Saverio Giovanni Rocca (born 20 November 1973) is an Australian former professional sportsman. He played

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 ...

for Collingwood and the

Kangaroos Kangaroos are marsupials from the family Macropodidae (macropods, meaning "large foot"). In common use, the term is used to describe the largest species from this family, the red kangaroo, as well as the antilopine kangaroo, eastern grey ...

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), and then switched to playing

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

as a punter for the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The team plays its ...

and

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). Rocca was born in

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 ...

. From 1992 to 2006, he played 257 AFL games as a full forward or

centre half-forward In Australian rules football, the centre half-forward is a position on the half-forward line of a football field. The directly opposing player is a centre half-back. Royce Hart of the Richmond Football Club and Wayne Carey of the North Melbou ...

, kicking 748 goals. He ranks fourteenth on the all-time goalscoring list. Rocca was his team's leading goalkicker on ten occasions (seven for Collingwood and three for the Kangaroos), and in 1995 won the

Copeland Trophy The E.W. Copeland Trophy is an Australian rules football award given by the Collingwood Football Club to the player adjudged best and fairest for Collingwood during the year. The Copeland Shield, as it was formerly known, was donated by Ern Cop ...

as Collingwood'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 ...

player. Only two players ( Matthew Richardson and Kevin Bartlett) have scored more goals in their career without winning a

Coleman Medal The Coleman Medal is an Australian rules football award given annually to the Australian Football League (AFL) player who kicks the most Laws of Australian rules football#Scoring, goals in the Australian Football League#Premiership season, home- ...

(i.e., scoring the most goals in a particular season). Known for his ability to kick long distances, Rocca retired from Australian football at the age of 32 to pursue a career in the NFL. When he signed with the Philadelphia Eagles in 2007, he became the oldest rookie in the history of the NFL (breaking the record set by another Australian, Ben Graham). After four seasons with the Eagles, Rocca joined the Washington Redskins in 2011, where he played three seasons through 2014. He then returned to Australia after the end of his NFL career, and worked as a kicking and ruck coach for the

Carlton Football Club The Carlton Football Club, nicknamed the Blues, is a professional Australian rules football club based at Princes Park (stadium), Princes Park in Carlton North, Victoria, Carlton North, an inner suburb of Melbourne in Victoria, Australia. The c ...

from 2015 to 2020.

Early life

Rocca was born in Melbourne to Italian parents. At age 12, Rocca recorded the longest kick by anyone of his age at the Reservoir football oval. He began his sporting life in

athletics Athletics may refer to: Sports * Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking ** Track and field, a sub-category of the above sport * Athletics (physical culture), competitio ...

, coached by George Bertolacci, and was a junior champion in

shot put The shot put is a track-and-field event involving "putting" (throwing) a heavy spherical Ball (sports), ball—the ''shot''—as far as possible. For men, the sport has been a part of the Olympic Games, modern Olympics since their 1896 Summer Olym ...

and also the discus. Rocca decided to focus on Australian rules and after several seasons playing for Reservoir-Lakeside Football Club in the

Diamond Valley Football League The Northern Football Netball League (NFNL), formerly known as the Diamond Valley Football League (DVFL) and later the Northern Football League (NFL), is an Australian rules football and netball competition based in the Diamond Creek, Victori ...

, his goalkicking talent became obvious. His brother is

Anthony Rocca Anthony Rocca (born 15 August 1977) is a former Australian rules footballer who has played with the Sydney Swans and Collingwood in the Australian Football League. Rocca is currently serving as North Melbourne's development coach. Early l ...

, who also played professional football. For a brief time in their careers, they both played for , combining at centre half and full-forward. Every summer in

Preston, Victoria Preston is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, north-east of Melbourne's Melbourne central business district, central business district, located within the City of Darebin Local government areas of Victoria, local ...

from ages 3 to 15, Sav and his brothers would make the city-famous 'Big Sav' with their father. This was a 10 kg roll of salami that was cured every year and had been passed down as a tradition since the 1600s.

