Lewis Roberts-Thomson
Encyclopedia
Lewis Roberts-Thomson is an Australian rules football
player with the Sydney Swans
in the Australian Football League
.
He was drafted by the Swans from the NSW-ACT U18s with the 29th selection in the 2001 AFL Draft
. He is colloquially known to fans and commentators as either "LRT" or "Hyphen" or "Hyphenator".
After being injured for most of the 2002 season, in 2003 he was awarded an AFL Rising Star nomination in his tenth game, after making his debut in Round 8. He was then injured again for most of the 2004 season with thumb and Achilles injuries.
Often criticised for poor performances early in his career, his performance as a key defender in 2005, including his exceptional performance in that year's Grand Final against the West Coast Eagles
, Roberts-Thomson has secured a permanent position in the Swans' players list.
After an injury riddled 2008 season, Roberts-Thomson not only re-solidified his place at CHB in the Swans' defence in 2009, he improved vastly through the season playing on some of the best forwards in the AFL. His defensive skills one on one in marking contests and contested marking ability really started to shine through and, along with Craig Bolton and Heath Grundy, he formed a solid defensive spine for Sydney.
In 2010, Roberts-Thomson continued his strong form and with Craig Bolton suffering a serious achilles injury early in the year, he and Grundy stepped up manfully to take on the brunt of the defensive work. Unfortunately, he injured his hamstring about halfway through the year and was forced to sit out the rest of the season.
2011 was an up and down year for Roberts-Thomson as injury and the rapid improvement from Ted Richards and Alex Johnson didn't allow for him to take up his normal position as a tall defender. Consequently, he was used mostly as a 2nd ruckman and tall forward when in the senior side. Illness to Grundy allowed LRT to take up a position in the backline late in the year however, a role that he would fill well for the Swans' run into the finals.
Roberts-Thomson is a rarity in AFL as he grew up playing rugby union
as a contemporary of Wallaby
Phil Waugh
at Sydney Church of England Grammar School
. Having only taken up Australian rules football at age 14, he had played less than 40 Aussie rules matches when he was drafted in 2001, although he had already been named in the 2001 under-18 All-Australian team.
His father Barry has played in the Victorian Football Association
for Sandringham and also captained the Queensland representative side.
Australian rules football
Australian rules football, officially known as Australian football, also called football, Aussie rules or footy is a sport played between two teams of 22 players on either...
player with the Sydney Swans
Sydney Swans
The Sydney Swans Football Club is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League . The club is based in Sydney, New South Wales. The club, founded in 1874, was known as the South Melbourne Football Club until it relocated to Sydney in 1982 to become the Sydney...
in the Australian Football League
Australian Football League
The Australian Football League is both the governing body and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football...
.
He was drafted by the Swans from the NSW-ACT U18s with the 29th selection in the 2001 AFL Draft
2001 AFL Draft
The 2001 AFL Draft consisted of a national draft, a rookie draft, a pre-season draft and a trade period. The AFL Draft is the annual draft of players by Australian rules football teams that participate in the main competition of that sport, the Australian Football League .In 2001 there were 83...
. He is colloquially known to fans and commentators as either "LRT" or "Hyphen" or "Hyphenator".
After being injured for most of the 2002 season, in 2003 he was awarded an AFL Rising Star nomination in his tenth game, after making his debut in Round 8. He was then injured again for most of the 2004 season with thumb and Achilles injuries.
Often criticised for poor performances early in his career, his performance as a key defender in 2005, including his exceptional performance in that year's Grand Final against the West Coast Eagles
West Coast Eagles
The West Coast Eagles are an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League. The club is based in Perth, Western Australia. The club was founded in 1986 and played its first games in the 1987 season. Its current home ground is Subiaco Oval...
, Roberts-Thomson has secured a permanent position in the Swans' players list.
After an injury riddled 2008 season, Roberts-Thomson not only re-solidified his place at CHB in the Swans' defence in 2009, he improved vastly through the season playing on some of the best forwards in the AFL. His defensive skills one on one in marking contests and contested marking ability really started to shine through and, along with Craig Bolton and Heath Grundy, he formed a solid defensive spine for Sydney.
In 2010, Roberts-Thomson continued his strong form and with Craig Bolton suffering a serious achilles injury early in the year, he and Grundy stepped up manfully to take on the brunt of the defensive work. Unfortunately, he injured his hamstring about halfway through the year and was forced to sit out the rest of the season.
2011 was an up and down year for Roberts-Thomson as injury and the rapid improvement from Ted Richards and Alex Johnson didn't allow for him to take up his normal position as a tall defender. Consequently, he was used mostly as a 2nd ruckman and tall forward when in the senior side. Illness to Grundy allowed LRT to take up a position in the backline late in the year however, a role that he would fill well for the Swans' run into the finals.
Roberts-Thomson is a rarity in AFL as he grew up playing rugby union
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
as a contemporary of Wallaby
Australia national rugby union team
The Australian national rugby union team is the representative side of Australia in rugby union. The national team is nicknamed the Wallabies and competes annually with New Zealand and South Africa in the Tri-Nations Series, in which they also contest the Bledisloe Cup with New Zealand and the...
Phil Waugh
Phil Waugh
Phillip Waugh is an Australian rugby union player, widely regarded as one of the world's leading flankers.His career as a player began at the Shore School, Captaining the school's team in 1997...
at Sydney Church of England Grammar School
Sydney Church of England Grammar School
Sydney Church of England Grammar School is an independent, Anglican, day and boarding school for boys, located in North Sydney, New South Wales, Australia....
. Having only taken up Australian rules football at age 14, he had played less than 40 Aussie rules matches when he was drafted in 2001, although he had already been named in the 2001 under-18 All-Australian team.
His father Barry has played in the Victorian Football Association
Victorian Football League
The Victorian Football League which evolved from the former Victorian Football Association , taking its new name as from the 1996 season, is the premier Australian rules football league in Victoria The Victorian Football League (VFL) which evolved from the former Victorian Football Association...
for Sandringham and also captained the Queensland representative side.