Craig Bolton (born 31 May 1980) is a former

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an Australian rules football playing field, oval field, often a modified ...

er who played for the

Brisbane Lions The Brisbane Lions are a professional Australian rules football in Australia, Australian rules football club based in Brisbane, Queensland, that compete in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's elite competition. Brisbane are the ...

and the

Sydney Swans The Sydney Swans are a professional Australian rules football club based in Sydney, New South Wales. The men's team competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), and the women's team in the AFL Women's (AFLW). The Swans also field a Austral ...

in the

Australian Football League The Australian Football League (AFL) is the pre-eminent professional sports, professional competition of Australian rules football. It was originally named the Victorian Football League (VFL) and was founded in 1896 as a breakaway competition ...

(AFL). He often plays at full back or on the half back flank. He is unrelated to former Swans teammate

Jude Bolton Jude Bolton (born 15 March 1980) is a former professional Australian rules football player who played for the Sydney Swans in the Australian Football League (AFL) between 1999 and 2013. Early life Growing up, he supported the St Kilda Footbal ...

Playing career

Having played for the

Eastlake Football Club The Eastlake Demons (formerly known as the Canberra Demons) is a semi-professional Australian rules football club based in the inner-south of Canberra, in the Australian Capital Territory. The senior team competed in the North East Australian Foo ...

Canberra Canberra ( ; ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the Federation of Australia, federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's list of cities in Australia, largest in ...

, and the

NSW New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a state on the east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria to the south, and South Australia to the west. Its coast borders the Coral and Tasman Seas to the east. T ...

/ ACT Under 18s team, Bolton was picked by Brisbane in the 3rd round of the 1998 AFL Draft. He was on the Lions' list from 1999 until 2002, making his debut against Carlton in Round 1 of the 2000 season. Being unable to gain a regular place in the very strong Brisbane team of the time forced Bolton to depart the club at the end of the 2002 season, managing only 29 games since his debut. Bolton was selected by Sydney in the 2003 pre-season draft and was immediately given a starting role in the team. Quickly cementing his place in the side's backline, Bolton missed only one game in his first seven years with the Swans. His first three years with Sydney mirrored his time at Brisbane, with the Swans' making the preliminary finals in 2003, semi-finals in 2004 and the grand final in 2005. As opposed to his emergency listing for the 2001 and 2002 Grand Finals for the Lions, Bolton was now a regular member of the team for Sydney, and as such played a part in the Grand Final victory over West Coast, earning his first premiership medal, as well as finishing third in the club's Best and Fairest Award. Gradually establishing himself as one of the

AFL AFL may refer to: Education * Angel Foundation for Learning, a Canadian Roman Catholic charity * Ankara Science High School, a high school in Ankara, Turkey, natively referred to as ''Ankara Fen Liesi'' * Assessment for learning Military * ...

's standout defenders, Bolton was awarded a place in the 2006 All-Australian team on the half-back flank position, and again in the

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

team at his preferred position of centre-half back. He also finished third in the Swans' 2007 Best and Fairest Award. At the beginning of the 2008 season, Bolton was named Swans' co-captain, alongside

Brett Kirk Brett Kirk (born 25 October 1976) is a former Australian rules football player and captain of the Sydney Swans and was the AFL's International Ambassador. Kirk is currently serving as an assistant coach with the Sydney Swans. Kirk played 241 g ...

and

Leo Barry Leo Barry (born 19 May 1977) is a retired Australian rules footballer in the Australian Football League (AFL) with the Sydney Swans. Originally from Deniliquin, New South Wales, Barry attended Saint Ignatius' College, Riverview, before being d ...

. Later that year Bolton represented the Dream Team Australian rules football team in the Hall of Fame exhibition match at the MCG. The latter half of his season in 2008 was somewhat restricted by a groin injury. After the Swans exited the finals, he travelled to Germany with teammate

Adam Goodes Adam Roy Goodes (born 8 January 1980) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Sydney Swans in the Australian Football League (AFL). Goodes holds an elite place in VFL/AFL history as a dual Brownlow Medallist, d ...

for surgery. In 2010, Bolton sustained a bad Achilles tendon injury against West Coast at the SCG in Round 5, ruling him out for the year. On 24 March 2011, Bolton announced his immediate retirement after an ankle injury which would rule him out of the upcoming

2011 AFL season The 2011 AFL season was the 115th season of the Australian Football League (AFL), the highest level senior Australian rules football competition in Australia, which was known as the Victorian Football League until 1989. The season featured sev ...