AFL career

Collingwood

Rocca joined Collingwood in 1991, the last year that allowed zoned players to avoid the draft process. He was a strong full-forward with a huge kick, showing true signs as a key player to the Magpies in his debut season of 1992. In 1993, he quickly got the attention from the crowds, kicking 73 goals including two hauls of ten goals in a matter of three weeks. In 1994, he kicked 49 goals. A huge kick, he could kick the ball dead straight over 60 metres. In 1995, he had his best season, almost getting 100 goals, falling short with 93 in 21 games. He played what he later considered the best game of his career in the inaugural Anzac Day match between Collingwood and , kicking nine goals; he was later retrospectively awarded an Anzac Medal for his best on ground performance, the match ended in a draw. He won the Collingwood

award that year. He continued to show he was a strong full-forward and always at the top in what seemed a disappointing side when it came to the ladder, he kicked bags of 66, 76 and 68 in the next three seasons. He placed second for the

for 1997 behind Tony Modra. His form however slipped, kicking only 60 goals in the next two seasons. Despite winning his 7th consecutive leading goalkicker award in 1999 with only 33 goals, he was delisted after more than 150 games and over 500 goals for the club.

Kangaroos

After being delisted by Collingwood, Rocca was drafted to the

North Melbourne Football Club The North Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed the Kangaroos or colloquially the Roos, is a professional Australian rules football club. The men's team competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), and the women's team in the AFL Women's (AF ...

(known at the time as simply the Kangaroos) with the 30th selection in the

2000 AFL draft The 2000 AFL draft was the annual draft of talented Australian rules football players by teams that participate in the Australian Football League. It consisted of a pre-season draft, a national draft, a trade period and a rookie elevation. In ...

. He kicked 98 goals in his first two seasons, enough to be the Roos' leading goalkicker in each year. His form once again slipped over the years but he was still a key member when needed, kicking his 700th goal in 2005 and playing his 250th game in early 2006. During the 2006 season, Rocca was dropped to the

Victorian Football League The Victorian Football League (VFL) is an Australian rules football competition in Australia operated by the Australian Football League (AFL) as a second-tier, regional, semi-professional competition. It includes teams from clubs based in east ...

, playing games with North Ballarat, the Kangaroos'

reserve team In sports, a reserve team is a team composed of players who are under contract to a club but who do not regularly play in matches for the club's primary team. Reserve teams usually include players who are part of the larger first-team squad but ...

affiliate Affiliation or affiliate may refer to: * Affiliate (commerce), a legal form of entity relationship used in Business Law * Affiliation (family law), a legal form of family relationship * Affiliate marketing * Affiliate network or affiliation platfo ...

. At 32 and under contract until the end of the season, Rocca seemed close to retirement from the AFL. In preparation for a continued professional sporting career, he began training as an American football punter, appearing in a video shot at

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 ...

showing his significant kicking range to talent scouts. Rocca remained at the Kangaroos to reach the 100-game milestone so that 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 ...

applies for his sons. Rocca played his farewell game in the Round 22 match against his old club ; he kicked three goals. Wasting no time, he left for the United States on a trial as a gridiron punter with the

the following week.

Statistics

, - style="background-color: #EAEAEA" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

1992 1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General. * January 6 ** The Republ ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 36 , , 10 , , 29 , , 20 , , 62 , , 6 , , 68 , , 43 , , 9 , , 2.90 , , 2.00 , , 6.20 , , 0.60 , , 6.80 , , 4.30 , , 0.90 , - style="background-color: #EAEAEA" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

1993 The United Nations General Assembly, General Assembly of the United Nations designated 1993 as: * International Year for the World's Indigenous People The year 1993 in the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands had only 364 days, since its ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 36 , , 20 , , 73 , , 35 , , 147 , , 42 , , 189 , , 105 , , 18 , , 3.65 , , 1.75 , , 7.35 , , 2.10 , , 9.45 , , 5.25 , , 0.90 , - style="background-color: #EAEAEA" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

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 ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 36 , , 20 , , 49 , , 33 , , 124 , , 48 , , 172 , , 87 , , 19 , , 2.45 , , 1.65 , , 6.20 , , 2.40 , , 8.60 , , 4.35 , , 0.95 , - style="background-color: #EAEAEA" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

