Richard Ambrose (born 10 June 1972) 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 with the

Sydney Swans The Sydney Swans are a professional Australian rules football club based in Sydney, New South Wales. The men's team competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), and the women's team in the AFL Women's (AFLW). The Swans also field a Austral ...

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

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 ...

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) and Subiaco 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). A key position player, Ambrose started his AFL career at

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 ...

after being picked up by the club with the 21st selection of the

1990 AFL draft The 1990 AFL draft was the fifth annual draft of Australian rules footballers to the 14 clubs in the Australian Football League. It consisted of the national draft held at the end of the 1990 season, the pre-season draft held before the 1991 AF ...

. He was however restricted to the reserves and was unable to break into the seniors over two seasons. He was one of three players that Essendon traded to Sydney at the end of 1992 in return for the 20th draft pick, which was used on Scott Cummings. The others were Ed Considine and Michael Werner. Ambrose, who hailed from

Shepparton Shepparton () (Yorta Yorta language, Yortayorta: ''Kanny-goopna'') is a city located on the floodplain of the Goulburn River (Victoria), Goulburn River in northern Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, approximately north-northeast of Mel ...

, finally made his league debut in 1993 when he was part of the Sydney team which took on 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 ...

at the SCG. He played just two more games for the club, a win over

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 ...

and loss 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 ...

, both at home. Leaving Sydney after just one season, Ambrose arrived at SANFL club

in 1994 and played for five seasons. He was a South Australian interstate representative and participated in finals football every season he was at the club, culminating in a grand final loss in 1997 and a member of Port's 1998 premiership team. He moved to Subiaco in 1999 and by playing in the WAFL had distinction of being part of clubs from four different

states State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

during the 1990s. At this stage the league was named the Westar Rules and he was the competition's best player in 2000 when he won the

Sandover Medal The Sandover Medal is an Australian rules football award, given annually since 1921 to the fairest and best player in the West Australian Football League. The award was donated by Alfred Sandover M.B.E., a prominent Perth hardware merchant an ...

as a centre half forward. He polled 34 votes to beat teammate Michael Symons and in doing so became the first ever forward from Subiaco to win the award. Ambrose participated in finals football every season he was at the club, culminating in a grand final loss in 2003 and premiership in 2004. He was a regular Western Australian interstate representative. Ambrose signed with Corowa-Rutherglen in 2005. He played for the

Ovens and 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 ...

club until retiring after the 2008 season, although he made a comeback in 2009 and then again in 2011 with

Benalla Football Club The Benalla Football Netball Club, nicknamed the ''Saints'', is an Australian rules football and netball club based in Benalla, Victoria. Its football and netball teams currently compete in the Goulburn Valley Football League. History ;Benalla ...

. His return to this

Goulburn Valley Football Netball League The Goulburn Valley League (GVL), also known as the Goulburn Valley Football Netball League (GVFNL), is an Australian rules football and netball competition based in the Goulburn Valley region of Victoria. History The league was initially call ...

club capped off a senior football career spanning over twenty years including four different decades. He currently resides in Bryon Bay Australia with his partner Alice and their young daughter Dorothea.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ambrose, Richard 1972 births Australian rules footballers from Victoria (state) Sydney Swans players Port Adelaide Football Club (SANFL) players Port Adelaide Magpies players Port Adelaide Football Club players (all competitions) Subiaco Football Club players Sandover Medal winners Corowa-Rutherglen Football Club players Shepparton Football Club players Living people