Brett Kirk
Encyclopedia
Australian rules football
Australian rules football, officially known as Australian football, also called football, Aussie rules or footy is a sport played between two teams of 22 players on either...
player of the Sydney Swans
Sydney Swans
The Sydney Swans Football Club is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League . The club is based in Sydney, New South Wales. The club, founded in 1874, was known as the South Melbourne Football Club until it relocated to Sydney in 1982 to become the Sydney...
, and is known colloquially as "Kirky", "Captain Kirk", during the 2005 AFL Finals Series
2005 AFL finals series
-The finals system:The system is a final eight system. This system is different to the McIntyre Final Eight System, which was previously used by the AFL, and is currently used by the National Rugby League....
, "Captain Blood" and by teammates as "Hippy". Kirk is a hard working and onfield leader who has played in a premiership with the Sydney Swans.
Early career
Kirk grew up in Albury, New South WalesAlbury, New South Wales
Albury is a major regional city in New South Wales, Australia, located on the Hume Highway on the northern side of the Murray River. It is located wholly within the boundaries of the City of Albury Local Government Area...
. He was a standout for the North Albury Football Club
North Albury Football Club
The North Albury Football Club, nicknamed The Hoppers, is an Australian rules football club playing in the Ovens & Murray Football League . They are incorporated as part of the North Albury Sports Club licensed club at Bunton Park in North Albury, where they play their home matches. The club has...
in the highly competitive Ovens & Murray Football League
Ovens & Murray Football League
The Ovens and Murray Football League, often referred to locally as the O&M, is a semi-professional Australian rules football league based around ten clubs in north-eastern Victoria and the southern Riverina region of New South Wales, and affiliated with the Victorian Country Football League...
before being drafted to the Sydney Swans as a rookie.Currently at the end of 2010 AFL Premiership Season he has decided to retire at a late age of 33.
AFL career
Kirk was elevated from the Swans rookie listRookie list
The Rookie List is a means for Australian Football League clubs to maintain additional players outside of the 38-man primary or senior list. Rookie listed players are not eligibile to play in AFL home and away or finals matches unless they are elevated to the senior list, either to replace a...
and made his senior debut in 1999, despite having previously been cut from the supplementary list.
For a while, he struggled to cement his place in the team, but since Paul Roos replaced Rodney Eade
Rodney Eade
Rodney "Rocket" Eade is a former Australian rules footballer and the former coach of the Sydney Swans and Western Bulldogs in the Australian Football League...
as coach, his career has blossomed. He has gained a reputation as a tough player, willing to put his body on the line and full of determination.
He was runner-up for the clubs best and fairest award in both 2003 and 2004, making the All Australian Team in 2004. After the resignation of Stuart Maxfield
Stuart Maxfield
Stuart Maxfield is a retired Australian rules footballer who played for the Sydney Swans in the Australian Football League . He was the Swans' captain until 5 May 2005, when he stood down from the position....
from the Sydney captaincy in the early rounds of the 2005 premiership season, Kirk was one of the six players in the captaincy rotation. He captained the club for 4 games and was later named the best and fairest in the 2005 premiership winning team.
In 2006, Kirk was awarded the AFLPA's Robert Rose Award
AFLPA Awards
The AFL Players' Association Awards are a group of awards given annually to players in the Australian Football League, voted for by all AFL players.-Leigh Matthews Trophy:...
for most courageous player jointly with Glenn Archer
Glenn Archer
Glenn Archer is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played his entire career with the North Melbourne Football Club.Archer had a reputation as one of the most courageous players ever to play the game...
.
In 2007, Brett Kirk has won his second best and fairest award. Kirk polled in all the 23 matches he played in 2007, amassing a total of 461 votes.
Kirk was one of the most prolific tacklers of his era. In 2010, he surpassed Tony Liberatore
Tony Liberatore
Anthony "Tony" Liberatore is a former Australian rules footballer who played for Footscray in the Australian Football League ....
's record of 1225 career tackles; he finished his career with 1278 tackles, which was the record until September 2011, when he was surpassed by Jude Bolton
Jude Bolton
Jude Bolton is an Australian rules football player with the Sydney Swans of the AFL. Bolton currently holds the record for most tackles in a VFL/AFL career....
. He led the league in tackles each season between 2003 and 2009, except for 2006, when he came second, one tackle behind James McDonald, and at various times held the record for most tackles in a season.
During the first half of the 2008 season, former Collingwood
Collingwood Football Club
The Collingwood Football Club, nicknamed The Magpies, is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League...
legend, now Fox Sports commentator Tony Shaw
Tony Shaw
Anthony 'Tony' Shaw is a former Australian rules footballer, coach and media personality.-Playing career:Shaw was recruited to Collingwood from Reservoir-Lakeside to make his debut in 1977 alongside brother Ray...
, praised Brett Kirk for his consistency as a leader and a player over the past few years, and rated him as the best captain in the league. He noted that with the departure of great team leaders and club legends like Nathan Buckley
Nathan Buckley
Nathan Charles Buckley is a former professional Australian rules football player, commentator and coach, best known for his time as captain of the Collingwood Football Club in the Australian Football League ....
for Collingwood
Collingwood Football Club
The Collingwood Football Club, nicknamed The Magpies, is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League...
