Richard Douglas (footballer)

Richard Joseph Edwin Douglas (born 6 February 1987) is a former Australian rules football player who played for the Adelaide Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He was drafted by Adelaide with pick 16 in the 2005 national draft.

Richard Douglas
Douglas playing for Adelaide in April 2017
Personal information
Full name Richard Joseph Edwin Douglas
Date of birth (1987-02-06) 6 February 1987
Place of birth Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Original team(s) Broadford (HDFL)
Calder Cannons (TAC Cup)
Draft No. 16, 2005 national draft
Debut Round 21, 2006, Adelaide vs. Port Adelaide, at AAMI Stadium
Height 181 cm (5 ft 11 in)
Weight 80 kg (176 lb)
Position(s) Midfielder / Forward
Playing career1
Years Club Games (Goals)
2006–2019 Adelaide 246 (164)
International team honours
Years Team Games (Goals)
2011 Australia 2 (1)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 2019.
2 State and international statistics correct as of 2011.
Career highlights
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

AFL career

After impressing for Glenelg in the SANFL, Douglas made his AFL debut in round 21 of 2006, his first season, against Port Adelaide. He played two further games for the season, including a Qualifying Final. Douglas established himself in the side over the next two years, playing 13 games in 2007 and 22 of a possible 23 games in 2008.

In June 2009, in the lead-up to Adelaide's clash with North Melbourne, Douglas had a scare when he began displaying symptoms consistent with the swine influenza pandemic, and was quarantined, along with teammate and housemate Tony Armstrong. On the night before the match, the test for swine flu came back negative; however, he did not play in the match.[1] He returned to play the next match, although he was dropped from the side a few weeks later against Fremantle. He played 18 games in 2009 in total.

In 2010, Douglas was given more responsibility in an injury-hit Adelaide side.[2] He relished the opportunity, winning the 2010 Malcolm Blight Medal (club best and fairest award) and the Coaches' Award in a standout year in which he played all 22 matches and also signed a new contract with the club.[3]

After struggling to find consistency due to injuries in 2011 and early 2012, Douglas began to recapture his 2010 form towards the end of 2012.[4] He signed a new three-year contract with Adelaide in June 2012,[5] and played his 100th AFL match shortly after, in round 12 against St Kilda.[6] Douglas had one of his best years at the club in 2013, finishing runner-up in the Malcolm Blight Medal and being named in the preliminary All-Australian squad. He ranked third in the competition for inside 50s, eighth for goal assists, and was second at the club for disposals, marks and tackles.[4]

Douglas suffered a potentially serious groin injury in a trial game in the 2014 pre-season, but he surprisingly returned just three weeks later, wearing a cricket box in a match against Port Adelaide and collecting 29 disposals.[7] He missed another two matches early in the season due to suspension after concussing Greater Western Sydney captain Callan Ward with a head-high bump,[8] but he played every match for the remainder of 2014, averaging 22 disposals and starring in his 150th match against Collingwood in round 18.[4] Douglas had his 2015 season interrupted by a foot injury and then appendicitis,[9][10] but performed strongly when fit.[4] In June he signed a new three-year deal with Adelaide, joining teammate Rory Sloane in committing to the club until the end of 2018, and declaring himself as "a Crow for life".[11]

Statistics
Statistics are correct to end of round 12, 2016[12]
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
2006 Adelaide 26311151833670.30.35.06.011.02.02.3
2007 Adelaide 261342726814028360.30.25.55.210.82.22.8
2008 Adelaide 2622221414612727378721.00.66.65.812.43.63.3
2009 Adelaide 2618111213314027374640.60.77.47.815.24.13.6
2010 Adelaide 26221720275195470107760.80.912.58.921.44.93.5
2011 Adelaide 26171092219131263560.60.513.05.418.43.73.3
2012 Adelaide 261911162369633274520.60.812.45.117.53.92.7
2013 Adelaide 26222017326175501116860.90.814.88.022.85.33.9
2014 Adelaide 261911826614741352910.60.414.07.721.72.74.8
2015 Adelaide 26167420413533947650.40.312.88.421.22.94.1
2016 Adelaide 2612891178920631530.70.89.87.417.22.64.4
Career 183 122 112 2011 1281 3292 676 658 0.7 0.6 11.0 7.0 18.0 3.7 3.6

References
  1. Brettig, Daniel (13 June 2009). "Adelaide Crows midfielder Richard Douglas's swine-flu test negative". AAP.
  2. "Richard Douglas shoulders a greater load at injury-hit Crows". news.com.au. 1 March 2010. Retrieved 22 June 2016.
  3. Rucci, Michelangelo (4 September 2010). "Richard Douglas wins Malcolm Blight Medal as Adelaide best and fairest". The Advertiser.
  4. "Richard Douglas - AFC.com.au". AFC.com.au. Adelaide Football Club.
  5. "High-flying Crows secure more talent". ABC.net.au. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 1 June 2012. Retrieved 22 June 2016.
  6. Rucci, Michelangelo (14 June 2012). "How Richard Douglas became a Crows heavyweight". The Advertiser.
  7. Capel, Andrew (2 April 2014). "Scare Crow — Richard Douglas reveals the full extent of his shocking groin injury". The Advertiser.
  8. "Adelaide Crows' Richard Douglas cops two-game AFL ban for bump on Callan Ward". ABC.net.au. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 22 April 2014. Retrieved 22 June 2016.
  9. "Foot injury sidelines Crow Richard Douglas for at least a month". AFL.com.au. Australian Football League. 4 May 2015. Retrieved 22 June 2016.
  10. Homfray, Reece (4 August 2015). "Appendix surgery puts Adelaide key midfielder Richard Douglas out of crunch clash with in-form Richmond". The Advertiser.
  11. "New deal for Douglas". AFC.com.au. Adelaide Football Club. 16 June 2015. Retrieved 16 June 2015.
  12. "AFL Tables - Richard Douglas statistics". AFL Tables.
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