David Sierakowski (born 29 December 1974) 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 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 ...

. He was recruited to the Saints in the

1992 AFL Draft The 1992 AFL draft is the annual draft of talented players by Australian rules football teams that participate in the main competition of that sport, the Australian Football League. It consisted of the main national draft, the pre-season draft an ...

under the

father–son rule The father–son rule is a rule that allows clubs preferential recruiting access to the sons of players who have made a major past contribution to the club in Australian rules football, most notably in the Australian Football League. The rule ...

. He spent the whole of 1993 season in the reserves developing his game and settling into Melbourne life with relatives. He became a solid

key position Key, Keys, The Key or The Keys may refer to: Common uses * Key (cryptography), a piece of information needed to encode or decode a message * Key (instrument), a component of a musical instrument * Key (lock), a device used to operate a lock * ...

player, particularly in defence. During his 1993 debut year with just 3 games, he spent 3 months in Perth under orders of coach Stan Alves to improve his fitness. Sierakowski returned to St Kilda and played most of the 1994 season in major roles down back in the senior side. This season saw David win the club's Best First Year and Most Improved Player Awards. Sierakowski played in St Kilda’s 1996 AFL Ansett Australia Cup winning side. Throughout the year, Sierakowski found himself playing both forward and defensive roles, taking a liking to the wide open spaces of

Waverley Park Waverley Park (also and originally called VFL Park) is an Australian rules football stadium in Mulgrave, Victoria, Australia. The first venue to be designed and built specifically for Australian Rules football, for most of its history, its pu ...

and building a reputation along the way. A major career highlight included playing in the 1997

Grand Final Primarily in Australian sports, a grand final is a game that decides a sports league's premiership (or championship) winning team, i.e. the conclusive game of a finals (or play-off) series. Synonymous with a championship game in North Ameri ...

side. By 1998, he had become a versatile player and was spending more time in ruckman roles. He capped off a stellar year earning State of Origin selection for WA and played against

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

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 ...

. The off-season meant major knee surgery after suffering from recurring

patella The patella (: patellae or patellas), also known as the kneecap, is a flat, rounded triangular bone which articulates with the femur (thigh bone) and covers and protects the anterior articular surface of the knee joint. The patella is found in m ...

tendonitis Tendinopathy is a type of tendon disorder that results in pain, swelling, and impaired function. The pain is typically worse with movement. It most commonly occurs around the shoulder ( rotator cuff tendinitis, biceps tendinitis), elbow ( tenn ...

. Mid-way through 1999 came the first of a series of major knee injuries, when Sierakowski snapped his right patella tendon in a game against

Fremantle Fremantle () () is a port city in Western Australia located at the mouth of the Swan River (Western Australia), Swan River in the metropolitan area of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth. The Western Australi ...

. He was sidelined for nearly 12 months and returned to play 13 games in 2000 under new coach

Tim Watson Timothy Michael Watson (born 13 July 1961) is a former AFL player for Essendon and current broadcaster for more than 30 years, with the Seven Network since 1992 & 1116 SEN radio. After retiring from the game, he also continued working in the ...

and finished 6th in the club's

best and fairest In Australian sport, the best and fairest award recognises the player(s) adjudged to have had the best performance in a game or over a season for a given sporting club or competition. The awards are sometimes dependent on not receiving a suspensi ...

award. The off-season saw the robust utility traded 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 and first competed in 1987 as one of two expansion teams in the Australian Football League (AFL), then known ...

in a trade that enabled

Fraser Gehrig Fraser Gehrig (born 3 March 1976) is a retired Australian rules footballer who played for the St Kilda Football Club and the West Coast Eagles in the Australian Football League (AFL) . Gehrig was a versatile player during his AFL career, begi ...

to return to Melbourne. WCE drafted

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 ...

. Sierakowski, originally from Perth, moved back to his home state in 2001. He made his debut for the club in Round 1 of that year against Geelong at

Kardinia Park Kardinia Park is a major public park located in South Geelong, Victoria, South Geelong, Victoria (Australia), Victoria. A number of public and sporting facilities are located in the park: a major Australian Football League, AFL stadium, a seco ...

but was struck in the back of the head by an errant swinging forearm. Knocked unconscious mid-air from the severity of the blow, and landing awkwardly, he suffered a second knee injury, requiring a reconstruction that forced him out of the game until 2002. He returned but struggled to find form, with a series of hamstring injuries and continuing knee problems. Unable to capture his true form, he retired at the end of 2003. Sierakowski has stayed involved in football at WAFL level as an assistant coach with

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 ...

, initially under

Peter German Peter German (born 2 February 1965) is an Australian rules footballer coach and former player. Since retiring as a player at North Melbourne in the AFL, he has been an assistant coach at Hawthorn, West Coast, Fremantle and the Bulldogs. Ger ...

where the club won 2 Premierships in 3 years. Under

Scott Watters Scott Watters (born 25 January 1969) is a former Australian rules football player and coach. As a player, he was drafted from the South Fremantle Football Club in the West Australian Football League (WAFL) to the West Coast Eagles in the Austra ...

, he had been an important part of the match committee. He now owns and manages Scout Entertainment, which is in liquidation.

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* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sierakowski, David St Kilda Football Club players West Coast Eagles players 1974 births Living people Subiaco Football Club players Australian people of Polish descent Australian rules footballers from Western Australia Western Australian State of Origin players People educated at Aquinas College, Perth