Chad Fletcher (born 30 August 1979) 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

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 and first competed in 1987 as one of two expansion teams in the Australian Football League (AFL), then known ...

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 also played for the

Subiaco Football Club The Subiaco Football Club, nicknamed the Lions and known before 1973 as the ''Maroons'', is an Australian rules football club in the West Australian Football League (WAFL) and WAFL Women's (WAFLW). It was founded in 1896, and admitted to the WAF ...

and the

Claremont Football Club The Claremont Football Club, nicknamed Tigers, is an Australian rules football club based in Claremont, Western Australia, that currently plays in the West Australian Football League (WAFL) and WAFL Women's (WAFLW). Its official colours are na ...

in the

West Australian Football League The West Australian Football League (WAFL "waffle" or "W-A-F-L") is an Australian rules football league based in Perth, Western Australia. The league currently consists of ten teams, which play each other in a 20-round season usually lasting f ...

(WAFL). From

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

, Western Australia, Fletcher was recruited by West Coast in the 1998 Rookie Draft, and made his debut for the club in 1999. Having represented

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

in the 2003

International Rules Series The International Rules Series is a senior men's international rules football competition between the Australia international rules football team (selected by the Australian Football League) and the Ireland international rules football team ...

against

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

, he was subsequently named in the

All-Australian team The All-Australian team is an all-star team of Australian rules football in Australia, Australian rules footballers, selected by a panel at the end of each season. It represents a complete team, including an interchange bench, of the best-perfo ...

in 2004. Fletcher played in West Coast's 2006 premiership victory over , and retired at the end of the 2009 season after a total of 179 games for the club.

Football career

Early career

Fletcher began his professional football career in the

with Subiaco, and was elevated from the West Coast

rookie list The rookie list is a means for Australian Football League (AFL) clubs to maintain additional players outside the 38-man primary or senior list. Category B rookie-listed players are not eligible to play in AFL home-and-away or finals matches unle ...

in 1998. He made his AFL debut in 1999, but did not make his mark on the league until 2002.

Career rise

Fletcher was 4th in the West Coast Best & Fairest voting in 2002 before he improved to 3rd in 2003 and 2nd in 2004. In 2003, Fletcher was selected to play for

in the

International Rules International rules football (; also known as international rules in Australia and compromise rules or Aussie rules in Ireland) is a team sport consisting of a hybrid of football codes, which was developed to facilitate international represe ...

series against

, and in 2004 he was named to the interchange bench of his first

. Fletcher was one of the most prolific ball winners in the AFL, and played in the West Coast midfield with

Daniel Kerr Daniel Alan Kerr (born 16 May 1983) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the West Coast Eagles in the Australian Football League (AFL). He played 220 games for the club between 2001 and 2013, as a hard-running inside midfield ...

. Chad Fletcher was sometimes forgotten in West Coast's incredible midfield but did show he was very skillful. Fletcher is also remembered for running into a fence while practicing a training drill blindfolded in 2005, an initiative by coach

John Worsfold John Richard Worsfold (born 25 September 1968) is a former Australian rules football coach and player. He had a long association with the West Coast Eagles as player (1987–1998) and coach (2002–2013), captaining the club to premierships in ...

. He was not injured.

2006 season

Fletcher was also known as a "prolific" ball winner who could accumulate many possessions in a game. However 2006 saw him considered one of the least accurate kicks in the league, costing the Eagles many turnovers. He was ranked 1st in clangers per game at West Coast in 2006.

Retirement from AFL

Fletcher was told that he was not needed in 2010 and beyond, playing his last AFL game in round 22, 2009 against

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

.Horn, Johnathon. (24 August 2010
"Fletcher nabbed in drugs bust"
. Sportal. Retrieved 24 August 2010. Fletcher spent the 2010 season playing for the Balmain Dockers in the Sydney Football League, but retired after the Dockers did not make finals.

