Nick Davis (footballer)
Encyclopedia
Nick Davis is a former professional Australian rules football
er who played for the Collingwood Football Club
and the Sydney Swans
in the AFL
.
, the club where his father Craig
played 102 of his 163 VFL/AFL games, with a father-son
pick in the 1998 AFL Draft
. Davis was never comfortable living under the microscope at Victoria Park
, where the expectations placed upon him were magnified by the spectre of his father's courageous attitude to the game and triumph over adversity, combined with the Magpie fans' insatiable desire for success.
After 16 games in his debut season, a homesick Davis fled back to Sydney after just two days of his second pre-season campaign. It took two weeks for him to regain enough composure to return to Melbourne.
At the end of his two-year contract, Davis re-signed and rewarded the club's faith with a solid year, kicking 36 goals in 21 games. But after an injury-riddled pre-season in 2002 and some indifferent performances early in the year, pressure mounted on Davis to re-sign with the Magpies. He said he wanted to wait until the end of the season, a decision that did not go down well with the Magpie hierarchy.
After playing 20 games – including a cracker against Adelaide
in the preliminary final win that steered Collingwood into the 2002 Grand Final
– Davis told the Magpies he wanted to go home. A last-minute trade – a bargain that cost the Swans just a second round pick in the 2002 draft – paved the way for Davis to move home.
.
Davis's enthusiasm eventually returned and, although he showed glimpses of his best (like the three impressive goals in the round 21 win over the Bombers
at Telstra Stadium
), he carried the remnants of the hip and ankle injuries through the year.
at the SCG
against Geelong
will be long remembered amongst fans and players alike.
The Swans were a long way behind at three-quarter time. They'd been beaten to the ball for most of the night by Geelong who entered as underdogs.
In a low-scoring game, the Cats' 17-point lead looked imposing. And when David Johnson
– Davis's direct opponent – kicked the first goal of the last quarter, the margin looked insurmountable. Immediately after this fellow teammate Brett Kirk rushed over to Davis to let him know that he had to account for his mistake that had put his team further behind.
The nature of the game meant that forwards Barry Hall
and Michael O'Loughlin
were provided with little space to operate and few clean marking opportunities.
In the ensuing 20 minutes, two difficult snaps and a set-shot from Davis meant the Swans were only three points down with only minutes to play.
With ten seconds remaining there was a ball-up within twenty metres of the Swans' goal. Davis collected the tap of ruckman Jason Ball but did not have time to take a clean possession. Davis was also on the wrong side of the goal for a right-footed player of his nature. Davis juggled the ball before snapping a shot with his left-foot, kicking a goal and sealing the match with just 3 seconds remaining. The goal, which gave the Sydney Swans their only lead of the game, sent the crowd at the SCG into hysterics. The game is considered to be one of the most exciting finals in recent history.
the following week. If it wasn't for Davis's heroics in the Semi-Final, say many Sydney fans, they would never have made it to a flag.
Davis has flagged interest in a possible move West to play for the West Coast Eagles as he is out of contract at the end of the year. Nick was delisted at the end of the year and has stated that if no one picks him up in the draft he will try to go to the USA to play NFL.
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...
er who played for the Collingwood Football Club
Collingwood Football Club
The Collingwood Football Club, nicknamed The Magpies, is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League...
and 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 AFL
Australian Football League
The Australian Football League is both the governing body and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football...
.
Collingwood
Born in Melbourne, and moving to Sydney at the age of four, Davis played rugby league football as a schoolboy before becoming involved in Australian rules. He was drafted by CollingwoodCollingwood Football Club
The Collingwood Football Club, nicknamed The Magpies, is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League...
, the club where his father Craig
Craig Davis (Australian rules footballer)
Craig Davis is a former Australian rules footballer who played with four clubs during his eleven seasons in the VFL in the 1970s and early 1980s...
played 102 of his 163 VFL/AFL games, with a father-son
Father-son rule
The father-son rule is a rule that allows clubs to select the sons of players who have made a major past contribution to the team in Australian rules football, most notably the Australian Football League...
pick in the 1998 AFL Draft
1998 AFL Draft
The 1998 AFL Draft consisted of a pre-season draft, a national draft, a trade period and a rookie elevation. The AFL Draft is the annual draft of talented players by Australian rules football teams that participate in the main competition of that sport, the Australian Football League.In 1998 there...
