Zac Dawson

Zachary Samuel Dawson (born 22 February 1986) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Hawthorn Football Club, St Kilda Football Club and Fremantle Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). In March 2019, he was appointed as Manager of the Carlton Football Club's Next Generation Academy program.[1]

Zac Dawson
Dawson training in 2009
Personal information
Full name Zachary Samuel Dawson
Date of birth (1986-02-22) 22 February 1986
Original team(s) Calder Cannons (TAC Cup)
Draft No. 41, 2003 National Draft, Hawthorn
No. 13, 2009 Rookie Draft, St Kilda
No. 87 (RP), 2009 National Draft, St Kilda
No. 10, 2012 Pre-Season Draft, Fremantle
Height 197 cm (6 ft 6 in)
Weight 92 kg (203 lb)
Position(s) Defender
Playing career1
Years Club Games (Goals)
2004–2008 Hawthorn 014 (0)
2009–2011 St Kilda 063 (4)
2012–2017 Fremantle 089 (3)
Total 166 (7)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 2017.
Career highlights
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

AFL career
Dawson at training prior to the 2009 AFL Grand Final

Hawthorn

Dawson was recruited from Calder Cannons with pick no. 41 in the 2003 AFL Draft.

Dawson's first game for Hawthorn was in 2005. He played the first eight games of 2006, until being dropped from the team, returning for four games in Rounds 15–18.

The key position prospect was being groomed for the full-back role during a 12-game stint in 2006, but his confidence received a battering after Anthony Rocca kicked eight goals on him in round two of that year. He did however, keep Geelong's Kent Kingsley goalless the following week.[2]

Dawson failed to play a senior game for Hawthorn in 2007 and 2008. He spent the time playing for Box Hill, on one occasion he kicked eight goals. Dawson was delisted from Hawthorn after the end of the 2008 season.

St Kilda

Dawson was drafted with pick 13 by St Kilda in the 2008 rookie draft. He was promoted to the senior team for Round 1 in 2009 due to injuries to other players and played the first 16 games in an undefeated side until being reported for rough conduct in Round 16 and suspended for two matches.

Dawson played in 20 of 22 matches in the 2009 home and away rounds in which St Kilda qualified in first position for the finals, winning the club’s third minor premiership.[3]

St Kilda played off in the 2009 AFL Grand Final after qualifying and preliminary finals wins. Dawson played in the grand final in which St Kilda were defeated by 12 points.

Dawson played 20 games in 2010, and was named St Kilda's player of the finals series (jointly with Lenny Hayes). As of the end of the 2010 season, Dawson had played in seven finals matches including three grand finals.

Fremantle

In November 2011, Dawson left the Saints after deciding against signing a new contract with the club.[4] He moved to Fremantle Dockers for the 2012 season, reuniting him with former St Kilda coach Ross Lyon.

Zac Dawson's ability to organise his teammates has been crucial in Ross Lyon's 'defensive chain' at St Kilda and now at Fremantle.[5] In 2013 Dawson played in his 4th losing grand final as Fremantle made it to their first ever premiership decider.

In 2014 Dawson's form peaked in the finals, where he was named Fremantle's Player of the Finals along with Cameron Sutcliffe. He extended his contract until the end of the 2017 season in March 2015.[6] However he would only play five AFL games in 2015, with a series of groin injuries delaying his start to the season, and then fracturing his thumb in his first game back for Peel in the West Australian Football League.[7]

Statistics
Statistics are correct to the end of the 2016 season[8]
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
2005 Hawthorn 2620081220540.00.04.06.010.02.52.0
2006 Hawthorn 261200356810337240.00.02.95.78.63.12.0
2009 St Kilda 432321127157284136390.10.05.56.812.45.91.7
2010 St Kilda 620139912222189220.00.25.06.111.04.41.1
2011 St Kilda 620116115321480250.00.03.07.610.74.01.2
2012 Fremantle 318226010716750210.10.13.35.99.32.81.2
2013 Fremantle 324006015821872400.00.02.56.69.13.01.7
2014 Fremantle 322106016222277260.00.02.77.410.13.51.2
2015 Fremantle 35001035451360.00.02.07.09.02.61.2
2016 Fremantle 318004411115552330.00.02.46.28.62.91.8
Career 164 7 7 564 1085 1649 611 240 0.0 0.0 3.4 6.6 10.1 3.7 1.5

References
  1. https://www.carltonfc.com.au/news/2019-03-08/dawson-appointed-nga-manager
  2. Connolly, Rohan (16 April 2006). "Hawks turn on goal blitz. Persistence pays off for Dawson and mates". The Age. p. Sport 9.
  3. "2009 Season Scores and Results – Ladder". AFL Tables. 2009. Retrieved 8 November 2009.
  4. Dawson turns back on Saints. Theage.com.au (11 November 2011). Retrieved 12 June 2012.
  5. Lyon, Garry (15 June 2013). "Dawson the smoky when it comes to coach's plans". The Age.
  6. Waterworth, Ben (2 March 2015). "Zac Dawson signs two-year contract extension with Fremantle Dockers". Fox Sports. Retrieved 13 October 2016.
  7. "Dockers defender fractures thumb in the WAFL". 1 June 2015.
  8. Zac Dawson's player profile at AFL Tables
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