Samuel Butler (born 14 January 1986) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the

West Coast Eagles The West Coast Eagles are a professional Australian rules football club based in Perth, Western Australia. The club was founded in 1986 as one of two expansion teams in the Australian Football League (AFL), then known as the Victorian Footbal ...

in the Australian Football League (AFL). A talented underage soccer player from

Gawler, South Australia Gawler is the oldest country town on the Australian mainland in the state of South Australia. It was named after the second Governor (British Vice-Regal representative) of the colony of South Australia, George Gawler. It is about north of th ...

, who only took up football as a teenager, he was drafted by West Coast with the 20th pick at the 2003 National Draft, having played in a

SANFL The South Australian National Football League, or SANFL ( or ''S-A-N-F-L''), is an Australian rules football league based in the Australian state of South Australia. It is also the state's governing body for the sport. Originally formed as th ...

reserves premiership for Central District the year he was drafted. Butler

debut Debut or début (the first public appearance of a person or thing) may refer to: * Debut (society), the formal introduction of young upper-class women to society * Debut novel, an author's first published novel Film and television * ''The De ...

ed for West Coast during the 2004 season, and was nominated for the

AFL Rising Star The AFL Rising Star is an Australian rules football award presented annually to the player adjudged the best young player in the Australian Football League (AFL) for the year. It was first presented in the 1993 season, and was won by Nathan ...

award. A mid-sized defender and occasional midfielder, he played in West Coast's 2006 premiership team, but missed the entire next season due to injury. Butler has struggled with injury throughout his career, only playing his 100th game during the 2013 season, ten seasons after his debut.

Career

From

Gawler Gawler is the oldest country town on the Australian mainland in the state of South Australia. It was named after the second Governor (British Vice-Regal representative) of the colony of South Australia, George Gawler. It is about north of ...

in country

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

, Butler only took up football when he was a teenager, having previously played under-16 soccer for his state.Peter Argent (6 June 2013)
"The Butler Did It – Bulldogs Export makes 100"
– Central District Football Club. Retrieved 10 August 2014. He played junior football for the

South Gawler Football Club The South Gawler Football Club is a country Australian rules football club, founded by James Fitzgerald in the Gawler South area of the town of Gawler, South Australia, in 1889. The Lions, who wear royal blue and white stripes, currently compet ...

(subsequently becoming the first South Gawler player in the AFL), and then for underage

Central District Football Club Central District Football Club is an Australian rules football club which plays in the South Australian National Football League. Based at Elizabeth in the City of Playford about 25 km to the north of Adelaide, South Australia the club' ...

teams. A member of the AIS/AFL Academy, Butler played for

at the

AFL Under 18 Championships The AFL Under-19 Championships (for sponsorship reasons, the NAB AFL Under-19 Championships) is an annual Australian national underage representative championship in Australian rules football tournament. It is seen as one of the main pathways ...

in both 2002 and 2003, and also won a reserves

premiership with Central District in the latter season. He went on to be drafted by West Coast with the 20th pick in the 2003 National Draft. Butler made his debut for the West Coast Eagles in Round 10, 2004 against

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, a ...

, gathering 14 disposals, 5 marks and 1 goal in a 37-point win to the Eagles. He went on to play 12 games that season, including a losing elimination final against Sydney. In 2005, he played 14 games for the club including the losing grand final against Sydney. 2006 was a much more successful seasons for Sam. He played his first game of the season in round 13 against the Western Bulldogs, picking up 22 disposals and 6 marks. He notched up a further 13 games (14 games in total for the season) and having a superb 2006 final series, in particular his performances against the Western Bulldogs in the semi-final (30 disposal, 3 marks, 6 tackles), Adelaide in the preliminary final (22 disposals, 6 marks, 1 goal), as well as being part of the 2006 premiership winning team over Sydney. In 2007, he struggled with a persistent groin injury (osteitis pubis) and was restricted in the games he played, not playing any AFL games and only playing a handful of WAFL and WAFL reserve games for Perth. He has had a slow start to season 2008, having a modified pre-season training program due to his nagging groin injuries and played 5 games for his WAFL side Perth, playing 2 reserves games and 3 senior games. He was given a week off before making his return to the Eagles senior side against Sydney in Round 11. Playing against in round 20 of the 2014 season, Butler recorded 32 disposals and took 14 marks, both career highs.Sam Butler
– AFL Tables. Retrieved 10 August 2014. 2015 was a successful year for Butler, he played a personal record of 17 games and was one of the best players for the Eagles in the 2015 Finals series. He was also in the top 5 best Eagles players in the 2015 AFL Grand final with 25 disposals. He was contracted with the Eagles till the end of 2016.