. Davis was never comfortable living under the microscope at Victoria Park
Victoria Park, Melbourne
Victoria Park is a sports venue in Abbotsford a suburb of Melbourne in Victoria, Australia. Built for the purpose of both Australian rules football and cricket, the stadium is oval shaped....
, where the expectations placed upon him were magnified by the spectre of his father's courageous attitude to the game and triumph over adversity, combined with the Magpie fans' insatiable desire for success.
After 16 games in his debut season, a homesick Davis fled back to Sydney after just two days of his second pre-season campaign. It took two weeks for him to regain enough composure to return to Melbourne.
At the end of his two-year contract, Davis re-signed and rewarded the club's faith with a solid year, kicking 36 goals in 21 games. But after an injury-riddled pre-season in 2002 and some indifferent performances early in the year, pressure mounted on Davis to re-sign with the Magpies. He said he wanted to wait until the end of the season, a decision that did not go down well with the Magpie hierarchy.
After playing 20 games – including a cracker against Adelaide
Adelaide Crows
The Adelaide Football Club, nicknamed The Crows, is a professional Australian rules football club based in Adelaide, South Australia, playing in the Australian Football League ....
in the preliminary final win that steered Collingwood into the 2002 Grand Final
2002 AFL Grand Final
The 2002 AFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Brisbane Lions and the Collingwood Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 28 September 2002. It was the 106th annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League/Australian Football...
– Davis told the Magpies he wanted to go home. A last-minute trade – a bargain that cost the Swans just a second round pick in the 2002 draft – paved the way for Davis to move home.
Sydney career
He hit the ground running in 2003 with 32 goals in 24 appearances before injuries again interceded in 2004; first hip, then ankle. The rigours of rehabilitating an injured ankle quickly eroded Davis's desire to play footy. For two days in June 2004, the club did not know of his whereabouts and when he did return, he was having serious thoughts about shifting to rugby leagueRugby league
Rugby league football, usually called rugby league, is a full contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular grass field. One of the two codes of rugby football, it originated in England in 1895 by a split from Rugby Football Union over paying players...
.
Davis's enthusiasm eventually returned and, although he showed glimpses of his best (like the three impressive goals in the round 21 win over the Bombers
Essendon Football Club
The Essendon Football Club, nicknamed The Bombers, is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League...
at Telstra Stadium
Telstra Stadium
Stadium Australia, currently also known as ANZ Stadium due to naming rights, formerly known as Telstra Stadium, is a multi-purpose stadium located in the Sydney Olympic Park precinct of Homebush Bay...
), he carried the remnants of the hip and ankle injuries through the year.
2005 – Realising potential
Despite a three-week stint on the sidelines with a hamstring strain mid-year, Davis's form continually improved throughout 2005. He was rewarded for his superior fitness with the occasional run through the midfield, while 12 of his 31 goals for the season came in the final month.2005 Semi-Final
His 4 goal heroics during the final quarter of the 2005 second semi-final2005 AFL finals series
-The finals system:The system is a final eight system. This system is different to the McIntyre Final Eight System, which was previously used by the AFL, and is currently used by the National Rugby League....
at the SCG
Sydney Cricket Ground
The Sydney Cricket Ground is a sports stadium in Sydney in Australia. It is used for Australian football, Test cricket, One Day International cricket, some rugby league and rugby union matches and is the home ground for the New South Wales Blues cricket team and the Sydney Swans of the Australian...
against Geelong
Geelong Football Club
The Geelong Football Club, nicknamed The Cats, is a professional Australian rules football club, named after and based in the city of Geelong, playing in the Australian Football League . The club has been the VFL/AFL premiers nine times, with a record equalling 3 in the AFL era. Geelong has also...
will be long remembered amongst fans and players alike.
The Swans were a long way behind at three-quarter time. They'd been beaten to the ball for most of the night by Geelong who entered as underdogs.
In a low-scoring game, the Cats' 17-point lead looked imposing. And when David Johnson
David Johnson (Australian rules footballer)
David Johnson is a former Australian rules footballer for the Geelong Football Club in the Australian Football League ....
– Davis's direct opponent – kicked the first goal of the last quarter, the margin looked insurmountable. Immediately after this fellow teammate Brett Kirk rushed over to Davis to let him know that he had to account for his mistake that had put his team further behind.
