Wayne Carey
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| Wayne Carey | ||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Wayne Carey | |||||||
| Date of Birth | May 27, 1971 | |||||||
| Place of Birth | Wagga Wagga, New South Wales | |||||||
| Recruited from | North Adelaide | |||||||
| Height/Weight | 192cm / 97kg | |||||||
| Position | Centre Half Forward | |||||||
| Playing Career1 | ||||||||
| Years | Club | Games (Goals) | ||||||
| 1989 - 2002 2003 - 2004 |
North Melbourne Adelaide |
244 (671) 28 (67) |
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| ¹ Club statistics to end of 2004 season | ||||||||
² Representative statistics to end of {{{repstatsend}}}
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Wayne Carey (born May 27, 1971) is a former Australian rules football player. His nicknames include "The King", or "Duck", due to his walking style, caused by one leg being longer than the other. Carey played for North Adelaide in the SANFL, before joining North Melbourne in 1989. He also played with the Adelaide Crows. A dual Premiership Captain at North Melbourne, four time club best and fairest and seven time All Australian, Carey is generally considered to be one of greatest players to ever play Australian Football and in 2001 he was named as Centre half forward and captain of North Melbourne's Team of the Century. In 2008 Wayne Carey was named as Australian Football's greatest ever player as part of Mike Sheahan's top 50 players of all time, in the book 'The Australian Game of Football', released by the AFL to celebrate 150 years of Australian Football.
Off the field, Carey has been involved in several highly-publicised scandals, both as a player and since retiring.
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[edit] Early years
Carey grew up in Wagga Wagga, a city in southern New South Wales regarded as the frontier dividing "Aussie rules" territory with that of rugby league.[1]
[edit] The North Melbourne Kangaroos
In 1988, North Melbourne club CEO Greg Miller met with the Sydney's football department to discuss the transfer to North Melbourne Football Club of John Longmire, already an established key position player. Once discussions had concluded, Miller enquired about Carey. He made an offer of $10,000 as transfer fee, to which the Swans agreed[citation needed].
[edit] Pre Captaincy (1989 – 1992)
After playing just four games for a mediocre return in his debut year, Carey burst onto the scene in 1990 as a goal kicking Centre Half Forward and perfect support to champion Full Forward and fellow New South Welshman, John Longmire (who was that year’s Coleman Medallist as the league’s leading goal kicker). Carey immediately drew the attention of the football world and built a reputation early in his career as an aggressive, big marking and long kicking key position player. That year, Carey would represent New South Wales in State of Origin football and finish the 1990 season as runner up in North Melbourne’s best and fairest, behind Longmire. In round 13, a then 18 year old Carey took 8 marks, had 22 disposals and kicked 7 goals, 3 behinds in a big win over Sydney. It was the first of many times Carey would dominate up forward for North. In 21 games that year Carey averaged 5 marks, 14 disposals and 1.8 goals.
1991 started very promisingly for Carey and after 8 games he was averaging 7 marks, 16 disposals and 2.4 goals. Injury, however, forced him to sit out 8 games in the middle of the season and he struggled to regain form when he returned for the last 5 rounds.
After a solid and consistent opening to the 1992, season, it was in the latter half of that year that Carey first showed signs that he was destined for greatness. It began with a best on ground performance for South Australia in their State of Origin win over Victoria followed by a string of outstanding performances to close the season out. By season’s end Carey was dominating Centre Half Forward like no one else in the league. He finished the season with a dominant 7 goal performance against Fitzroy, averaged 10 marks, 20 disposals and 3.3 goals during the last 8 games of the year and 7 marks, 18 disposals and 2.2 goals per game for the season. He claimed his first club best and fairest and was named club captain by new coach Denis Pagan ahead of the 1993 season.
[edit] Captaincy (1993 – 2001)
As captain, Carey led North Melbourne to the finals for eight consecutive years from 1993 to 2000. This streak included seven straight preliminary finals, three Grand Finals and two Premierships (1996 and 1999).
During this eight year period, Carey played 170 games, averaged 8 marks and 19 disposals per game and kicked 524 goals at 3.1 per game. He won three further club best and fairests, was a five time club leading goal kicker, All Australian Centre Half Forward seven times, including four times as captain and once as vice-captain (In 1993 Carey was the youngest All Australian Captain ever at 22), and was named MVP by the Players Association twice, in 1995 and 1998.