Statistics

:
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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;", , 26 , , 12 , , 1 , , 2 , , 87 , , 77 , , 164 , , 33 , , 16 , , 0.1 , , 0.2 , , 7.3 , , 6.4 , , 13.7 , , 2.8 , , 1.3 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris (dwarf planet), Er ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 26 , , 14 , , 3 , , 2 , , 103 , , 62 , , 165 , , 51 , , 18 , , 0.2 , , 0.1 , , 7.4 , , 4.4 , , 11.8 , , 3.6 , , 1.3 , - style="background:#eaeaea;" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" , 2006 , style="text-align:center;", , 26 , , 14 , , 6 , , 5 , , 156 , , 123 , , 279 , , 58 , , 59 , , 0.4 , , 0.4 , , 11.1 , , 8.8 , , 19.9 , , 4.1 , , 4.2 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 26 , , 0 , , — , , — , , — , , — , , — , , — , , — , , — , , — , , — , , — , , — , , — , , — , - style="background:#eaeaea;" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 26 , , 5 , , 0 , , 3 , , 49 , , 30 , , 79 , , 21 , , 11 , , 0.0 , , 0.6 , , 9.8 , , 6.0 , , 15.8 , , 4.2 , , 2.2 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 26 , , 16 , , 1 , , 1 , , 132 , , 124 , , 256 , , 60 , , 38 , , 0.1 , , 0.1 , , 8.3 , , 7.8 , , 16.0 , , 3.8 , , 2.4 , - style="background:#eaeaea;" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 26 , , 5 , , 0 , , 0 , , 45 , , 47 , , 92 , , 26 , , 17 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 9.0 , , 9.4 , , 18.4 , , 5.2 , , 3.4 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" , 2011 , style="text-align:center;", , 26 , , 13 , , 0 , , 0 , , 160 , , 68 , , 228 , , 80 , , 51 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 12.3 , , 5.2 , , 17.5 , , 6.2 , , 3.9 , - style="background:#eaeaea;" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 26 , , 14 , , 1 , , 3 , , 177 , , 68 , , 245 , , 74 , , 33 , , 0.1 , , 0.2 , , 12.6 , , 4.9 , , 17.5 , , 5.3 , , 2.4 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 26 , , 15 , , 1 , , 2 , , 167 , , 101 , , 268 , , 78 , , 58 , , 0.1 , , 0.1 , , 11.1 , , 6.7 , , 17.9 , , 5.2 , , 3.9 , - style="background:#eaeaea;" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 26 , , 12 , , 1 , , 1 , , 108 , , 84 , , 192 , , 47 , , 34 , , 0.1 , , 0.1 , , 9.0 , , 7.0 , , 16.0 , , 3.9 , , 2.8 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the April ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 26 , , 17 , , 2 , , 3 , , 181 , , 123 , , 304 , , 96 , , 32 , , 0.1 , , 0.2 , , 10.6 , , 7.2 , , 17.9 , , 5.6 , , 1.9 , - style="background:#eaeaea;" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" , 2016 , style="text-align:center;", , 26 , , 20 , , 0 , , 0 , , 162 , , 136 , , 298 , , 86 , , 54 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 8.1 , , 6.8 , , 14.9 , , 4.3 , , 2.7 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 26 , , 9 , , 0 , , 0 , , 76 , , 55 , , 131 , , 36 , , 12 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 8.4 , , 6.1 , , 14.6 , , 4.0 , , 1.3 , - class="sortbottom" ! colspan=3, Career ! 166 ! 16 ! 22 ! 1603 ! 1098 ! 2701 ! 746 ! 433 ! 0.1 ! 0.1 ! 9.7 ! 6.6 ! 16.3 ! 4.5 ! 2.6

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Butler, Sam 1986 births Living people Australian rules footballers from South Australia West Coast Eagles players West Coast Eagles Premiership players Central District Football Club players Perth Football Club players People from Gawler, South Australia One-time VFL/AFL Premiership players

Career

Statistics

See also

References

External links