Che Cockatoo-Collins (born 5 March 1975) 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 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). Cockatoo-Collins was born in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

, Queensland, before moving to

Cairns, Queensland Cairns (; ) is a city in the Cairns Region, Queensland, Australia, on the tropical north east coast of Far North Queensland. In the , Cairns had a population of 153,181 people. The city was founded in 1876 and named after Sir William Welling ...

, where he began playing junior football with the Cairns City Cobras Australian Football Club. Cockatoo-Collins moved to

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

with his family whilst still at school and signed up with the

Port Adelaide Magpies Port Adelaide Football Club is a professional Australian rules football club based in Alberton, South Australia, Alberton, South Australia. The club's senior men's team plays in the Australian Football League (AFL), where it is nicknamed the ...

in the

South Australian National Football League 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 sports governing body, governing body for the sport. ...

(SANFL) where he became noticed for his skills and pace. Cockatoo-Collins played 25 SANFL games before being drafted by

Essendon Essendon may refer to: Australia *Essendon, Victoria **Essendon railway station **Essendon Airport *Essendon Football Club, in the Australian Football League *Electoral district of Essendon *Electoral district of Essendon and Flemington United Kin ...

Essendon career

Debuting with AFL club

1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...

as a 19-year-old, Cockatoo-Collins slowly started to improve his game. He played 16 games in 1994, averaging 16 disposals per game and kicking 24 goals. He did well in the next season, but the 1996 season was to be his break-through year. He played all 24 games that his club played apart from one, kicking 37 goals and picking up 15 disposals a game. His form then dropped off in the next two seasons, eventually being traded to

Port Adelaide Port Adelaide is a port-side region of Adelaide, approximately northwest of the Adelaide city centre, Adelaide CBD. It is also the namesake of the City of Port Adelaide Enfield council, a suburb, a federal and state electoral division and is t ...

at the end of the 1998 season.

Port Adelaide career

Cockatoo-Collins proved in his first season at the club (

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 ...

) that he was a useful pickup. He played 12 games, kicking 23 goals. The next season, however, was to be a disappointing one for him, only playing two games because of persistent injury troubles. In

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 ...

, he played 22 out of 24 games, kicking 41 goals and averaging 15 disposals in his best season yet. In the next two seasons, he was to kick 40 goals in total, but he was only able to play 16 games in what was to be his last season. At the end of the 2003 season, he was delisted.

Retirement

Cockatoo-Collins kept on playing for the

, becoming a solid contributor to the team. He announced his retirement from the SANFL in February 2006. Cockatoo-Collins then played for United in the

Adelaide Plains Football League The Adelaide Plains Football League (APFL) is an Australian rules football competition based in the Adelaide Plains region immediately north of Adelaide, South Australia. It is an affiliated member of the South Australian National Football Leag ...

in 2007 and 2008, missing the 2007 grand final. Cockatoo-Collins had a small role in the 2005 Australian movie '' Look Both Ways'', starring

William McInnes Darryl William McInnes (born 10 September 1963) is an Australian film and television actor and writer. He is best known for his roles as Senior Constable Nick Schultz in ''Blue Heelers'', as Max Connors in '' SeaChange'', and more recently as ...

and

Justine Clarke Justine Clarke is an Australian actress, singer, author and television host. Clarke has been acting since the age of seven and has appeared in some of Australia's best-known TV shows. She is best-known for her portrayal as Roo Stewart on the ...

. He is the man who walks into the editors office at the start and is told to go away. He is seen photocopying in a later scene as well.

Personal life

Cockatoo-Collins's younger twin brothers

David David (; , "beloved one") was a king of ancient Israel and Judah and the third king of the United Monarchy, according to the Hebrew Bible and Old Testament. The Tel Dan stele, an Aramaic-inscribed stone erected by a king of Aram-Dam ...

and

Donald Donald is a Scottish masculine given name. It is derived from the Gaelic name ''Dòmhnall''.. This comes from the Proto-Celtic *''Dumno-ualos'' ("world-ruler" or "world-wielder"). The final -''d'' in ''Donald'' is partly derived from a misinter ...

also played for Port Adelaide Football Club and in the AFL for

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

. The "Cockatoo" part of his surname derives from his maternal great-great-grandfather in Cape York being known as "Old Man Cockatoo". His nephew

Nakia Cockatoo Nakia Cockatoo ( ; born 23 October 1996) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Brisbane Lions and Geelong in the Australian Football League (AFL). Early life Cockatoo was born in the Northern Territory into a ...

is a professional footballer with 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 ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cockatoo-Collins, Che Essendon Football Club players Port Adelaide Magpies players Port Adelaide Football Club players Port Adelaide Football Club players (all competitions) Indigenous Australian players of Australian rules football Port Adelaide Football Club (SANFL) players 1975 births Living people Allies State of Origin players Australian rules footballers from Cairns