Media career

Following his playing career, Bolton commenced a media career as an Australian Rules Football commentator on

ABC Local Radio ABC Local Radio is a network of publicly owned radio stations in Australia, operated by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. ABC Local Radio stations broadcast across the continent using terrestrial transmitters and satellites. Its programm ...

and also a guest commentator of the sport on the

Seven Network Seven Network (stylised 7Network, and commonly known as Channel Seven or simply Seven) is an Australian commercial free-to-air Television broadcasting in Australia, television network. It is owned by Seven West Media, Seven West Media Limited, ...

Career achievements

* International Rules Australian representative 2004 * Premiership player 2005 * 3rd best and fairest 2005, 2007 * 2006 All Australian * 2008 – 2010 Co-Captain * 2009 All Australian

Statistics

:Craig Bolton's player profile at AFL Tables
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2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 26 , , 15 , , 7 , , 4 , , 120 , , 41 , , 161 , , 54 , , 6 , , 0.5 , , 0.3 , , 8.0 , , 2.7 , , 10.7 , , 3.6 , , 0.4 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 26 , , 8 , , 3 , , 2 , , 48 , , 33 , , 81 , , 23 , , 8 , , 0.4 , , 0.3 , , 6.0 , , 4.1 , , 10.1 , , 2.9 , , 1.0 , - style="background:#eaeaea;" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 26 , , 6 , , 0 , , 1 , , 24 , , 17 , , 41 , , 9 , , 7 , , 0.0 , , 0.2 , , 4.0 , , 2.8 , , 6.8 , , 1.5 , , 1.2 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 6 , , 24 , , 0 , , 0 , , 177 , , 108 , , 285 , , 93 , , 35 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 7.4 , , 4.5 , , 11.9 , , 3.9 , , 1.5 , - style="background:#eaeaea;" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 6 , , 24 , , 6 , , 0 , , 164 , , 106 , , 270 , , 81 , , 57 , , 0.3 , , 0.0 , , 6.8 , , 4.4 , , 11.3 , , 3.4 , , 2.4 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 6 , , 26 , , 1 , , 3 , , 211 , , 137 , , 348 , , 112 , , 62 , , 0.0 , , 0.1 , , 8.1 , , 5.3 , , 13.4 , , 4.3 , , 2.4 , - style="background:#eaeaea;" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 6 , , 24 , , 3 , , 4 , , 245 , , 104 , , 349 , , 144 , , 59 , , 0.1 , , 0.2 , , 10.2 , , 4.3 , , 14.5 , , 6.0 , , 2.5 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 6 , , 23 , , 3 , , 2 , , 244 , , 110 , , 354 , , 138 , , 40 , , 0.1 , , 0.1 , , 10.6 , , 4.8 , , 15.4 , , 6.0 , , 1.7 , - style="background:#eaeaea;" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 6 , , 24 , , 2 , , 1 , , 249 , , 153 , , 402 , , 148 , , 45 , , 0.1 , , 0.0 , , 10.4 , , 6.4 , , 16.8 , , 6.2 , , 1.9 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

, style="text-align:center;", , 6 , , 20 , , 0 , , 0 , , 188 , , 140 , , 328 , , 101 , , 31 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 9.4 , , 7.0 , , 16.4 , , 5.1 , , 1.6 , - style="background:#eaeaea;" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 6 , , 5 , , 0 , , 0 , , 26 , , 33 , , 59 , , 11 , , 9 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 5.2 , , 6.6 , , 11.8 , , 2.2 , , 1.8 , - class="sortbottom" ! colspan=3, Career ! 199 ! 25 ! 17 ! 1696 ! 982 ! 2678 ! 914 ! 359 ! 0.1 ! 0.1 ! 8.5 ! 4.9 ! 13.5 ! 4.6 ! 1.8

References

External links

Sydney Swans site player profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bolton, Craig 1980 births Living people Brisbane Lions players Sydney Swans players Sydney Swans premiership players All-Australians (AFL) Australian rules footballers from the Australian Capital Territory NSW/ACT Rams players Eastlake Football Club players Australia international rules football team players VFL/AFL premiership players Australian rules football commentators