Sam Day (Australian rules footballer)
Sam Day (born 6 September 1992) is an Australian rules footballer who plays for the Gold Coast Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL).
| Sam Day | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Day playing for Gold Coast in May 2019 | |||
| Personal information | |||
| Full name | Sam Day | ||
| Date of birth | 6 September 1992 | ||
| Place of birth | Adelaide, South Australia | ||
| Original team(s) | Sturt (SANFL) | ||
| Draft | No. 3, 2010 National draft, Gold Coast | ||
| Height | 197 cm (6 ft 6 in) | ||
| Weight | 102 kg (225 lb) | ||
| Position(s) | Key Forward / Ruckman | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | Gold Coast | ||
| Number | 12 | ||
| Playing career1 | |||
| Years | Club | Games (Goals) | |
| 2011– | Gold Coast | 143 (100) | |
|
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of round 3, 2022. | |||
| Career highlights | |||
| |||
| Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com | |||
Early life
Day was born in Adelaide, South Australia. His grandfather Ian Day and great-uncle Robert Day both had long SANFL careers, while his uncle Tim Day represented the Australian national baseball team. Sam Day grew up playing a variety of sports and by high school he continued to play football, baseball and basketball at a high level. He attended Prince Alfred College throughout his schooling years and was forced to choose between baseball and basketball college offers in the United States or nominating for the AFL's national draft.[1][2] After a strong final year with Sturt in the SANFL and an All-Australian selection at the Under 18 national championships, Day settled on football. He was selected by the Gold Coast with the third pick in the 2010 national draft. Day is cousins with Hawthorn player, Will Day.
AFL career
Day made his AFL debut for the Gold Coast Suns against the Brisbane Lions[3] in round 7 of the 2011 season. He kicked a career high four goals against Collingwood in 2014.
In 2016, with the Suns' list severely impacted by injury, coach Rodney Eade moved Day into defence where he proved to be an effective tall defender.[4] He was expected to return to the forward line in 2017, but suffered a serious hip injury in the pre-season clash against the Brisbane Lions,[5] which ultimately resulted in him missing the entire 2017 season.[6]
Statistics
- Statistics are correct to the end of round 18, 2023[7]
G |
Goals | K |
Kicks | D |
Disposals | T |
Tackles |
B |
Behinds | H |
Handballs | M |
Marks | H/O |
Hit-outs |
| Season | Team | No. | Games | Totals | Averages (per game) | Votes | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | B | K | H | D | M | T | H/O | G | B | K | H | D | M | T | H/O | |||||
| 2011 | Gold Coast | 39 | 7 | 2 | 5 | 20 | 32 | 52 | 18 | 4 | 2 | 0.3 | 0.7 | 2.9 | 4.6 | 7.4 | 2.6 | 0.6 | 0.3 | 0 |
| 2012 | Gold Coast | 12 | 15 | 10 | 10 | 56 | 65 | 121 | 46 | 16 | 16 | 0.7 | 0.7 | 3.7 | 4.3 | 8.1 | 3.1 | 1.1 | 1.1 | 0 |
| 2013 | Gold Coast | 12 | 20 | 12 | 8 | 112 | 93 | 205 | 72 | 35 | 36 | 0.6 | 0.4 | 5.6 | 4.7 | 10.3 | 3.6 | 1.8 | 1.8 | 0 |
| 2014 | Gold Coast | 12 | 22 | 19 | 9 | 133 | 93 | 226 | 74 | 38 | 120 | 0.9 | 0.4 | 6.0 | 4.2 | 10.3 | 3.4 | 1.7 | 5.5 | 2 |
| 2015 | Gold Coast | 12 | 14 | 8 | 2 | 64 | 52 | 116 | 45 | 25 | 26 | 0.6 | 0.1 | 4.6 | 3.7 | 8.3 | 3.2 | 1.8 | 1.9 | 0 |
| 2016 | Gold Coast | 12 | 20 | 14 | 12 | 127 | 103 | 230 | 88 | 55 | 26 | 0.7 | 0.6 | 6.4 | 5.2 | 11.5 | 4.4 | 2.8 | 1.3 | 1 |
| 2017 | Gold Coast | 12 | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 2018 | Gold Coast | 12 | 12 | 9 | 5 | 61 | 57 | 118 | 40 | 28 | 51 | 0.8 | 0.4 | 5.1 | 4.8 | 9.8 | 3.3 | 2.3 | 4.3 | 0 |
| 2019 | Gold Coast | 12 | 10 | 11 | 4 | 61 | 55 | 116 | 50 | 21 | 1.1 | 44 | 0.4 | 6.1 | 5.5 | 11.6 | 5.0 | 2.1 | 4.4 | 0 |
| 2020[lower-alpha 1] | Gold Coast | 12 | 17 | 12 | 7 | 68 | 79 | 147 | 47 | 21 | 54 | 0.7 | 0.4 | 4.0 | 4.6 | 8.6 | 2.8 | 1.2 | 3.2 | 2 |
| 2021 | Gold Coast | 12 | 6 | 3 | 4 | 26 | 27 | 53 | 23 | 17 | 23 | 0.5 | 0.7 | 4.3 | 4.5 | 8.8 | 3.8 | 2.8 | 3.8 | 0 |
| 2022 | Gold Coast | 12 | 4 | 6 | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 2023 | Gold Coast | 12 | 2 | 1 | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Career | 149 | 107 | 68 | 728 | 656 | 1384 | 503 | 260 | 0.7 | 0.5 | 5.1 | 4.6 | 9.7 | 3.5 | 1.8 | 5 | ||||
Notes
- The 2020 season was played with 17 home-and-away matches per team (down from 22) and 16-minute quarters with time on (down from 20-minute quarters with time on) due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
References
- US options for talented young gun Sam Day
- Australia's most wanted athlete Sam Day
- Smart, Nick (9 May 2011), "Rivals learn the hard way to show a little respect", The Gold Coast Bulletin
- "Player Profile: Sam Day". Gold Coast Suns Football Club. Retrieved 21 February 2017.
- Bowen, Nick. "Injury Update: Sam Day". Gold Coast Suns Football Club. Retrieved 21 February 2017.
- Whiting, Michael. "Season over for Sun after hip surgery". Afl.com.au. Retrieved 21 February 2017.
- "Sam Day". AFL Tables. Retrieved 5 April 2022.
External links
- Sam Day's profile on the official website of the Gold Coast Football Club
- Sam Day's playing statistics from AFL Tables