, Michael Voss
Michael Voss
Michael Voss is the senior coach of the Brisbane Lions Australian Football League team and a former professional Australian rules footballer....
for the Brisbane Lions
Brisbane Lions
The Brisbane Lions is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League . The club is based in Brisbane, Queensland. The club was formed from the merger of the Brisbane Bears and the Fitzroy Lions in 1996...
and James Hird
James Hird
James Hird is a former professional Australian rules footballer and the current coach of the Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League....
for Essendon
Essendon Football Club
The Essendon Football Club, nicknamed The Bombers, is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League...
, the AFL had lost much of its leadership, and did not hesitate to name Brett Kirk as one of the few who has taken the mantle of the league's most influential and consistent leaders, alongside players such as that of Brisbane's Jonathan Brown. Shaw said that though Kirk may not have the speed or skills to rival players like Chris Judd
Chris Judd
Christopher Dylan "Chris" Judd is a professional Australian rules footballer and current captain of the Carlton Football Club in the Australian Football League ....
, Gary Ablett
Gary Ablett, Jr.
Gary Ablett, Jr. is a professional Australian rules football player and current captain of the Gold Coast Football Club in the Australian Football League ....
, Sam Mitchell
Sam Mitchell (footballer)
Samuel Mitchell is an Australian rules football player for the Hawthorn Football Club in the Australian Football League .- Debut season :...
and Sydney Swans teammate Adam Goodes
Adam Goodes
Adam Goodes is a professional Australian rules football player with the Sydney Swans in the Australian Football League ....
, he certainly had the toughness, strength, fitness, consistency and leadership skills to be considered as one of the AFL's best leaders since his debut.
Brett Kirk is widely known as a tagger but became far more than that. He has shadowed players like Chris Judd
Chris Judd
Christopher Dylan "Chris" Judd is a professional Australian rules footballer and current captain of the Carlton Football Club in the Australian Football League ....
, Sam Mitchell
Sam Mitchell (footballer)
Samuel Mitchell is an Australian rules football player for the Hawthorn Football Club in the Australian Football League .- Debut season :...
and Brisbane Lions Simon Black
Simon Black
Simon Black is an Australian rules footballer playing for the Brisbane Lions in the Australian Football League.Black is a midfielder with a reputation for hard work and skill...
, the elite players of the league and kept them shut out of the game. His work as an inside midfielder and ability to turn a match by winning clearances and tackles has been elite over his AFL career. He is one of the most respected players of the AFL and has continued to tackle hard and lead the Swans in 2010.
On May 19, 2010, Kirk announced his retirement effective as of the end of the 2010 season. He surpassed Jared Crouch
Jared Crouch
Jared Crouch is a South Australian former Australian football player with the Sydney Swans of the AFL, who is colloquially known as “Crouchie” to Swans fans and media....
's Swans record of 194 consecutive AFL matches against Geelong in round 18, 2010. Kirk played his final and 200th consecutive game (having not missed a match since Round 14, 2002) when he faced the Western Bulldogs in the second round of the AFL finals on Saturday 11 September 2010. It is the fifth longest such streak, and is one of two Sydney Swans (the other being Adam Goodes
Adam Goodes
Adam Goodes is a professional Australian rules football player with the Sydney Swans in the Australian Football League ....
) in the top 5. Kirk was awarded the Best Captain award at the AFLPA MVP Awards night, an award voted on by his peers.
Amazingly, Kirk managed to place in the top 3 of the Swans' Best and Fairest award, the Bob Skilton Medal, for 7 straight years (2003–2009). He placed 8th in the 2010 count, his last season as a footballer.
Personal life
In 2008, Kirk was given the honour of meeting with the Dalai LamaDalai Lama
The Dalai Lama is a high lama in the Gelug or "Yellow Hat" branch of Tibetan Buddhism. The name is a combination of the Mongolian word далай meaning "Ocean" and the Tibetan word bla-ma meaning "teacher"...
during his Australian tour in which he presented the Dalai Lama with a signed Swans jersey. Kirk is known as a practicing Buddhist and wears a tattoo of a Buddhist symbol on his back and arm. When the young Swan Dan Hannebery seemed anxious, Kirk recommended that he do some meditation and read The Power of Now
The Power of Now
The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment is a book by Eckhart Tolle. He says the book "represents the essence of my work, as far as it can be conveyed in words", and that it "can be seen as a restatement for our time of that one timeless spiritual teaching, the essence of all...
and A New Earth
A New Earth
A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life’s Purpose is a book by Eckhart Tolle, a follow-up to his first book and bestseller, The Power of Now. Tolle says "this book's main purpose is not to add new information or beliefs to your mind or to try to convince you of anything, but to bring about a shift in...
by Eckhart Tolle
Eckhart Tolle
Eckhart Tolle is a German-born Canadian resident, best known as the author of the The Power of Now and A New Earth, which were written in English. In 2011, he was listed by the Watkins Review as the most spiritually influential person in the world...
.
Kirk's is married to Haley and they have a son called Indi and daughters Sadie, Memphys and Tallulah.