Cale Hooker (born 13 October 1988) is a former professional Australian rules footballer, who played for the

Essendon Football Club The Essendon Football Club, nicknamed the Bombers, is a professional Australian rules football club. The club plays in the Australian Football League (AFL), the game's premier competition. The club was formed by the McCracken family in their ...

in the Australian Football League (AFL). Hooker graduated from

Applecross Senior High School Applecross Senior High School is a public co-educational high school, located in Ardross, a southern suburb of Perth, Western Australia. Founded in 1958, Applecross Senior High School has traditionally been one of the leading public high schoo ...

and played for

East Fremantle East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fa ...

in the WAFL. Hooker was drafted by the

with pick 54 in the 2007 national draft and made his debut against the in round 21,

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 ...

. In 2009 and 2010 Hooker established himself as one of the club's key-position defenders. In 2011 Hooker made a good start to the season but tore a hamstring in round 13 and played only one further game for the season. During the trade period after the 2012 season Essendon contemplated trading Hooker to 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 ...

. However, Hooker, who had a year to run on his contract, declined to be traded. In 2014 Hooker was Essendon's most reliable backman, coming second in the

W.S. Crichton Medal The Crichton Medal is the name given to the best and fairest award for the Australian rules football team the Essendon Football Club. The naming of the award is in honour of Wally Crichton, a former administrator for Essendon (who was a committe ...

and winning All-Australian selection for the first time. In 2015 Hooker was elevated to Essendon's Leadership Group. He started the year in defence but was switched to the forward line halfway through the season. He became a useful goal scorer and finished the season with 21 goals. He was awarded the W. S. Crichton Medal as Essendon's best and fairest. Hooker is noted for his marking ability and took in excess of 150 marks in each of 2013, 2014 and 2015. Hooker, along with 33 other Essendon players, was found guilty of using a banned performance-enhancing substance,

thymosin beta-4 Thymosin beta-4 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the ''TMSB4X'' gene. Recommended INN (International Nonproprietary Name) for thymosin beta-4 is 'timbetasin', as published by the World Health Organization (WHO). The protein consists (in ...

, as part of Essendon's sports supplements program during the 2012 season. He and his teammates were initially found not guilty in March 2015 by the AFL Anti-Doping Tribunal, but a guilty verdict was returned in January 2016 after an appeal by the

World Anti-Doping Agency The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA; french: Agence mondiale antidopage, AMA) is a foundation initiated by the International Olympic Committee based in Canada to promote, coordinate, and monitor the fight against drugs in sports. The agency's k ...

. He was suspended for two years which, with backdating, ended in November 2016; as a result, he served approximately fourteen months of his suspension and missed the entire

2016 AFL season The 2016 AFL season was the 120th 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 e ...

. The suspension sparked speculation that Hooker would leave Essendon as a free agent, but he signed a new five-year contract with Essendon in April 2016, rejecting larger offers from several other clubs. On 17 August 2021, Hooker announced that he would retire at the end of this season.

Statistics

: ''Statistics are correct to the end of round 5, 2017.' , - style="background-color: #EAEAEA" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

, , , 26 , , 2 , , 0 , , 0 , , 3 , , 17 , , 20 , , 7 , , 1 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 1.5 , , 8.5 , , 10.0 , , 3.5 , , 0.5 , - ! 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 ...

, , , 26 , , 16 , , 3 , , 3 , , 72 , , 173 , , 245 , , 74 , , 53 , , 0.2 , , 0.2 , , 4.5 , , 10.8 , , 15.3 , , 4.6 , , 3.3 , - style="background-color: #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 ...

, , , 26 , , 18 , , 2 , , 1 , , 81 , , 174 , , 255 , , 71 , , 39 , , 0.1 , , 0.1 , , 4.5 , , 9.7 , , 14.2 , , 3.9 , , 2.2 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" , 2011 , , , 26 , , 13 , , 0 , , 0 , , 99 , , 99 , , 198 , , 66 , , 20 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 7.6 , , 7.6 , , 15.2 , , 5.1 , , 1.5 , - style="background-color: #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 ...

, , , 26 , , 17 , , 0 , , 2 , , 149 , , 125 , , 274 , , 95 , , 28 , , 0.0 , , 0.1 , , 8.8 , , 7.4 , , 16.1 , , 5.6 , , 1.6 , - ! 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 ...

, , , 26 , , 22 , , 2 , , 0 , , 197 , , 198 , , 395 , , 151 , , 44 , , 0.1 , , 0.0 , , 9.0 , , 9.0 , , 18.0 , , 6.9 , , 2.0 , - style="background-color: #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 ...

, , , 26 , , 23 , , 0 , , 0 , , 240 , , 182 , , 422 , , 170 , , 35 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 10.4 , , 7.9 , , 18.4 , , 7.4 , , 1.5 , - ! 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 ...

, , , 26 , , 22 , , 21 , , 21 , , 235 , , 154 , , 389 , , 157 , , 49 , , 0.7 , , 0.9 , , 10.7 , , 7.2 , , 17.8 , , 7.4 , , 2.3 , - style="background-color: #EAEAEA" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" , 2016 , , , 26 , , 0 , , — , , — , , — , , — , , — , , — , , — , , — , , — , , — , , — , , — , , — , , — , - ! 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 ...

, , , 26 , , 20 , , 41 , , 26 , , 155 , , 139 , , 55 , , 25 , , 7 , , 1.8 , , 0.6 , , 7.0 , , 4.0 , , 11.0 , , 5.0 , , 1.4 , - class="sortbottom" ! colspan=3, Career ! 153 ! 69 ! 56 ! 1111 ! 1142 ! 2253 ! 816 ! 276 ! 0.3 ! 0.2 ! 8.1 ! 8.3 ! 16.3 ! 5.9 ! 2.0 Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hooker, Cale Living people 1988 births Essendon Football Club players Bendigo Football Club players All-Australians (AFL) Australian rules footballers from Western Australia People educated at Applecross Senior High School Crichton Medal winners Doping cases in Australian rules football