Sam Collins (Australian footballer)

Sam Collins (born 15 June 1994) is a professional Australian rules footballer who plays for the Gold Coast in the Australian Football League (AFL).

Sam Collins
Personal information
Full name Samuel John Collins
Nickname(s) The Monument, Collo[1]
Date of birth (1994-06-15) 15 June 1994
Original team(s) Werribee Football Club (VFL)
Draft No. 55, 2015 national draft
Pre-draft selection, 2018 national draft
Height 194 cm (6 ft 4 in)
Weight 98 kg (216 lb)
Position(s) Defender
Club information
Current club Gold Coast
Number 25
Playing career1
Years Club Games (Goals)
2016–2017 Fremantle 14 (0)
2019– Gold Coast 26 (0)
Total 40 (0)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 2020.
Career highlights
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

Early life

Originally from Donvale, Collins is the youngest of four children and attended Whitefriars College, graduating in 2012. As a junior, Collins played for the Donvale Football Club.[2] He played for the Oakleigh Chargers in the TAC Cup Under 18s competition before moving onto the Box Hill Hawks Football Club in the Victorian Football League (VFL).[3] Collins was a member of the Box Hill Hawks leadership team from age 19. He was recruited as a mature age player to Fremantle with their third selection, 55th overall, in the 2015 AFL draft.[4] He has made his AFL debut in Round 10 of the 2016 AFL season, against St Kilda at Etihad Stadium, after playing well for Fremantle's reserves team, Peel Thunder, in the West Australian Football League (WAFL).[5]

AFL career

Collins was delisted by Fremantle at the conclusion of the 2017 season,[6] in the same year in which he won the Dudley Tuckey Medal for Peel Thunder's Best and Fairest player[7] and was named in the WAFL team of the year.[8] He was not drafted by another AFL club in the 2017 AFL draft,[9] and returned to Melbourne to play for Werribee Football Club.[10] He won the Werribee Football Club Best and Fairest in 2018, was named in the VFL team of the year and came equal third in the JJ Liston Medal for the competitions best player.

The Gold Coast signed Collins as a mature aged state-league concession prior to the 2018 AFL draft, and will play for the club from 2019 onwards.[11]

In 2020, Collins was named in the Suns leadership group[12] and went on to win the Club Champion Award.[13]

Family life

Sam's father, Kevin Collins, has an extensive background in playing and coaching football. He played for many years at Oakliegh in the VFA and then coached at a number of clubs. He led Donvale FC to numerous premierships and had coaching stints at Box Hill FC coaching Sam to a Premiership. Kevin Collins continues to be involved in coaching and returned to Donvale FC to become the senior coach in 2020.[14]

References
  1. https://www.afl.com.au/news/133001/weird-footy-nicknames-so-why-do-they-call-gov-brackets
  2. "AFL Draft". 25 November 2015.
  3. MacGregor, Natalie (28 May 2015). "Collins: The Man You Can Count On".
  4. "Pick 55 - Sam Collins". fremantlefc.com.au. 24 November 2015.
  5. Duffield, Mark (26 May 2016). "Dockers give debut to Collins". The West Australian.
  6. http://www.fremantlefc.com.au/news/2017-10-06/fremantle-list-update
  7. "SAM COLLINS WINS 2017 DUDLEY TUCKEY MEDAL". Peel Thunder Football Club. Retrieved 14 December 2017.
  8. "2017 wafl.com.au Team of the Year". WA Football. Retrieved 14 December 2017.
  9. http://www.afl.com.au/news/2017-11-27/close-but-no-cigar-the-players-who-missed-out
  10. "Collins finds a football home for 2018". The West Australian. 10 December 2017. Retrieved 16 July 2018.
  11. Cleary, Mitch (15 October 2018). "Former Docker set to boost Suns' defence". afl.com.au. Telstra Media. Retrieved 15 October 2018.
  12. "From tears to leadership group: How Sun turned his career around". www.afl.com.au. Retrieved 27 November 2020.
  13. "2020 Club Champion – Sam Collins". www.goldcoastfc.com.au. Retrieved 27 November 2020.
  14. https://efnl.org.au/kevin-collins-appointed-donvale-coach
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