Robert Warnock (born 19 January 1987) 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 oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by k ...
er who played for the
Fremantle Football Club and
Carlton Football Club in the
Australian Football League
The Australian Football League (AFL) is the only fully professional competition of Australian rules football. Through the AFL Commission, the AFL also serves as the sport's governing body and is responsible for controlling the laws of the gam ...
(AFL). Warnock is the brother of AFL footballer
Matthew Warnock
Matthew Warnock (born 3 April 1984) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Gold Coast Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He began his AFL career playing for Melbourne where he wore the No. ...
, who played for and .
A very tall tap ruckman, at a height of 206 cm, Warnock played
TAC Cup
The NAB League Boys (also referred to as simply the NAB League and formerly known as the TAC Cup) is an under-19 Australian rules football representative competition held in Australia. It is based on geographic regions throughout country Vic ...
football for the
Sandringham Dragons
The Sandringham Dragons are an Australian rules football club playing in the NAB League, the top statewide under-18 competition in Victoria, Australia. They are based at the Trevor Barker Oval in Sandringham, Victoria, representing the south ...
. He was recruited to the AFL by Fremantle with the pick #42 in the
2005 AFL Draft
The 2005 AFL draft was the 2005 event of the AFL draft, the annual draft of players by Australian rules football teams that participate in the main competition of that sport, the Australian Football League. The 2005 draft consisted of a pre-sea ...
. Warnock slipped to 42 in the draft due to his very light frame (80 kg). Warnock played the entire 2006 season with his
assigned WAFL club,
West Perth. He made his AFL debut for Fremantle in
round 6, 2007 against the
Brisbane Lions
The Brisbane Lions is a professional Australian rules football in Australia, Australian rules football club based in Brisbane, Queensland, that plays in the Australian Football League (AFL).
The club was formed in late 1996 via a merger of t ...
.
He was awarded the Beacon Award for 'the best new talent' at the 2007
Doig Medal
The Doig Medal is the best and fairest award given out to the player considered best and fairest during a season for the Fremantle Football Club in the AFL.
It was renamed in 2000 after the legendary Fremantle footballing family, the Doigs, who ...
awards night.
Warnock had wrist surgery before the start of the 2008 season which delayed his start to the year. He played only two of the first ten games as Fremantle preferred to select
Daniel Gilmore
Daniel Gilmore (born 2 March 1983) is a former Australian rules footballer for the Fremantle Dockers in the Australian Football League.
After playing nine games in 2004, he had a frustrating 2005, only playing two games and appearing emergen ...
,
Michael Johnson or
Kepler Bradley
Kepler Bradley (born 13 November 1985) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Essendon and Fremantle Football Clubs in the Australian Football League.
Early career
Bradley played junior football with the Kingsley Junio ...
ahead of Warnock as
Aaron Sandilands
Aaron Sandilands (born 6 December 1982) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Fremantle Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). At 211cm/6'11" tall, and with a peak weight of , he is the second ...
' ruck partner. Warnock returned to the team for the second half of the year but a shoulder reconstruction ended his season premature. After constant media speculation that he would return to Melbourne, Warnock confirmed this at the end of the season.
On the final day of the
2008 trade week, Warnock was traded to his preferred new destination, Carlton, on a highly lucrative 4 year contract. The deal saw Warnock and Fremantle's No. 69 draft pick, in exchange for Carlton's No. 24, 56 and 72 draft picks in the
2008 AFL Draft.
Warnock had pre-season ankle surgery in 2009. He was subsequently struck down by stress fractures in his foot during his first pre-season with Carlton, and missed the majority of
2009
File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...
. He eventually played a handful of games with Carlton's , the
Northern Bullants
The Preston Football Club, which trades and plays as the Northern Bullants, is a long-established Australian rules football club based in Preston that plays in the Victorian Football League (VFL). It plays its home games at the Preston City O ...
, late in the season, but did not make his debut for the Blues. Warnock had post-season ankle and shoulder surgery which delayed his start to the 2010 pre-season.
Warnock made his senior debut for the club in
round 1, 2010 against
Richmond
Richmond most often refers to:
* Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States
* Richmond, London, a part of London
* Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England
* Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada
* Richmond, California, a ...
. He played twelve matches for Carlton in 2010, and assumed the No. 1 ruck position on a permanent basis in 2011, playing twenty games.
[AFL Tables]
2011 Stats - Player Lists - Carlton
Retrieved 19 Sep 2011. He had both shoulders reconstructed at the end of 2011, which delayed his start to the 2012 season. He had his 2012 season cut short due to a shoulder reconstruction and ankle surgery, but he signed a new lucrative 3-year contract in the same season.
Warnock played 12 games in 2013 due to a knee injury sustained mid year. He returned at the end of the year and again had an excellent finals series. He played the first 16 games of the 2014 season, and he only played 2 games in 2015 due to another shoulder reconstruction.
Warnock was delisted in October 2015.
He retired from football at the end of 2015 due to medical advice.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Warnock, Robert
1987 births
Living people
Australian rules footballers from Victoria (state)
Fremantle Football Club players
Carlton Football Club players
West Perth Football Club players
Sandringham Dragons players
People educated at Brighton Grammar School
Preston Football Club (VFA) players