Max Rooke(bornJarad Maxwell Rooke;19 December 1981) is a formerAustralian rules footballerwho played for theGeelong Football Clubin theAustralian Football League(AFL).
| Max Rooke | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Rooke in April 2018 | |||
| Personal information | |||
| Date of birth | 19 December 1981 | ||
| Place of birth | Victoria, Australia | ||
| Original team(s) | Casterton | ||
| Height | 189 cm (6 ft 2 in) | ||
| Weight | 93 kg (205 lb) | ||
| Position(s) | Utility | ||
| Playing career1 | |||
| Years | Club | Games (Goals) | |
| 2002–2010 | Geelong | 135 (58) | |
|
1Playing statistics correct to the end of 2010. | |||
| Career highlights | |||
| Sources:AFL Tables,AustralianFootball | |||
A utility player, 1.89 metres (6.2 ft) tall and weighing 93 kilograms (210 lb), Rooke's versatility allowed him to play as a forward, defender, andmidfielder.Rooke made his Geelong debut in2002and went on to become adual premiership playerwith the club, playing key roles in both the2007and2009grand final victories.
AFL career
editRooke was recruited fromCastertonin 2001, and he made his debut in the second round of 2002. In 2003, he was awarded Geelong's most determined and dedicated player award. Rooke was a regular senior player until a shin injury forced him to miss the second half of2004,including the finals series, but he recovered to play all but one game in2005.
His lack of pace against small forwards was exposed in Round 20, 2005, whenMelbourne'sRussell Robertsonkicked six goals against him. This prompted coachMark Thompsonto move him into the midfield the following week. This move was successful, with Rooke nullifyingHall of FamemidfielderChris Judd.In Geelong's close loss to theSydney Swansin the elimination final, Rooke laid a remarkable fifteen tackles.
Rooke missed out on most of Geelong's2007 seasonafter suffering a potential season-ending 7 cm hamstring tear in Round 13.[1]On 12 July, Geelong spent $20,000 on Rooke to receive treatment by soft-tissue expert Dr Hans-Wilhelm Muller-Wohlfarth in Germany.[1]He returned to the side in the 106-point qualifying final win against theKangaroosafter key defenderMatthew Egansuffered a season-ending foot injury.[1]
In October 2010, Rooke announced his retirement from AFL football due to an acute knee injury which kept him out for most of the2010 home-and-away season.[2]
Coaching career
editRooke returned to Geelong in2011as a development coach for four seasons before joiningGold Coastas a development coach for the2016 season.[3][4]In November 2016, he joinedMelbourneas a development coach.[5]Rooke was stood down from Melbourne in May 2020 due to limitations caused by theCOVID-19 pandemic.[6]
Personal life
editIn November 2006, Rooke made the decision to officially change his legal name to Max. Rooke's middle name at birth was Maxwell, and both of his grandfathers were known as Max, which led to a fondness of the name being the main reason behind the change.[7]He also sported a wild 1970s-style hairstyle and beard.[8]Rooke was known by the new name in all officialAFLrecords from the 2007 season onwards.
Concussion history and class action against the AFL
editRooke claims that he had about 20 to 30 concussions throughout his nine-year career, according to an AFL class-action writ. In a suitreminiscentto that of theNFL,Rooke is the lead plaintiff in a class-action lawsuit filed in theSupreme Court of Victoriain March 2023 on behalf of players employed by one or more AFL clubs between 1985 and 14 March 2023 who either suffered concussion or suffered damage from concussions, with the lawsuit seeking up to $1bn compensation for alleged long-term concussion damage to AFL players.[9]
Statistics
editG
|
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 | ||||
| 2002 | Geelong | 33 | 15 | 1 | 0 | 93 | 69 | 162 | 37 | 26 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 6.2 | 4.6 | 10.8 | 2.5 | 1.7 |
| 2003 | Geelong | 33 | 18 | 3 | 3 | 134 | 103 | 237 | 74 | 38 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 7.4 | 5.7 | 13.2 | 4.1 | 2.1 |
| 2004 | Geelong | 33 | 11 | 0 | 1 | 51 | 47 | 98 | 38 | 18 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 4.6 | 4.3 | 8.9 | 3.5 | 1.6 |
| 2005 | Geelong | 33 | 23 | 3 | 1 | 131 | 129 | 260 | 88 | 68 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 5.7 | 5.6 | 11.3 | 3.8 | 3.0 |
| 2006 | Geelong | 33 | 17 | 8 | 1 | 114 | 121 | 235 | 62 | 55 | 0.5 | 0.1 | 6.7 | 7.1 | 13.8 | 3.6 | 3.2 |
| 2007 | Geelong | 33 | 8 | 6 | 3 | 38 | 45 | 83 | 26 | 27 | 0.8 | 0.4 | 4.8 | 5.6 | 10.4 | 3.3 | 3.4 |
| 2008 | Geelong | 33 | 20 | 13 | 4 | 113 | 156 | 269 | 84 | 70 | 0.7 | 0.2 | 5.7 | 7.8 | 13.5 | 4.2 | 3.5 |
| 2009 | Geelong | 33 | 22 | 24 | 15 | 135 | 108 | 243 | 97 | 76 | 1.1 | 0.7 | 6.1 | 4.9 | 11.0 | 4.4 | 3.5 |
| 2010 | Geelong | 33 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 3.0 | 5.0 | 8.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| Career | 135 | 58 | 29 | 812 | 783 | 1595 | 508 | 380 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 6.0 | 5.8 | 11.8 | 3.8 | 2.8 | ||
References
edit- ^abcAnderson, Jon (4 September 2007)."Rooke back for Egan".Herald Sun.News Limited.Retrieved19 September2007.
- ^Broad, Ben (13 October 2010)."Rooke bows to knee injury".Archived fromthe originalon 15 October 2010.Retrieved14 October2010.
- ^"Coaches presented by Momentum Energy".geelongcats.au.Geelong Football Club.Retrieved16 August2015.
- ^Boswell, Tom (20 November 2015)."Gold Coast Suns to tap into Max Rooke's Geelong experience to develop youngsters".Gold Coast Bulletin.Retrieved7 November2016.
- ^Burgan, Matt (7 November 2016)."Rooke joins Melbourne coaching panel".Melbournefc.au.Retrieved7 November2016.
- ^Twomey, Callum (20 May 2020)."Coaching squeeze hits as Dees make tough calls".AFL.au.Retrieved26 October2023.
- ^"Footy's greatest beards".PerthNow.13 May 2013.Retrieved31 March2023.
- ^Geoff McClure,The new name is Max says copy Cat Rooke,The Age,23 November 2006.
- ^"Landmark class action chases up to $1bn compensation for alleged long-term concussion damage to AFL players".The Guardian.Australian Associated Press. 14 March 2023.ISSN0261-3077.Retrieved31 March2023.
- ^Max Rooke's player profile at AFL Tables
External links
edit
- Max Rooke's profileon the official website of the Geelong Football Club
- Max Rooke's playing statisticsfrom AFL Tables