Carey was criticised widely for both his on and off field behaviour. On the field he was reported three times and suspended twice in 1994 for a total of five weeks, and off the field a charge of sexual assault in 1996 put a damper on his otherwise stellar form. Bookies had Carey as pre-count favourite for the Brownlow Medal on four separate occasions (1993, 1995, 1996 and 1998), but many believe his on field arrogance and backchat to umpires were the primary reason he never claimed the game’s highest individual honor.
In 1993, at age 21, Carey was the second youngest club captain in VFL/AFL history, and the added responsibility appeared to lift Carey. That year saw Carey elevate himself to perhaps the best Centre Half Forward the game has ever seen, and he remained amongst the games best for the rest of the decade. At the end of the 1993 Home and Away season, Carey became the first, and so far only, player in AFL/VFL history to average more that 20 disposals and three goals per game over an entire season. He played 18 games and had 369 disposals at 20.5 per game and kicked 64 goals at 3.6. Including North Melbourne's Elimination Final Against the West Coast Eagles, which he spent the majority of on the interchange bench due to injury, Carey played 19 games and averaged 8 marks, 20 disposals and 3.4 goals per game in 1993.
The following year Carey appeared to have improved again. After six rounds of the 1994 season, Carey was averaging 12 marks, 21 disposals and 4.8 goals per games. This included a 17 mark, 26 disposal, 7 goal performance against Hawthorn in round 3, 13 marks, 21 disposals and 6 goals against Footscray in round 4 and a 15 mark, 21 disposal, 5 goal demolition of arch rival, All Australian and Hall of Fame Centre half back Glen Jakovich and the West Coast Eagles in round 6. Carey's mid season suspensions subdued him somewhat, before he turned it on again to dominate in the finals with 10 marks, 32 disposals and 4 goals in the Qualifying Final against Hawthorn and a scintillating 14 mark, 24 disposal and 6 goal performance in the Preliminary Final against Geelong, a game North lost by a goal, kicked after the final siren by Gary Ablett. Carey's finals performances were made more impressive by the fact that he played both with a torn calf muscle. For the season he averaged 9 marks, 19 disposals and 3.3 goals per game.
During the first two years of Carey's captaincy at North Melbourne the Kangaroos registered an impressive 25 wins from the 35 home and away games in which Carey played. In contrast, they lost all but one of the seven games in which he was absent during the same period. Such was the influence that Carey had on games in which he played, and so much did the Kangaroos struggle in his absence that, in mid 1994, the phenomenon was given a name - 'No Carey, no North'.
Carey's reputation as the games number one player continued to grow in 1995 and 1996. He became known as a master of the pack mark and the long goal. Few players in the game have ever kicked as many goals from beyond the 50 meter arc as Carey in the 1990s. He led the league in marks and contested marks both seasons and kicked a career high 82 goals in 1996, including 11 against Melbourne in Round 17 - a game in which he also tallied 15 marks, 31 disposals and 3 tackles. In round seven of 1995, he registered a career high 33 disposals against Fitzroy. North went on to win the 1996 premiership, with Carey again a stand out in the Grand Final against Sydney
In 1995, Carey averaged 7 marks, 18 disposals and 2.6 goals per game. In 1996, he averaged 8 marks, 19 disposals and 3.3 goals.
In round one of 1997 Carey dislocated his right shoulder for the second time in his career and missed much of the season. Upon his return, after a few games at Centre Half Back and some concern as to whether he would regain top form, he soon assumed his customary Centre Half Forward position and re-established himself as the games pre-eminent player in the Qualifying Final against Geelong. In a low scoring game, played in very wet conditions, Carey was dominant with 10 marks, 23 disposals an 7 goals straight, out of a team total of 11 goals. The headline in the newspaper the next day read 'The King is not Dead'.
In 1998, Carey returned to his best form and led North Melbourne on a club record 11 game winning streak, during which Carey registered 20 or more disposals and 5 or more goals six times, including two bags of 8 goals, and averaged 8 marks, 21 disposals and 4.3 goals per game. The winning streak ended on Grand Final day with a loss to Adelaide. For the season, Carey averaged 8 marks, 20 disposals and 3.2 goals per game. He again led the league in marks and contested marks and was runner up in the league goal kicking race behind Tony Lockett, with 80 goals.
