Adam Ramanauskas

Adam Ramanauskas (born 19 November 1980) is a former Australian rules footballer for the Essendon Football Club.

Adam Ramanauskas
Personal information
Full name Adam Ramanauskas
Date of birth (1980-11-19) 19 November 1980
Place of birth Doveton, Victoria
Original team(s) Noble Park, Victoria / Dandenong U18
Height 183 cm (6 ft 0 in)
Weight 83 kg (183 lb)
Playing career1
Years Club Games (Goals)
1999–2008 Essendon 134 (63)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 2008.
Career highlights
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

Of Lithuanian descent, Ramanauskas was selected at no. 12 in the 1998 AFL Draft and was mainly a defender or midfielder. In 2000 he was a regular selection on the wing in Essendon's 2000 premiership season, in which they lost just one game for the entire year.

Biography

Ramanauskas debuted with the Essendon Football Club in 1999 after being selected at No. 12 in the 1998 AFL Draft. Playing mainly as a defender or midfielder, he was an integral member of the dominant 2000 Bombers' premiership team, which lost just one game for the entire season.

Regarded as one of AFL's up-and-coming young stars, Ramanauskas was runner-up in the AFL Rising Star Award in 2000 and placed third in Essendon's Crichton Medal the following year, before being diagnosed with cancer in 2003.

After surgery, Ramanauskas missed eight matches but made a quick recovery to play a handful of games again in 2003 before a recurrence of his cancer. He had weeks of radiotherapy treatment, but managed to come back and compete a solid 2004 season where he played in all of the Bombers' 24 games.

Ramanauskas had more misfortune in 2005 when he underwent a season-ending knee reconstruction after a Round 4 training mishap. After he had completed his recovery, he was set to make another come back. However, in February 2006, a recurrence of the cancer appeared and he underwent further invasive surgery and six months of chemotherapy treatment.

At the end of 2006, Essendon sought special consideration from the AFL to place Ramanauskas on a mature-aged rookie list for the 2007 season. In July 2007, Ramanauskas was elevated to the senior list and played his first AFL match in two years.

Named as one of The Australian newspaper's "Most Inspirational People" in 2007, Ramanauskas' courage and determination both on and off the field has inspired many. Since 2007, he has worked passionately with the Essendon Football Club Community Affairs Department co-ordinating youth programs and developing a strong alliance with the Cancer Council of Victoria.

Ramanauskas announced his retirement from AFL football at the end of the 2008 season. In 2009, he accepted a part-time role at Essendon focusing on fast-tracking the development of the club's youngest players. Alongside his duties at Essendon, he is also working on the management team at Elite Sports Properties, a sports talent management agency. He has also joined the football commentary team at 774 ABC Radio.

Career highlights
  • Essendon Football Club, VFL Reserves Premiership, 1999
  • Essendon Football Club, VFL Reserves Best & Fairest Player, 1999
  • Essendon Football Club, AFL Pre-Season Premiership, 2000
  • Essendon Football Club, AFL Premiership, 2000
  • AFL Rising Star Award, Runner-Up, 2000
  • Represented Australia, International Rules Series against Ireland, 2001
  • Essendon Football Club, Crichton Medal (Best & Fairest Award), 3rd Runner-Up, 2001
  • Essendon Football Club, "Best Clubman", 2005
  • Essendon Football Club, "Most Courageous Player", 2007
  • AFLPA, "Community Spirit Award Winner", 2008

Best games

Football, cancer and injury

In 2003, Ramanauskas was diagnosed with a low grade cancer (fibromatosis) in his neck after Round 3. He missed the next eight matches but made a quick recovery to play again in 2003. Following this was a solid 2004 season in which he played in all of the Bombers' 24 games.

Ramanauskas had more misfortune in 2005 when he underwent a knee reconstruction after a Round 4 training mishap. After he had completed his recovery, however, in February 2006, a recurrence of the cancer appeared.[1]

At the end of 2006, Ramanauskas was delisted by Essendon, who asked for special consideration in placing him on a mature-aged rookie list for the 2007 season. After long deliberation by the AFL Commission on this issue, Essendon were granted permission for this to go ahead. Ramanauskas was re-drafted by Essendon with pick 33 in the 2006 Rookie Draft.[2][3] On Wednesday, 4 July, Ramanauskas was elevated to the senior list and played his first AFL match in two years against the Geelong Football Club on 6 July 2007.

Statistics
[4]
Legend
 G  Goals  B  Behinds  K  Kicks  H  Handballs  D  Disposals  M  Marks  T  Tackles
AFL playing statistics
Season Team No. Games Totals Averages (per game) Votes
G B K H D M T G B K H D M T
1999 Essendon 92009413150.00.04.52.06.50.52.50
2000 Essendon 924138221155376105380.50.39.26.515.74.41.64
2001 Essendon 92513325812438290500.50.110.35.015.33.62.03
2002 Essendon 923135275124399109490.60.212.05.417.34.72.17
2003 Essendon 9108101076317034230.81.010.76.317.03.42.30
2004 Essendon 92466220104324112310.30.39.24.313.54.71.30
2005 Essendon 9300221638980.00.07.35.312.73.02.70
2006 Essendon 90––––––––––––––0
2007 Essendon 95323624601960.60.47.24.812.03.81.20
2008 Essendon 9187214010224277280.40.17.85.713.44.31.60
Career 134 63 36 1288 716 2004 556 238 0.5 0.3 9.6 5.3 15.0 4.1 1.8 14

Retirement

On 25 August 2008, Ramanauskas and longtime teammate Jason Johnson announced their retirements from AFL effective at the end of the season.[5]

Media career

Ramanauskas is now an expert AFL commentator for 774 ABC, as well as a Foxtel Cup commentator for Fox Footy.

Personal life

Ramanauskas was born to Joseph and Lucy Ramanauskas and grew up in Doveton, Victoria. He has an older brother, Daniel, and younger sister, Kayla. Ramanauskas attended Doveton Primary School. He later graduated high school from St John's Regional College, Dandenong in 1998. Growing up he supported the Richmond Football Club.[6]

Ramanauskas married his high school sweetheart, Belinda Henneman, in January 2006. They have two sons, Aidan (born October 2008)[7] and Lucas (born August 2010).

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References
  1. Connolly, Rohan & Gleeson, Mike Bomber facing new fight with cancer, The Age, 11 February 2006.
  2. Essendon retains ill Ramanauskas, The Australian, 21 November 2006.
  3. Rookie list OK for Rama, Sportal, 21 November 2006.
  4. Adam Ramanauskas' player profile at AFL Tables
  5. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 30 August 2008. Retrieved 27 August 2008.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  6. Mcgrath, John (7 July 2000). "Sheedy's New Baby Bomber Comes of Age". The West Australian. p. 64.
  7. "Rama's new baby boy". 31 October 2008.
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