Personal life

During West Coast's 2006 end of year holiday in

Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

, Fletcher had overdosed on drugs and had a brush with death after reportedly choking on his own vomit. Fletcher was rushed to hospital and had to be revived after he stopped breathing. His case was so serious he spent four days in a hospital and flew straight back to

after checking out. In August 2010, Fletcher was arrested and later pleaded guilty to possession of cocaine, outside the Kings Cross nightclub Hugo's. Fletcher escaped conviction and was placed on a nine-month good behaviour bond. In 2014, Fletcher lost his license and was fined $1600 for drink-driving. He was recorded as having a .08 blood alcohol level at the time.

Statistics

:Chad Fletcher's player profile at AFL Tables
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1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 41 , , 1 , , 0 , , 0 , , 1 , , 1 , , 2 , , 1 , , 0 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 1.0 , , 1.0 , , 2.0 , , 1.0 , , 0.0 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

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;", , 41 , , 17 , , 11 , , 6 , , 181 , , 90 , , 271 , , 48 , , 23 , , 0.6 , , 0.4 , , 10.6 , , 5.3 , , 15.9 , , 2.8 , , 1.4 , - style="background:#eaeaea;" ! 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;", , 7 , , 20 , , 8 , , 7 , , 253 , , 126 , , 379 , , 81 , , 45 , , 0.4 , , 0.4 , , 12.7 , , 6.3 , , 19.0 , , 4.1 , , 2.3 , - ! 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;", , 7 , , 18 , , 10 , , 4 , , 212 , , 125 , , 337 , , 72 , , 49 , , 0.6 , , 0.2 , , 11.8 , , 6.9 , , 18.7 , , 4.0 , , 2.7 , - style="background:#eaeaea;" ! 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;", , 7 , , 20 , , 10 , , 9 , , 290 , , 163 , , 453 , , 71 , , 61 , , 0.5 , , 0.5 , , 14.5 , , 8.2 , , 22.7 , , 3.6 , , 3.1 , - ! 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;", , 7 , , 22 , , 7 , , 13 , , 277 , , 281 , , 558 , , 98 , , 70 , , 0.3 , , 0.6 , , 12.6 , , 12.8 , , 25.4 , , 4.5 , , 3.2 , - style="background:#eaeaea;" ! 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;", , 7 , , 25 , , 17 , , 13 , , 355 , , 234 , , 589 , , 133 , , 46 , , 0.7 , , 0.5 , , 14.2 , , 9.4 , , 23.6 , , 5.3 , , 1.8 , - ! 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;", , 7 , , 24 , , 5 , , 12 , , 308 , , 235 , , 543 , , 116 , , 59 , , 0.2 , , 0.5 , , 12.8 , , 9.8 , , 22.6 , , 4.8 , , 2.5 , - style="background:#eaeaea;" ! 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;", , 7 , , 10 , , 3 , , 1 , , 129 , , 106 , , 235 , , 52 , , 33 , , 0.3 , , 0.1 , , 12.9 , , 10.6 , , 23.5 , , 5.2 , , 3.3 , - ! 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;", , 7 , , 17 , , 3 , , 1 , , 176 , , 213 , , 389 , , 77 , , 39 , , 0.2 , , 0.1 , , 10.4 , , 12.5 , , 22.9 , , 4.5 , , 2.3 , - style="background:#eaeaea;" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

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 ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 7 , , 5 , , 0 , , 2 , , 56 , , 60 , , 116 , , 30 , , 7 , , 0.0 , , 0.4 , , 11.2 , , 12.0 , , 23.2 , , 6.0 , , 1.4 , - class="sortbottom" ! colspan=3, Career ! 179 ! 74 ! 68 ! 2238 ! 1634 ! 3872 ! 779 ! 432 ! 0.4 ! 0.4 ! 12.5 ! 9.1 ! 21.6 ! 4.4 ! 2.4

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Fletcher, Chad 1979 births All-Australians (AFL) Claremont Football Club players Living people Australian rules footballers from Perth, Western Australia Subiaco Football Club players West Coast Eagles players West Coast Eagles premiership players Balmain Australian Football Club players VFL/AFL premiership players