Carey missed five games early in 1999 through injury, and spent much of the year in the forward line closer to goals. He averaged a career high 3.8 goals per game for the season, to go with 7 marks and 18 disposals, in another premiership year for the Kangaroos. In round 8, Carey's first game back from injury, he kicked 7 goals against Hawthorn. He then kicked 9 goals against Geelong in Round 16 (after kicking 8 in the first half), and followed it up the next week with a 10 goal, 12 mark and 24 disposal performance in a losing side against Essendon.
By season 2000, Carey had firmly established himself in the minds of most as the greatest player of the modern era and greatest Centre Half Forward ever to play the game. Stints at Centre Half Back and in the midfield that year saw Carey notch consecutive 30-plus possession games and add yet another dimension to his game. In an incredible run of form over 10 games between rounds 4 and 14, Carey averaged more than 19 kicks, 10 marks, 23 disposals and 3.3 goals per game. Towards the end of 2000 Carey began to suffer heavily from the debilitating groin condition Osteitis Pubis and his form subsequently slumped. For the season averaged 8 marks, 18 disposals and 3.0 goals.
Going into 2001 Carey struggled to maintain consistent form as he battled various injuries. Hey was not able to string more than 5 games together at any point during the season and in round 21, after playing 14 games that year, he played what would end up being his last game for the North Melbourne Football Club.
[edit] Extramarital affair and leaving North Melbourne
In March 2002 Carey had an extramarital affair with then-best-friend North Melbourne stalwart and Vice Captain Anthony Stevens's wife, Kelli. Carey and Stevens were attending a party at team mate Glenn Archer's house. Carey is quoted as saying Kelli followed him into the toilets, in front of a large crowd including her husband Stevens.[2] An argument ensued between Carey and Stevens[3] and both subsequently failed to attend football training. In the face of his team being united against him, as well as nationwide condemnation, Carey resigned in disgrace from North Melbourne.[4] Carey's then manager Ricky Nixon famously stated that his client was on "suicide watch" during the aftermath.[5] To avoid media attention Carey fled to Las Vegas.[4] Carey's management later denied speculation that he had trained with the NFL's Dallas Cowboys.
[edit] Re-emergence at Adelaide (2003 – 2004)
For some time, it was unclear whether Carey would return to AFL football, but after the end of the 2002 season and a 12 month absence from football, Carey was signed up by the Adelaide Crows, where he played for the next two seasons. While age and injury forced him out of 18 games over the two years and prevented him from dominating as he once did, he still managed to place second in the team's goal kicking both years and put in a number of memorable performances.
In June 2004 Carey retired with a disc-related neck injury, marking the end of a career that spanned 16 seasons, 272 games, and included 727 goals.
[edit] Post-playing career
In early 2005, Carey agreed to assist former coach and mentor Denis Pagan at the Carlton Football Club, acting voluntarily as a part-time skills coach. In 2006 he was an assistant coach at Collingwood Football Club. Carey also worked as a commentator and host of shows on the Fox Footy Channel throughout the 2006 season.
In 2007 he participated in the Nine Network football analysis program Footy Classified, as well as special comments for radio station 3AW's football coverage. Subsequent to his dual arrests for domestic violence and assault he was sacked for both positions.[6]
On 12 August of 2007, Carey sparked more controversy while, as a member of the Nine Network's Sunday morning Footy Show, he responded to criticisms from Nathan Thompson by mocking Thompson's well-publicised bout with major depression. In addition, on returning from a commercial break, he was heard to make references to 'necking himself', to the apparent delight of other members of the Footy Show panel. Carey and the Nine Network were quick to issue an apology over the incident, although no mention was officially made of the 'necking himself' comment.
[edit] Private life, arrests and drug abuse
In 1996 Carey pleaded guilty to indecent assault after grabbing a passing woman's breast on a Melbourne city street after 12 hours of drinking with team mates.[7] Carey later settled out of court when the woman filed a civil suit against him.[8]
In 2004, while holidaying with his then wife, Carey was subject to arrest for a misdemeanour battery report while holidaying in Las Vegas.[4] He was placed in custody for one night then released. The local District Attorney elected not to pursue the case[4]
Carey again became the subject of public comment in February 2006 when he announced he was leaving his pregnant wife Sally for model Kate Neilson.[9] His daughter Ella was born six weeks later.
