Daniel Cross (born 30 March 1983) is a former professional

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 and

Melbourne Football Club The Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed the Demons or colloquially the Dees, is a professional Australian rules football club based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's premier comp ...

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). A

Charles Sutton Medal The Charles Sutton Medal is an Australian rules football award presented annually to the player adjudged best and fairest for the Western Bulldogs throughout the Victorian Football League/Australian Football League season. The medal is named a ...

list with the

Western Bulldogs The Western Bulldogs are a professional Australian rules football club based in the Melbourne suburb of Footscray. The club competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's premier competition. Originally named the Footscray F ...

, he finished his 249-game career with 210 games at the Western Bulldogs and 39 with Melbourne. He has served as the development and rehabilitation coach of the Melbourne Football Club since October 2015.

Early life and junior football

Cross was raised in

Albury, New South Wales Albury (; ) is a major regional city that is located in the Murray River, Murray region of New South Wales, Australia. It is part of the twin city of Albury–Wodonga, Albury-Wodonga and is located on the Hume Highway and the northern side of ...

.Daniel Cross reflects on his football career at Western Bulldogs, Melbourne and Albury
by Steve Tervet 9 June 2023 He began playing at age 14 for St Patrick's Junior Football Club in Albury in the Under 16s. He played football at Albury High School and at age 16 he played in the thirds at the

Albury Football Club The Albury Football Club, nicknamed the ''Tigers'', is an Australian rules football and netball club based in Albury, a major regional city in New South Wales. Albury football and netball squads compete in the Ovens & Murray Football League. C ...

before playing at St Patrick's. Seeking an AFL career he played with the

Murray Bushrangers The Murray Bushrangers is an Australian rules football team playing in Victorian statewide under-18s competition, presently known as the Talent League, since 1993 based in Wangaratta. The team trains on Norm Minns Oval, Wangaratta. The Under 1 ...

Under 18 team which led to AFL clubs taking an interest.

AFL career

Early career (2002–2004)

Cross was recruited by the

with the 56th overall selection in the 2000 national draft. He made his AFL debut in a 19-point victory against in round 10, 2002. Despite the Bulldogs winning the match, he managed only two disposals. He played a further three games for 2002. He played his first match for 2003 in round 4 against , but struggled to make a big impact. He was dropped after round 6 to the VFL to play with Weribee. After impressive performances with Werribee, Cross was recalled to the Bulldogs side. His return to the Bulldogs side was good enough for him to keep his place in the side the following week, but after a disappointing performance against Richmond in round 17, he was again dropped. He was promoted to the AFL side in round 22, and managed 18 disposals, in what was an otherwise disappointing game for the Bulldogs due to losing by 84 points to the . He made the decision to stay with the Western Bulldogs for the 2004 season, despite only managing to play a total of ten games in his first three seasons. After playing just two games in the first ten weeks of the 2004 season, Cross was able to play the remaining twelve matches of the season and was named the round 19 nominee for the Rising Star after recording 28 disposals against at the

Docklands Stadium Docklands Stadium, known by naming rights sponsorship as Marvel Stadium, is a multi-purpose sports and entertainment stadium in the suburb of Docklands, Victoria, Docklands in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Construction started in October 199 ...

Key midfielder at Western Bulldogs (2005–2010)

The Western Bulldogs made an impressive start to the 2005 campaign under new coach

Rodney Eade Rodney Eade (born 4 April 1958) is a former Australian rules footballer and coach in the Australian Football League. He is a former coach of the Sydney Swans, the Western Bulldogs and the Gold Coast Football Club. He has, to date, coached 377 ...

