Fletcher Roberts (born 3 June 1993) is an Australian rules footballer who represents the Western Bulldogs in the Australian Football League (AFL).
| Fletcher Roberts | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Roberts playing for the Western Bulldogs in March 2017 | |||
| Personal information | |||
| Full name | Fletcher Roberts | ||
| Date of birth | 3 June 1993 | ||
| Original team(s) | Sandringham Dragons (TAC Cup) | ||
| Draft | No. 11, 2012 pre-season draft | ||
| Height | 196 cm (6 ft 5 in) | ||
| Weight | 90 kg (198 lb) | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | Western Bulldogs | ||
| Number | 18 | ||
| Playing career1 | |||
| Years | Club | Games (Goals) | |
| 2012– | Western Bulldogs | 47 (0) | |
|
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 2017. | |||
| Career highlights | |||
| Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com | |||
Early life
Roberts was educated at Melbourne Grammar School[1] and attracted attention after kicking four goals in the last quarter of the 2011 TAC Cup Grand Final to lead the Sandringham Dragons to victory.[2] He was then recruited by the Bulldogs in the 2012 Pre-season Draft, with pick #11.
AFL career
Roberts made his AFL debut in Round 20, 2012, against Richmond at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.[3]
Roberts struggled to hold down a spot in the senior side in 2014, playing only five games, but started to show signs of developing into a tall defender for the Bulldogs' VFL side Footscray. The highlight of the season was in the final round against Richmond's VFL side at Punt Road Oval. Trailing by 33 points in the final quarter, Footscray fought back to snatch the lead, only for the Tigers to steady with a goal and seemingly have the game won. With seconds remaining, Roberts took a pack mark and as the siren sounded, lined up from 60 metres. He kicked truly to give Footscray a memorable three-point victory and secure second place on the VFL ladder.[4] Sadly, Roberts would miss Footscray's 2014 VFL premiership triumph through injury.[5]
In 2016, Roberts was not selected until the Round 6 clash against North Melbourne due to recovery from an injury interrupted pre-season,[6] but would then play 15 of the remaining 16 games during the home-and-away season. He was one of the players dropped for the Elimination Final, but would be recalled for the Preliminary Final to replace the injured Matt Suckling. Despite suffering an early facial injury, Roberts returned to play arguably his best game for the club, holding the dangerous Jeremy Cameron goalless as the Bulldogs advanced to the Grand Final.[7] After some uncertainty early in the week leading up to the Grand Final, it was announced that Roberts retained his place in the team ahead of Suckling,[2] which meant that the Bulldogs would field a team that had no experience in an AFL Grand Final. In the match, Roberts combined with Joel Hamling to shut down Sydney's twin threats of Lance Franklin and Kurt Tippett, limiting their output to just one goal to help the Bulldogs clinch an emotional 22-point win, ending their 62-year premiership drought.
Statistics
- Statistics are correct to the end of the 2016 season[8]
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 | ||||
| 2012 | Western Bulldogs | 18 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 5 | 21 | 7 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 8.0 | 2.5 | 10.5 | 3.5 | 0.5 |
| 2013 | Western Bulldogs | 18 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2014 | Western Bulldogs | 18 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 19 | 16 | 35 | 10 | 10 | 0.0 | 0.2 | 3.8 | 3.2 | 7.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| 2015 | Western Bulldogs | 18 | 12 | 0 | 1 | 55 | 61 | 116 | 41 | 19 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 4.6 | 5.1 | 9.7 | 3.4 | 1.6 |
| 2016 | Western Bulldogs | 18 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 72 | 92 | 164 | 47 | 25 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 4.0 | 5.1 | 9.1 | 2.6 | 1.4 |
| Career | 37 | 0 | 2 | 162 | 174 | 336 | 105 | 55 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 4.4 | 4.7 | 9.1 | 2.8 | 1.5 | ||
Honours and achievements
AFL
- Team
VFL
- Team
- VFL premiership: 2014
References
- ^ "Congratulations to our Old Melburnian sportsmen". Melbourne Grammar School. December 2016.
- ^ a b Landsberger, Sam (30 September 2016). "Fletcher Roberts filled with confidence ahead of remarkable Grand Final appearance". Herald Sun.
{{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ "McCartney happy to stay patitent". Sky News. 13 August 2012. Retrieved 14 August 2012.
- ^ "VFL: Footscray top Tigers after siren". westernbulldogs.com.au. 25 August 2014.
- ^ Beveridge, Riley. "Joel Hamling and Fletcher Roberts: Western Bulldogs duo go from VFL heartbreak to AFL premiership". Fox Sports.
{{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ "Season review: Fletcher Roberts". westernbulldogs.com.au. 24 October 2016.
- ^ Cherny, Daniel (26 September 2016). "AFL grand final 2016: Fletcher Roberts waits ahead of Western Bulldogs selection". The Age.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ "Fletcher Roberts Stats". AFL Tables. Retrieved 18 October 2016.
External links
- Fletcher Roberts's profile on the official website of the Western Bulldogs
- Fletcher Roberts's playing statistics from AFL Tables
- Match ratings from Inside Football