1995 1995 was designated as: * United Nations Year for Tolerance * World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 36 , , 21 , , 93 , , 37 , , 173 , , 32 , , 205 , , 127 , , 16 , , 4.43 , , 1.76 , , 8.24 , , 1.52 , , 9.76 , , 6.05 , , 0.76 , - style="background-color: #EAEAEA" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 36 , , 18 , , 66 , , 43 , , 142 , , 22 , , 164 , , 97 , , 13 , , 3.67 , , 2.39 , , 7.89 , , 1.22 , , 9.11 , , 5.39 , , 0.72 , - style="background-color: #EAEAEA" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 36 , , 21 , , 76 , , 40 , , 162 , , 38 , , 200 , , 106 , , 13 , , 3.62 , , 1.90 , , 7.71 , , 1.81 , , 9.52 , , 5.05 , , 0.62 , - style="background-color: #EAEAEA" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 36 , , 22 , , 68 , , 42 , , 211 , , 68 , , 279 , , 135 , , 20 , , 3.09 , , 1.91 , , 9.59 , , 3.09 , , 12.68 , , 6.14 , , 0.91 , - style="background-color: #EAEAEA" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

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 ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 36 , , 12 , , 33 , , 19 , , 94 , , 20 , , 114 , , 75 , , 7 , , 2.75 , , 1.58 , , 7.83 , , 1.67 , , 9.50 , , 6.25 , , 0.58 , - style="background-color: #EAEAEA" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 36 , , 12 , , 27 , , 16 , , 69 , , 25 , , 94 , , 44 , , 12 , , 2.25 , , 1.33 , , 5.75 , , 2.08 , , 7.83 , , 3.67 , , 1.00 , - style="background-color: #EAEAEA" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

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 ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 26 , , 21 , , 48 , , 26 , , 172 , , 65 , , 237 , , 119 , , 27 , , 2.29 , , 1.24 , , 8.19 , , 3.10 , , 11.29 , , 5.67 , , 1.29 , - style="background-color: #EAEAEA" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

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 ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 26 , , 21 , , 50 , , 31 , , 145 , , 56 , , 201 , , 103 , , 25 , , 2.38 , , 1.48 , , 6.90 , , 2.67 , , 9.57 , , 4.90 , , 1.19 , - style="background-color: #EAEAEA" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

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;", , 26 , , 15 , , 24 , , 11 , , 78 , , 16 , , 94 , , 53 , , 13 , , 1.60 , , 0.73 , , 5.20 , , 1.07 , , 6.27 , , 3.53 , , 0.87 , - style="background-color: #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;", , 26 , , 15 , , 49 , , 18 , , 105 , , 16 , , 121 , , 75 , , 17 , , 3.27 , , 1.20 , , 7.00 , , 1.07 , , 8.07 , , 5.00 , , 1.13 , - style="background-color: #EAEAEA" ! 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;", , 26 , , 20 , , 43 , , 28 , , 120 , , 26 , , 146 , , 95 , , 5 , , 2.15 , , 1.40 , , 6.00 , , 1.30 , , 7.30 , , 4.75 , , 0.25 , - style="background-color: #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;", , 26 , , 9 , , 20 , , 12 , , 67 , , 9 , , 76 , , 54 , , 5 , , 2.22 , , 1.33 , , 7.44 , , 1.00 , , 8.44 , , 6.00 , , 0.56 , - , - style="background-color: #EAEAEA" , - class="sortbottom" ! colspan=3, Career ! 257 ! 748 ! 411 ! 1871 ! 489 ! 2360 ! 1318 ! 219 ! 2.91 ! 1.60 ! 7.28 ! 1.90 ! 9.18 ! 5.13 ! 0.85

NFL career

Philadelphia Eagles

2007

Rocca had tried out for the

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East div ...

in 2006 but was not invited to training camp. The

, looking to provide some competition for Dirk Johnson, signed Rocca for the 2007 training camp. In the Eagles preseason, Rocca had several punts of over 50 yards and another that went over 65 yards. On the 65-yard punt,

Antwan Barnes Antwan Edward Barnes (born October 19, 1984) is an American former professional football linebacker. He was selected by the Baltimore Ravens in the fourth round of the 2007 NFL draft. He played college football at Florida International. Barnes ...

of the

Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its home g ...

levelled Rocca, knocking off his helmet. While officials did not penalise Barnes during the game, the league fined him US$12,500 for the hit. Rocca was favoured over Johnson by

placekicker In gridiron football, the placekicker (PK), or simply kicker (K), is the player responsible for attempts at scoring Field goal (football), field goals and extra points. In most cases, the placekicker also serves as the team's kickoff specialist ...