. The Bulldogs opened the season with a 32-point victory over , and he was vital in the win, collecting 24 possessions. He received his first ever Brownlow vote for his round 7 performance against Brisbane, where he recorded 29 possessions in the 23-point win. He finished the season with 563 disposals, and finished with the most handballs in the league with 384. Cross reached his 50-game milestone in round 4 2006, against where he collected 20 disposals in a 1-point victory over the Cats. He played his first finals match against Collingwood in the elimination final where he registered 32 disposals in a 41-point victory, however the Bulldogs lost the next week to . His season comprised many high-disposal matches and he finished the season third overall for disposals and second overall for handballs in the league. He suffered a serious injury against in round 11 2007 and missed the following six games. In his return match against , he collected 30 disposals. 2008 saw Cross play a more integral role in the midfield, with

Scott West Scott West (born 14 November 1974) is a former Australian rules footballer who represented the in the Australian Football League (AFL). Having won a club-record seven Charlie Sutton Medals, West is recognised as one of the Bulldogs' greatest-e ...

suffering a long term injury. He played his 100th AFL game in round 15 against Melbourne, where he registered 25 disposals in a 31-point victory. He was one of the three Bulldogs players nominated for the 2008

MVP MVP most commonly refers to: * Most valuable player, an award, typically for the best performing player in a sport or competition * Minimum viable product, a concept for feature estimating used in business and engineering MVP may also refer to: ...

award, eventually won by Gary Ablett. The Bulldogs made it to the preliminary final, in what was the best on-field season for the team to that point in Cross' career, they lost the preliminary final to eventual runners up, Geelong, by 29 points. His season was rewarded with the

as the club best-and-fairest, finishing 24 points ahead of

Brownlow Medal The Charles Brownlow Trophy, better known as the Brownlow Medal (and informally as Charlie), is awarded to the best and fairest player in the Australian Football League (AFL) during the home-and-away season, as determined by votes cast by the f ...

list,

Adam Cooney Adam Cooney (born 30 September 1985) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Western Bulldogs and Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He won the Brownlow Medal in 2008, with 24 votes b ...

. He also received the inaugural Scott West award for the most courageous player and the Bruce Wilkinson award for the best player as voted by the trainers. In October 2008, he married long-time girlfriend Samantha Mallia. Cross played every match of the 2009 season, where he accumulated a total of 581 disposals. The Western Bulldogs again made the preliminary final, but lost the match to by 7 points. He underwent a double ankle reconstruction in the off-season of 2009, but managed to return during the 2010 NAB Cup, where the Bulldogs were the eventual winners. He played every match of the season which saw the Bulldogs reach a third consecutive preliminary final, but ultimately lost to St Kilda by 24-points. He was the runner up in the best-and-fairest, finishing nine votes behind

Ryan Griffen Ryan Leigh Griffen (born 27 July 1986) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Western Bulldogs and the Greater Western Sydney Giants in the Australian Football League (AFL). Griffen was born in Goolwa, a South Australian ...

. He also played in the 2010

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 Ireland.

Final years at Western Bulldogs (2011–2013)

He continued his consistent performances in 2011 where he averaged over 24 possessions per game for the seventh season in a row. He received the Scott West award and was ranked first at the club for tackles (125, averaging 5.7), handballs (323, averaging 14.7) and marks (125, averaging 5.7). He was nominated for the most courageous player at the

AFL Players Association awards The AFL Players Association (AFLPA) awards are a group of awards given annually, mainly to players in the Australian Football League and AFL Women's, voted for by all AFL and AFL Women's players. Main awards The AFLPA nominates the following as ...

, which was eventually won by captain, Jonathan Brown. During 2012, he shifted between the midfield and defence. He won the Scott West award for the second consecutive year. Cross played the first eight games of 2013 before being dropped from the senior side, where he played for the Bulldogs aligned side, Williamstown, before earning a recall in round 19 against . In the week leading to the final round clash with Melbourne, it was announced the Bulldogs would not renew Cross' contract, ending his 11-year playing career with the club, in addition, it was the first time in a decade he did not finish inside the top-10 for the best-and-fairest.

