Anthony Rocca
| Anthony Rocca | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Rocca during a 2006 AFL match
|
|||
| Personal information | |||
| Full name | Anthony Rocca | ||
| Date of birth | 15 August 1977 | ||
| Original team(s) | Reservoir-Lakeside/Northern Knights | ||
| Draft | 2nd overall, 1994 AFL Draft (Sydney) |
||
| Height | 195 cm (6 ft 5 in) | ||
| Weight | 104 kg (229 lb) | ||
| Position(s) | Forward | ||
| Playing career1 | |||
| Years | Club | Games (Goals) | |
| 1995 – 1996 | Sydney | 22 (11) | |
| 1997 – 2009 | Collingwood | 220 (404) | |
| Total | 242 (415) | ||
|
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 2009.
|
|||
| Career highlights | |||
|
|||
| Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com | |||
Anthony Rocca (born 15 August 1977) is a former Australian rules footballer who has played with the Sydney Swans and Collingwood in the Australian Football League. Rocca is currently serving as Collingwood's Defensive Development Coach.
Of Italian descent, Rocca is the younger brother of former Australian rules footballer and NFL punter Saverio Rocca. Known as a family man, Anthony was rated very highly as a youngster and was selected with the second overall pick in the 1994 AFL Draft by the Sydney Swans. A lifelong Collingwood Magpies supporter (hailing from the Reservoir area, an area in the Collingwood supporter base's heartland), Rocca has said in recent interviews that at the time he was at Sydney his heart was not completely in it and he was homesick.
After two seasons at the Swans, Rocca was traded to his preferred home, Collingwood. Rocca was traded for fellow 1994 draftee full forward Ben Wilson, Mark Orchard and Collingwood's first two draft selections. The trade was controversially allowed to be submitted almost three hours after the trading deadline, as Wilson and Orchard were holidaying in Mauritius and were unable to be contacted in time. He made a name for himself as a strong forward, with a booming 70+ metre kick, just like his brother. However, unlike his brother, Anthony was used also in the ruck. His importance to the Magpies forward structure was crucial, and he led the team's goalkicking, albeit with 38 goals in the year his team made a Grand Final in 2002. In 2003, with the Magpies again facing Brisbane in the Grand Final, Rocca was suspended in the Preliminary Final against Port Adelaide, shattering his dream of playing in another Grand Final. Without Rocca, the Magpies forward line structure was completely changed from the one that had been so successful throughout 2003, and by coincidence or not, Collingwood lost the match by a whopping 50 points.
...
Wikipedia