Daniel Rich is a current Australian rules football player for the Brisbane Lions

Brisbane Lions

The Brisbane Lions is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League . The club is based in Brisbane, Queensland. The club was formed from the merger of the Brisbane Bears and the Fitzroy Lions in 1996...

. He was selected with the Brisbane Lions' first selection (pick 7 overall) in the 2008 National Draft

2008 AFL Draft

The 2008 AFL Draft consisted of four opportunities for player acquisitions during the 2008/09 Australian Football League off-season. These were Trade Week , the National Draft , the Pre-Season Draft and the Rookie Draft...

.

Pre-AFL career

Prior to being drafted by Brisbane, Rich had already amassed a considerable football résumé. This included under-18 selection for Western Australia in both 2007 and 2008, including selection for the All-Australian team both years, as well as playing in two senior premierships for Subiaco

Subiaco Football Club

The Subiaco Football Club, nicknamed the Lions, is an Australian rules football club in the West Australian Football League . It was founded in 1896, and admitted to the WAFL in 1901, along with North Fremantle...

 in the WAFL

West Australian Football League

The West Australian Football League is an Australian rules football league based in Perth, Western Australia. The WAFL is the second-most popular in the state, behind the nation-wide Australian Football League...

. Following strong performances at senior level, Rich was regarded by many observers as a potential top-two selection in the months leading up to the draft.

2009: Rising Star

Rich made an impressive senior debut in round 1, 2009 amassing 21 possession and 4 tackles, a performance which garnered him the NAB Rising Star nomination for round 1. He was rewarded for an outstanding first-year season with the 2009 NAB Rising Star award, being only the second Rising Star winner to poll maximum votes from all 9 judges, he also created history by becoming the third consecutive player to be drafted at pick seven and win the award. The praise for Rich's debut season kept coming, this time coming from the players themselves, after winning the AFLPA Award

AFLPA Awards

The AFL Players' Association Awards are a group of awards given annually to players in the Australian Football League, voted for by all AFL players.-Leigh Matthews Trophy:...

 for Best First Year Player by more than 400 votes.

2010

• Following a stellar first season in 2009 which saw him win the AFL Rising Star award among other honours, Rich added bulk to his frame over the 2010 pre-season and established himself as a key component of the Lions midfield in 2010.

• While Rich was consistently among the Lions top performers in the midfield, he particularly shone in the half-back line towards the tail-end of the season in the Lions’ narrow loss to St Kilda in round 15, against Melbourne in round 18, and Essendon in round 21.

• Rich led the Lions in inside 50s (93) and was second for tackles with 103, and had an impressive average of 19 disposals per game.

• Rich has not missed a senior AFL game since his debut in round 1 of the 2009 season, playing all 22 games in 2010 and bringing his total AFL games to 46 in just two years.

• He finished inside the top ten at the Club Champion Award, at eighth place with 24.5 votes.

Personal life

Rich was educated in Western Australia, attending secondary schooling at Sacred Heart College, Sorrento.

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