Move to Melbourne (2014–2015)

In November 2013, Cross signed with as a delisted

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

on a one-year contract. Brought into the club due to his 'reputation for elite preparation and leadership to help out the younger players', he was named in the leadership group alongside

Lynden Dunn Lynden Dunn (born 14 May 1987) is a retired professional Australian rules footballer who played in the Australian Football League (AFL) for Melbourne Football Club, Melbourne from 2005 to 2016 and for Collingwood Football Club, Collingwood from ...

and Chris Dawes in April 2014, replacing the injured

Jack Trengove Jack Trengove (born 2 September 1991) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Melbourne Football Club and the Port Adelaide Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). A midfielder, tall and weighin ...

and retired Mitch Clark. He played the first thirteen matches of 2014 before succumbing to a broken leg during the round 14 match against , he played the remainder of the match, but was forced to miss the next five matches through injury. He was offered a contract extension for 2015 in July due to his leadership experience. He returned to the side in round 20 against and played the remaining four matches for the season. He won the

Dick Taylor Richard Clifford Taylor (born 28 January 1943) is an English musician, best known as the guitarist and founder of the Pretty Things. Taylor was also a founding member of the Rolling Stones, playing guitar and bass guitar, but left the band to ...

trophy for finishing fifth in the best-and-fairest behind Nathan Jones,

Dom Tyson Dom Tyson (born 8 June 1993) is a former professional Australian rules footballer playing in the Australian Football League (AFL). A midfielder, tall and weighing , Tyson is capable of contributing as both an inside and outside midfielder. He ...

Bernie Vince Bernard Vince (born 2 October 1985) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Adelaide and Melbourne Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He has since become involved in the football media, working for Triple ...

and

, he was also rewarded with the James McDonald award for best team man. Cross was maintained in the leadership group for 2015 and played every match for the season, mainly across half-back. He recorded an equal career-high 39 disposals against in round 22, however, three days later, it was announced Melbourne would not offer Cross a contract extension and he subsequently announced his retirement effective after the round 23 match against . He was awarded the Ron Barassi Jnr leadership award for 2015 alongside

. In October, he accepted an off-field role to stay at Melbourne as development and rehabilitation coach from 2016 onward. He also acts as the team's runner on game day since 2016.

Albury FC (2016 - 2021)

Cross returned to play with his original club,

Albury Albury (; ) is a major regional city that is located in the Murray River, Murray region of New South Wales, Australia. It is part of the twin city of Albury–Wodonga, Albury-Wodonga and is located on the Hume Highway and the northern side of ...

in the

Ovens & Murray Football League The Ovens and Murray Football Netball League (OMFNL or O&MFNL) is an Australian rules football and netball competition containing ten clubs based in north-eastern Victoria, Australia, Victoria, the southern Riverina region of New South Wales ...

in 2016 in a part time roles as a player, when time permitted him with his work commitments at Melbourne FC. He represented the O&MFL in 2016 against the

Hampden Football League The Hampden Football Netball League is an Australian rules football and netball league based in South-Western Victoria, with clubs located in towns along or near the Princes Highway from Camperdown to Portland. The league is a major country ...

and won the best on ground award - the Norm Minns Medal. He then followed this up with a 2016 O&MFL premiership, plus the best on ground award in the grand final - the Did Simpson Medal. Cross then played in Albury's losing 2017 grand final, then played in another O&MFL premiership in 2018.

Victoria Harbour incident

On 4 October 2007, Cross and teammate Tom Williams leaped into the water of

Victoria Harbour Victoria Harbour is a natural landform harbor, harbour in Hong Kong separating Hong Kong Island in the south from the Kowloon Peninsula to the north. It acts as both a major trading hub and tourist attraction of Hong Kong in general. Lying in ...

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

to rescue a schoolgirl attempting to commit suicide. Despite the girl not wanting to be saved, they hauled her to safety after hearing bystanders screaming for help. When they emerged from the harbour they both had minor bruises and cuts. Both were reported to be in good spirits after the incident. Following the incident, Cross and Williams were awarded certificates of commendation by Hong Kong's director of marine.