The nature of the game meant that forwards Barry Hall
Barry Hall
Barry Hall is a former Australian rules footballer. Hall is considered to be one of the best forwards of the modern era, being named All-Australian, leading his club's goalkicking on nine occasions and captaining the Sydney Swans to their 2005 AFL Grand Final victory...
and Michael O'Loughlin
Michael O'Loughlin
Michael Kevin O'Loughlin is a former professional Australian rules footballer, who played his entire Australian Football League career with the Sydney Swans....
were provided with little space to operate and few clean marking opportunities.
In the ensuing 20 minutes, two difficult snaps and a set-shot from Davis meant the Swans were only three points down with only minutes to play.
With ten seconds remaining there was a ball-up within twenty metres of the Swans' goal. Davis collected the tap of ruckman Jason Ball but did not have time to take a clean possession. Davis was also on the wrong side of the goal for a right-footed player of his nature. Davis juggled the ball before snapping a shot with his left-foot, kicking a goal and sealing the match with just 3 seconds remaining. The goal, which gave the Sydney Swans their only lead of the game, sent the crowd at the SCG into hysterics. The game is considered to be one of the most exciting finals in recent history.
Premiership win
The Swans went into the preliminary final against the Saints the next week and won thanks to an amazing last-quarter burst, and won the 2005 AFL Grand Final2005 AFL Grand Final
The 2005 AFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Sydney Swans and West Coast Eagles, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 24 September 2005. It was the 109th annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League/Australian Football League, staged to...
the following week. If it wasn't for Davis's heroics in the Semi-Final, say many Sydney fans, they would never have made it to a flag.
"I'm a scapegoat"
In round 14 of 2006 after the Swans had played Adelaide at the SCG, Nick Davis was dropped from the seniors and sent to the reserves. This proved to be a major challenge for Davis after an out cry to the media Paul Roos was furious and kept him playing in the reserves for 6 weeks. However, he came back in round 21 and played all the remaining games of the season, including the 2006 GF where he was one of Sydneys best kicking 3 majors.2008
Nick Davis played only three games for the Swans in 2008, after being dropped for a period and then being brought back in to cover during Barry Hall's seven-match suspension for striking Brent Staker. He played in the controversial draw against the North Melbourne Kangaroos before again being dropped. He would not play another game for the Swans for the year after dislocating his kneecap and requiring surgery. He was not offered another contract at the end of the season.Davis has flagged interest in a possible move West to play for the West Coast Eagles as he is out of contract at the end of the year. Nick was delisted at the end of the year and has stated that if no one picks him up in the draft he will try to go to the USA to play NFL.
Season statistics
| Year | Team | Number | Games | Kicks | Handballs | Marks | Tackles | Total Disposals | Goals | Behinds | Goal Accuracy % | Brownlow Medal Votes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Collingwood | 19 | 16 | 117 | 54 | 43 | 9 | 171 | 5 | 9 | 36 | 0 |
| 2000 | Collingwood | 19 | 14 | 142 | 69 | 76 | 10 | 211 | 13 | 8 | 62 | 1 |
| 2001 | Collingwood | 19 | 21 | 242 | 100 | 115 | 27 | 342 | 36 | 15 | 70 | 5 |
| 2002 | Collingwood | 19 | 20 | 156 | 39 | 84 | 15 | 195 | 31 | 22 | 58 | 2 |
| 2003 | Sydney | 2 | 24 | 211 | 105 | 91 | 35 | 316 | 32 | 19 | 63 | 0 |
| 2004 | Sydney | 2 | 12 | 67 | 37 | 34 | 9 | 104 | 21 | 7 | 75 | 1 |
| 2005 | Sydney | 2 | 23 | 210 | 89 | 95 | 29 | 299 | 38 | 21 | 64 | 0 |
| 2006 | Sydney | 2 | 17 | 160 | 74 | 92 | 34 | 234 | 23 | 18 | 56 | 0 |
| 2007 | Sydney | 2 | 18 | 139 | 73 | 69 | 23 | 212 | 33 | 21 | 61 | 1 |
| 2008 | Sydney | 2 | 3 | 21 | 12 | 15 | 4 | 33 | 3 | 4 | 43 | 0 |
| Totals | 168 | 1465 | 652 | 714 | 195 | 2117 | 235 | 135 | 64% | 10 |