David Akers David Roy Akers (; born December 9, 1974) is an American former professional football player who was a kicker in the National Football League (NFL) for 16 seasons, primarily with the Philadelphia Eagles. He began his career in 1998 with the Wa ...

as his holder for place kicks. He was not perfect, however, mishandling a snap on one attempt and failing to handle a poor snap on a second attempt in a game against the

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team p ...

. On the final day of cuts, Rocca learned that he had won the job when Johnson was released. Rocca had 73 punts for 3,066 net yards for a 42.00 average during his first NFL season in 2007. Rocca, at 33 years of age, was the oldest rookie in NFL history, a title which previously belonged to another Australian-born punter, Ben Graham who, at the time, played for the Jets at age 31.

2008 season

Rocca was named the NFL Special Teams Player of the Month for September 2008, leading the league with a 44.1-yard net punting average and having seven punts downed inside the 20-yard-line. Overall, in the 2008 season, he appeared in all 16 regular season games and had 77 punts for 3,334 net yards for a 43.30 average.

2009 season

In the 2009 season, Rocca appeared in all 16 games and recorded 76 punts for 3,222 net yards for a 42.39 average.

2010 season

On 22 April 2010, Rocca signed his one-year restricted free agent tender with the Eagles. Overall, Rocca appeared in all 16 regular season games and recorded 73 punts for 3,195 net yards for a 43.77 average.

Washington Redskins

2011 season

Rocca was signed by the

on 29 July 2011. He was considered one of the Redskins' best

free agency 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 ...

signings for the 2011 season due to the massive improvement he was from the several punters the team had in the 2010 season, which included Sam Paulescu, Josh Bidwell and Hunter Smith. In Week 2 against the

Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The ...

, with ten seconds left in the game, Rocca made an impressive tackle on

Patrick Peterson Patrick De'mon Peterson Jr. ( Johnson; born July 11, 1990) is an American former professional football cornerback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for thirteen seasons. He played college football for the LSU Tigers, where he wo ...

, who attempted to make a punt return. Overall, Rocca appeared in all 16 regular season games and recorded 66 punts for 2,842 net yards for a 43.06 average.

2012 season

On 29 October 2012, it was reported that Rocca had been playing with a torn meniscus in his kicking leg for the last two games and the Redskins planned to keep using him despite the injury. Overall, he appeared in all 16 regular season games and recorded 68 punts for 2,984 net yards for a 43.88 average.

2013 season

Rocca agreed to re-sign with the Redskins on a two-year contract on the first day of free agency for the 2013 season. The new deal was finalised on 18 March 2013. He appeared in all 16 regular season games and recorded 84 punts for 3,526 net yards for a 41.98 average. Rocca was released after the season on 4 March 2014.

Return to AFL

In April 2015, it was reported that Rocca was recruited to work part-time at the

as a forwards mentor for players such as Levi Casboult. It was announced in December 2016 that Rocca would join Carlton as their kicking coach for the

2017 AFL season The 2017 AFL season was the 121st season of the Australian Football League (AFL), the highest level senior men's Australian rules football competition in Australia, which was known as the Victorian Football League until 1989. The season feature ...

. Carlton's head of football Andrew McKay said that they were pleased to have Rocca on board as he "not only has a wealth of knowledge in kicking techniques, but is also able to pass that knowledge onto players in a really effective way". Rocca departed Carlton in March 2020 as AFL clubs shed their staffing due to the emerging

COVID-19 pandemic in Australia The COVID-19 pandemic in Australia was a part of the COVID-19 pandemic, worldwide pandemic of the coronavirus disease 2019 () caused by SARS-CoV-2, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first confirmed case in Aust ...

References

External links

*
Sav Rocca and the Western Crusaders
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rocca, Sav 1973 births Living people North Melbourne Football Club players Collingwood Football Club players North Ballarat Football Club players Reservoir Lakeside Football Club players Copeland Trophy winners Australian people of Italian descent Sportspeople of Italian descent Australian expatriate sportspeople in the United States People from Reservoir, Victoria American football punters Australian players of American football Philadelphia Eagles players Footballers who switched code Washington Redskins players Australian rules footballers from Melbourne Australian rules footballers that played in the NFL