Statistics

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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 ...

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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;", , 38 , , 6 , , 0 , , 1 , , 19 , , 36 , , 55 , , 19 , , 9 , , 0.0 , , 0.2 , , 3.2 , , 6.0 , , 9.2 , , 3.2 , , 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;", , 38 , , 14 , , 1 , , 0 , , 55 , , 131 , , 186 , , 43 , , 39 , , 0.1 , , 0.0 , , 3.9 , , 9.4 , , 13.3 , , 3.1 , , 2.8 , - ! 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;", , 4 , , 22 , , 2 , , 5 , , 179 , , 384 , , 563 , , 127 , , 94 , , 0.1 , , 0.2 , , 8.1 , , 17.5 , , 25.6 , , 5.8 , , 4.3 , - 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;", , 4 , , 24 , , 9 , , 6 , , 262 , , 363 , , 625 , , 146 , , 108 , , 0.4 , , 0.3 , , 10.9 , , 15.1 , , 26.0 , , 6.1 , , 4.5 , - ! 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;", , 4 , , 15 , , 1 , , 2 , , 126 , , 241 , , 367 , , 89 , , 59 , , 0.1 , , 0.1 , , 8.4 , , 16.1 , , 24.5 , , 5.9 , , 3.9 , - 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;", , 4 , , 25 , , 5 , , 2 , , 241 , , 422 , , 663 , , 138 , , 117 , , 0.2 , , 0.1 , , 9.6 , , 16.9 , , 26.5 , , 5.5 , , 4.7 , - ! 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;", , 4 , , 23 , , 5 , , 2 , , 162 , , 419 , , 581 , , 128 , , 100 , , 0.2 , , 0.1 , , 7.0 , , 18.2 , , 25.3 , , 5.6 , , 4.3 , - 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;", , 4 , , 25 , , 2 , , 4 , , 238 , , 423 , , 661 , , 139 , , 136 , , 0.1 , , 0.2 , , 9.5 , , 16.9 , , 26.4 , , 5.6 , , 5.4 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 4 , , 22 , , 1 , , 2 , , 207 , , 323 , , 530 , , 125 , , 125 , , 0.0 , , 0.1 , , 9.4 , , 14.7 , , 24.1 , , 5.7 , , 5.7 , - style="background:#eaeaea;" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 4 , , 17 , , 2 , , 1 , , 163 , , 242 , , 405 , , 88 , , 69 , , 0.1 , , 0.1 , , 9.6 , , 14.2 , , 23.8 , , 5.2 , , 4.1 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 4 , , 13 , , 4 , , 2 , , 117 , , 177 , , 294 , , 71 , , 57 , , 0.3 , , 0.2 , , 9.0 , , 13.6 , , 22.6 , , 5.5 , , 4.4 , - style="background:#eaeaea;" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 18 , , 17 , , 1 , , 3 , , 123 , , 244 , , 367 , , 71 , , 90 , , 0.1 , , 0.2 , , 7.2 , , 14.4 , , 21.6 , , 4.2 , , 5.3 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 18 , , 22 , , 0 , , 1 , , 216 , , 275 , , 491 , , 116 , , 76 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 9.8 , , 12.5 , , 22.3 , , 5.3 , , 3.5 , - class="sortbottom" ! colspan=3, Career ! 249 ! 34 ! 31 ! 2113 ! 3687 ! 5800 ! 1304 ! 1082 ! 0.1 ! 0.1 ! 8.5 ! 14.8 ! 23.3 ! 5.2 ! 4.4

References

External links

* *
Daniel Cross' profile
from DemonWiki {{DEFAULTSORT:Cross, Daniel Australian rules footballers from New South Wales Western Bulldogs players Melbourne Football Club players Murray Bushrangers players Williamstown Football Club players Albury Football Club players Charles Sutton Medal winners 1983 births Living people Australia international rules football team players 21st-century Australian sportsmen