baby boom, westcoasteagles.com.au; retrieved 2 October 2012.
  18. Wetton, Lyndsey (2011). Shop handpassed to third generation, au.news.yahoo.com; retrieved 15 July 2012.
  19. Cridland, Christina (2011). In my home: footy WAG Daneka Lynch – The Sunday Times; retrieved 15 July 2012.
  20. "Quinten Lynch". AFL tables. Retrieved 30 November 2015.
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