Rory Laird

Rory Laird (born 29 December 1993) is a professional Australian rules football player who plays for the Adelaide Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He was drafted by Adelaide with pick 5 in the 2011 Rookie Draft.

Rory Laird
Laird playing for Adelaide in April 2017
Personal information
Full name Rory Laird
Date of birth (1993-12-29) 29 December 1993
Original team(s) Kenilworth (SAAFL)
West Adelaide (SANFL)
Draft No. 5, 2011 rookie draft
Debut Round 4, 2013, Adelaide
vs. Western Bulldogs, at AAMI Stadium
Height 178 cm (5 ft 10 in)
Weight 77 kg (170 lb)
Position(s) Small defender, midfielder, tagger
Club information
Current club Adelaide
Number 29
Playing career1
Years Club Games (Goals)
2012– Adelaide 143 (12)
Representative team honours
Years Team Games (Goals)
2020 All Stars 1 (0)
International team honours
R14 2019 Australia 2 (0)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 2017.
2 State and international statistics correct as of R14 2019.
Career highlights
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

AFL career

In his first season in the AFL, Laird did not play for Adelaide. He played 18 consecutive games for West Adelaide in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL), including three finals, but was dropped from the team that played in the SANFL Grand Final.[1]

The Crows elevated Laird to the senior list as a replacement for the injured Sam Shaw in April 2013, and he made his AFL debut against the Western Bulldogs in round 4 of the season.[2] He immediately became a regular in the side, missing only one further game in the season through injury, and averaging 18.5 disposals per game as a small defender.[3] Laird received the Round 20 nomination for the 2013 AFL Rising Star award, following a 24-possession game against North Melbourne, and signed a two-year contract with the club in the same week.[4] Laird played 16 games in 2014 despite injury issues, playing in defence and occasionally in the midfield. He was dropped to the SANFL late in the season but responded with a 42-possession game to earn a recall.[3]

Laird had a breakout year in 2015, playing every game and averaging 24.4 disposals in defence while blanketing his opponents, which earned him a place on the 40-man shortlist for the All-Australian team.[3] During the year, he signed a three-year contract extension with the club.[5] In 2016, he was named in the 40-man All-Australian squad but did not make the team. He improved even more on his form in 2017, starting the season with a 40-possession game against Greater Western Sydney.[6] His form continued to stay at an elite level throughout the season, including a 34-possession game against St Kilda in Round 12.[7] His consistency was reward with both All-Australian selection and being nominated by his team for the AFL Players' Association MVP Award.[8]

In 2018, Laird won the Malcolm Blight Medal as the Crows' Best and Fairest player.[9] He was also selected in the All-Australian team for the second season.[10]

Statistics
Statistics are correct to end of the 2019 season [11]
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
2013 Adelaide 46181218015333374510.10.110.08.518.54.12.80
2014 Adelaide 29162212612925565370.10.17.98.115.94.12.30
2015 Adelaide 292324289273562133580.10.212.611.924.45.82.52
2016 Adelaide 291911251270521127400.10.113.214.227.46.72.111
2017 Adelaide 292531367369736143550.10.014.714.829.45.72.29
2018 Adelaide 292034319325644124430.20.216.016.332.26.22.219
2019 Adelaide 292201322301623125470.00.014.613.728.35.72.12
Career 143 12 15 1854 1820 3674 791 331 0.1 0.1 13.0 12.7 25.7 5.5 2.3 43

Personal life

Laird grew up in the suburb of Eden Hills, South Australia.[12] He attended Scotch College, Adelaide,[13][14][15][16][17] where he was coached by Brownlow Medalist Gavin Wanganeen.[14] Rory has no relation to Central District coach Roy Laird.[18]

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References
  1. Capel, Andrew (18 July 2013). "Grand final omission helped fuel resolve for Rory Laird". The Advertiser.
  2. Gill, Katrina (19 April 2013). "Laird to debut against Dogs". AFC.com.au. Adelaide Football Club. Retrieved 28 July 2013.
  3. "Rory Laird – AFC.com.au". AFC.com.au. Adelaide Football Club.
  4. Thring, Harry (13 August 2013). "Young Crow's smooth transition". AFL.com.au. Australian Football League. Retrieved 13 August 2013.
  5. Homfray, Reece (22 June 2015). "Rory Laird re-signs with Adelaide until the end of the 2018 season". The Advertiser.
  6. Gaskin, Lee (26 March 2017). "Five talking points: Adelaide v Greater Western Sydney". AFL.com.au. Australian Football League. Retrieved 1 September 2017.
  7. Gaskin, Lee (9 June 2017). "Match report: Ruthless Crows crush Saints". AFL.com.au. Australian Football League. Retrieved 5 September 2017.
  8. McNicholas, Aiden (8 September 2017). "AFLPA MVP nominees announced". afc.com.au. Adelaide Football Club. Retrieved 11 September 2017.
  9. Fjeldstad, Jesper, "All-Australian defender Rory Laird takes out first Malcolm Blight Medal in a canter.", The Advertiser, August 31, 2018.
  10. Turner, Kieron, "Rory Laird earns All Australian honours", afc.com.au, August 29, 2018.
  11. "AFL Tables – Rory Laird statistics". AFL Tables.
  12. The Blackwood Times, April 2017, p. 1.
  13. Gill, Katrina (10 November 2016). "Recruiting Files: Laird". afc.com.au. Retrieved 31 August 2018.
  14. Porter, Ashley (13 April 2017). "Rory Laird, the rising Adelaide Crow who was nearly an Essendon Bomber". The Age. Retrieved 31 August 2018.
  15. Holderhead, Sheradyn (28 January 2011). "Scotch siblings make a neat double". Adelaide Now. Retrieved 31 August 2018.
  16. Capel, Andrew (19 July 2013). "Laird lets footy to the talking". Herald Sun. Retrieved 31 August 2018.
  17. Walsh, Scott (28 May 2014). "Laird stumped by Crow wobbles". NewsComAu. Retrieved 31 August 2018.
  18. Milbank, Zac (15 December 2011). "Crows rookies enter the big league". The Advertiser.
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