Daryn Cresswell
Encyclopedia
Daryn Cresswell was an Australian rules football
er for the Sydney Swans
in the Australian Football League
, and the former senior coach of the Tasmanian Devils Football Club
that played in the Victorian Football League
.
.
Cresswell played for the Swans for twelve seasons between 1992 and 2003, playing 244 games, the seventh most games in Sydney and South Melbourne history. He was a member of the Swans losing 1996 Grand Final
team and was named in both the Swans and Tasmanian Teams of the Century. In 1993, in his second season he won the Swans most improved award and the following season he was awarded the Bob Skilton Medal
as the Swans best for 1994. He is also remembered as being involved in a sickening incident in 1997, when he physically dislocated his knee cap while laying a tackle. However he knocked it back into place immediately after and incredibly played the next week.
and then at Brisbane
. He then moved back to Tasmania and coached the Tasmanian Devils in the VFL. Cresswell's brother Shane had coached Ulverstone (NTFL) to the premiership in 2000. In 2009 Cresswell was appointed player coach of Division One Sydney AFL side the Manly Wolves. Despite a promising start to the season, numerous off-field issues -including being extradited to Queensland for fraud- and player discontent saw Cresswell sacked from the role at seasons end.
In April 2009 he was declared bankrupt, owing almost $700,000. He admitted that a gambling addiction had led him to lose everything after he retired from playing football. 2010 saw Cresswell sign with Sydney AFL Premier Division side Western Suburbs, kicking 33 goals in 10 matches. In December 2010 Cresswell was found guilty of fraud offences and sentenced to a minimum 10 months jail. Upon release in October 2011, he apeared on Channel 7's 'Sunday Night', where he admittted to placing a $200 bet on a match he was playing in back in 2003.
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...
er for 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...
in the Australian Football League
Australian Football League
The Australian Football League is both the governing body and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football...
, and the former senior coach of the Tasmanian Devils Football Club
Tasmanian Devils Football Club
Tasmania Football Club, nicknamed The Devils, was an Australian rules football club which competed in the Victorian Football League in Australia. Formed in 2001, it was the youngest and the only non-Victorian club in the league. The club was based in the state of Tasmania at Bellerive Oval and was...
that played in the Victorian Football League
Victorian Football League
The Victorian Football League which evolved from the former Victorian Football Association , taking its new name as from the 1996 season, is the premier Australian rules football league in Victoria The Victorian Football League (VFL) which evolved from the former Victorian Football Association...
.
Playing career
Cresswell started his football with Glenorchy in the Tasmanian Football League. He also briefly played for Geelong Reserves in the Victorian Football League, Daryn then returned to Tasmania to play with North Hobart in the TFL the following year. Daryn was then drafted to the Sydney Swans in the mid-season draft1992 AFL Draft
The 1992 AFL Draft is the annual draft of talented players by Australian rules football teams that participate in the main competition of that sport, the Australian Football League...
.
Cresswell played for the Swans for twelve seasons between 1992 and 2003, playing 244 games, the seventh most games in Sydney and South Melbourne history. He was a member of the Swans losing 1996 Grand Final
1996 AFL Grand Final
The 1996 AFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the North Melbourne Football Club and Sydney Swans, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 28 September 1996. It was the 100th annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League/Australian Football...
team and was named in both the Swans and Tasmanian Teams of the Century. In 1993, in his second season he won the Swans most improved award and the following season he was awarded the Bob Skilton Medal
Bob Skilton Medal
The Bob Skilton Medal is awarded to the Sydney Swans player adjudged the Best and Fairest over the home and away season. It is named after Bob Skilton, who won the award a record nine times from 1958 to 1968.-List of winners:...
as the Swans best for 1994. He is also remembered as being involved in a sickening incident in 1997, when he physically dislocated his knee cap while laying a tackle. However he knocked it back into place immediately after and incredibly played the next week.
Coaching and post-football life
Following his retirement as a player Cresswell became an assistant coach, firstly at GeelongGeelong Football Club
The Geelong Football Club, nicknamed The Cats, is a professional Australian rules football club, named after and based in the city of Geelong, playing in the Australian Football League . The club has been the VFL/AFL premiers nine times, with a record equalling 3 in the AFL era. Geelong has also...
and then at Brisbane
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...
. He then moved back to Tasmania and coached the Tasmanian Devils in the VFL. Cresswell's brother Shane had coached Ulverstone (NTFL) to the premiership in 2000. In 2009 Cresswell was appointed player coach of Division One Sydney AFL side the Manly Wolves. Despite a promising start to the season, numerous off-field issues -including being extradited to Queensland for fraud- and player discontent saw Cresswell sacked from the role at seasons end.
In April 2009 he was declared bankrupt, owing almost $700,000. He admitted that a gambling addiction had led him to lose everything after he retired from playing football. 2010 saw Cresswell sign with Sydney AFL Premier Division side Western Suburbs, kicking 33 goals in 10 matches. In December 2010 Cresswell was found guilty of fraud offences and sentenced to a minimum 10 months jail. Upon release in October 2011, he apeared on Channel 7's 'Sunday Night', where he admittted to placing a $200 bet on a match he was playing in back in 2003.