US security guard Kyle Banks has told the Nine Network’s A Current Affair he saw Carey attacking his girlfriend Kate Neilson while working at the exclusive W Hotel in New York City in October 2006. Banks said he saw Carey break a bottle of French champagne over his own head. [10]
In December 2006 girlfriend Kate Neilson allegedly reported Carey to Australian police for domestic violence, allegeding he had punched her in the face.[11] Neilson and Carey subsequently denied this report.
On 27 January 2008 Carey was arrested after reports of a disturbance at his Port Melbourne apartment. Police had to subdue Carey with capsicum spray and he was seen hand-cuffed after allegedly assaulting the officers.[12]
Two days later, it was revealed that Carey had been arrested and charged with assaulting a police officer and his then girlfriend Kate Neilson in Miami, Florida on 27 October 2007, after he allegedly struck Neilsen in the face and neck with a wine glass.[13] Miami Police Lieutenant Bill Schwartz reported:
When officers went and spoke to him, he immediately was belligerent, starting striking out at the officers, in fact, kicked one of the officers in the face with his foot, elbowed another one in the side of the face. They had to wrestle him down and handcuff him. When he was in the police car, he used his head as a battering ram and tried to smash a hole between the front compartment of the police car and the prisoner compartment.[14]:
To stop Carey harming himself and damaging the car, the officers put him into a leather hobble restraint around his hands and legs.[14]
Carey is to appear in a Florida court on these charges in February 2008, and faces up to fifteen years in jail and $30,000 USD fines. Additionally Carey was fired from commentary jobs at 3AW and the Nine Network following the coverage of the two arrests.[6]
On 16 March, 2008 it was revealed that Wayne Carey has and has had for a long period, a drug addiction to cocaine. Carey has admitted that he has a cocaine dependence and is in drug rehabilitation.[15] On March 31, 2008 Carey appeared on interview show Enough Rope, where he talked candidly about his life and recent controversies.[16] 1.5 million viewers tuned into the highly publicized interview.[17]
[edit] References
- ^ Carey, Wayne. Sporting Hall of Fame. Museum of the Riverina. Retrieved on 2007-04-26.
- ^ Sydney Morning Herald: The Carey affair
- ^ AFANA: Wayne Carey quits the Roos
- ^ a b c d The Advertiser: Carey's Vegas shame
- ^ The Age: The people the players turn to
- ^ a b The Advertiser: Make Wayne Carey pay - or count the cost
- ^ Carey crisis sends Melbourne into a spin
- ^ Wayne Carey quits the Roos
- ^ Wayne Carey: It's over with wife Sally
- ^ Carey 'smashed bottle over own head'
- ^ Herald Sun: Wayne Carey assault probe
- ^ Police consider charges against Carey
- ^ The Herald Sun: AFL legend Wayne Carey to break silence after Miami bash charge
- ^ a b Herald Sun: Wayne Carey a drunken thug with anger issue - Miami police
- ^ Wayne Carey confesses he has cocaine and booze problem
- ^ Wayne Carey unloads about scandals in Enough Rope interview
- ^ 1.5m tune in for Wayne Carey confessions
[edit] See also
| Preceded by Mick Martyn, Craig Sholl |
North Melbourne Best and Fairest winner 1992-1993 |
Succeeded by Wayne Schwass |
| Preceded by Greg Williams |
Leigh Matthews Trophy 1995 |
Succeeded by Corey McKernan |
| Preceded by Wayne Schwass |
North Melbourne Best and Fairest winner 1996 |
Succeeded by Anthony Stevens |
| Preceded by Robert Harvey |
Leigh Matthews Trophy 1998 |
Succeeded by Shane Crawford |
| Preceded by Craig Bradley |
Michael Tuck Medallist 1998 |
Succeeded by Paul Salmon |
| Preceded by Anthony Stevens |
North Melbourne Best and Fairest winner 1998 |
Succeeded by Anthony Stevens |
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