Nigel Smart

Nigel James Smart (born 21 May 1969) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Adelaide Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL).[1] Smart played as a defender, and he was part of Adelaide's inaugural team in the 1991 AFL season. He was a two-time premiership player, a three-time All-Australian, and the first person to play 250 matches for Adelaide.

This article is about the Australian rules footballer. For the cryptographer, see Nigel Smart (cryptographer).

Nigel Smart
Personal information
Full name Nigel Smart
Date of birth (1969-05-21) 21 May 1969
Original team(s) Christies Beach (SFL)
South Adelaide (SANFL)
Height 188 cm (6 ft 2 in)
Weight 91 kg (14 st 5 lb; 201 lb)
Playing career1
Years Club Games (Goals)
1988–1992, 2004 South Adelaide 78 (29)
1991–2004 Adelaide 278 (116)
Representative team honours
Years Team Games (Goals)
South Australia
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 2004.
Career highlights

Club

Representative

Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

Following his retirement, he worked in football administration. He was the Adelaide Football Club's chief operating officer from 2013 to 2020 and was part of the club's decision to move into eSports.

Early life

Smart was raised in the southern suburbs of Adelaide, South Australia. He studied a Bachelor of Arts at Flinders University, majoring in geography and politics.[2]

Smart made his senior football debut in 1988 while at university, playing for South Adelaide in the SANFL.[2]

AFL career

Smart was in the Adelaide Football Club's squad for their inaugural season in 1991. Smart was named at full-back for Adelaide's Round One match against Hawthorn, lining up against Hawthorn's full-forward Jason Dunstall.[3] During the match, Smart had six kicks and nine handballs and took six marks. At the end of the 1991 season, Smart became Adelaide's first ever All-Australian, selected in the back pocket.

During the 1992 pre-season, Adelaide went on a pre-season camp in Rapid Bay. As part of the camp, a motivational speaker encouraged the players to walk over hot coals for each other. Smart was the first to do so, and suffered blisters and first-degree burns on the soles of his feet. Bob Hammond, the club's chairman, was present, and after seeing Smart's injuries from walking over the coals he called off the exercise. Smart recovered from the burns and played in a practice match less than a week later.[4][5]

Smart was one of the key players in Adelaide's resurgence under coach Malcolm Blight. He was the team's vice captain (with Mark Bickley as the team's captain) in 1997 and 1998, when the team won back-to-back premierships.[6] In the 1997 AFL Grand Final against St Kilda, he kicked the final goal of the match as Adelaide won their first AFL premiership. He also played in Adelaide's win in the 1998 AFL Grand Final, when the Crows became the first team to win back-to-back premierships since the competition was renamed to the AFL in 1990.

In the first part of Smart's career, he was not a full-time footballer. Through the Crows' premiership years Smart trained with the teams three times a week and spent most of his time at day jobs to supplement his income. He worked in sales and management, first for South Australian Brewing Company, then for Toyota.[2] Smart retired from football at the end of the 2004 AFL season.[2]

AFL statistics
[7]
Legend
  G  
 Goals
  K  
 Kicks
  D  
 Disposals 
  T  
 Tackles
  B  
 Behinds 
  H  
 Handballs 
  M  
 Marks
Season Team No. Games Totals Averages (per game)
G B K H D M T G B K H D M T
1991 Adelaide 7202113912326247280.10.17.06.213.12.41.4
1992 Adelaide 7170213110924035310.00.17.76.414.12.11.8
1993 Adelaide 722231722013635681381.00.810.06.216.23.71.7
1994 Adelaide 71713191238721056220.81.17.25.112.43.31.3
1995 Adelaide 72214618915234159490.60.38.66.915.52.72.2
1996 Adelaide 7227820811632455570.30.49.55.314.72.52.6
1997 Adelaide 7221382538834184470.60.411.54.015.53.82.1
1998 Adelaide 724131230412242688800.50.512.75.117.83.73.3
1999 Adelaide 721121021711733469300.60.510.35.615.93.31.4
2000 Adelaide 7183117811529358280.20.19.96.416.33.21.6
2001 Adelaide 72371122313335678430.30.59.75.815.53.41.9
2002 Adelaide 7233315010925963440.10.16.54.711.32.71.9
2003 Adelaide 7213513312525857360.10.26.36.012.32.71.7
2004 Adelaide 763135215614110.50.25.83.59.32.31.8
Career 278 0.4 0.4 2503 1553 4056 844 544 131 116 9.0 5.6 14.6 3.0 2.0

After AFL

After his retirement from football, Smart lived for a period of time in Canada and France.[2] He returned to Adelaide, and was an unsuccessful candidate for the Liberal Party for the electoral district of Norwood in the 2006 South Australian state election.[8] After his failure in the election, he worked for a disability organisation called Disability Works, then returned to university to study a Master of Business Administration at the University of Adelaide.[2]

Upon retiring from football, Smart also became a member of the Adelaide Football Club's board of directors in 2005. He served as deputy chairman to Bill Sanders in 2009 and in 2013 became the club's chief operating officer.[6] In 2017, he was part of the club's decision to enter into eSports, which became a source of sponsorship for the club.[6] Smart ceased working at the club in 2020.[6]

In August 2021, Smart became the chief executive officer of Crime Stoppers South Australia.[9]

References
  1. "Nigel Smart". Footy Wire. Retrieved 23 January 2010.
  2. "10 minutes with... Adelaide Football Club's Nigel Smart". InDaily. 27 November 2016. Retrieved 20 March 2020.
  3. Milbank, Zac (24 March 2011). "Smart effort against mighty Dunstall". The Advertiser.
  4. Brettig, Daniel (5 August 2022). "How pre-season camps can work, and why Adelaide's did not". The Age. Retrieved 13 January 2023.
  5. Lerner, Ronny (3 January 2017). "The weirdest pre-season injuries in the AFL". The Age. Retrieved 13 January 2023.
  6. Rucci, Michelangelo (4 November 2020). "Nigel Smart on leaving the Crows after nearly 30 years". InDaily. Retrieved 13 January 2023.
  7. Nigel Smart's player profile at AFL Tables
  8. Antony Green (26 April 2006). "Norwood Electorate Profile". 2006 South Australian Election. ABC News Online. Retrieved 23 January 2010.
  9. "Nigel Smart announced as Chief Executive Officer for Crime Stoppers SA". Crime Stoppers South Australia. 2 August 2021. Retrieved 13 January 2023.
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