Daniel Kerr

Player Stats

Biography

Daniel Matthew Kerr (born 16 May 1983) is an Australian rules footballer, currently listed with the West Coast Eagles in the Australian Football League (AFL). Kerr was recruited from East Fremantle Football Club and made his debut in 2001. He is a hard-running midfielder who is a vital part of the midfield at the Eagles.

Kerr is of Anglo-Indian descent. His father, Roger Kerr, was born in Calcutta to an Indian mother and played for East Fremantle in the West Australian Football League (WAFL). His sister Samantha Kerr plays for the Australia national women's soccer team, the Matildas, and for Perth Glory in the W-League. Kerr is a second cousin of former Fremantle player Shaun McManus.

Kerr was selected with the number 18 pick in the 2000 AFL Draft. Kerr is widely known as one of the toughest players in the AFL. In August 2006, the much bigger Fraser Gehrig considered one of the strongest players in the AFL, tried to palm off a tackle by Kerr, only to have Kerr resist and re-tackle Gehrig, with the result being the umpire rewarding Kerr with a "holding the ball" decision. Similarly, his physical strength was further demonstrated in round one in the 2007 AFL season against the Sydney Swans when he successfully tackled and took down the far bigger Barry Hall in the goalsquare. It is play like this, along with the ability to rip balls out of seemingly impossibly congested packs that have earned Kerr an enormous esteem with West Coast fans, and fans of the game in general. Some commentators of the game such as former Melbourne captain Garry Lyon have agreed that Kerr is an underrated player and is of similar importance to West Coast as their better known superstars such as Chris Judd and Ben Cousins. However with Judd and Cousins having recently departed from the club he is now likely to be regarded as one of, if not the most important player for the team. He also took a spectacular mark against Collingwood in Round 13 of the 2006 AFL season at the Telstra Dome.

In 2003, Kerr won the AFL Goal of the Year and was runner up to team-mate Ben Cousins in the AFL's most prestigious individual award the Brownlow Medal in 2005.

In 2005 Kerr nearly provided one of the biggest upsets in Brownlow Medal history, leading the count towards the later rounds and finishing second to favourite, teammate Ben Cousins. In the following year, he came third in the Brownlow Medal count with 22 votes, however, was ineligible due to a striking charge against Hawthorn's Sam Mitchell in Round 14.

However, Kerr claims that Brownlow night 2006 was something of an epiphany for him, and he realised the folly of his on-field indiscretions.

Kerr has recently been nicknamed "The People's Champion" as used by Chris Judd in an interview with Dennis Cometti on Perth's Channel Nine news on 2006-09-18. The nickname may have been adapted to Kerr due to his omission from the official 2006 AFL All-Australian team, despite having another stellar season.

In 2006, Kerr was part of the Eagles' 2006 premiership side. He played with broken bones in his foot.

In 2007, Kerr had another great year with the eagles. He came runner up in the Brownlow Medal for a second time in his career, Jimmy Bartel was the winner.

Kerr representing the Dream Team in the AFL Hall of Fame Tribute Match in 2008.

Daniel Kerr re-signed with the Eagles after weeks of speculation over his future in the 2009 season.

In round 10 of the 2009 season Kerr was suspended for 1 week for striking Carlton's Marc Murphy. After an appeal by the Eagles the decision was upheld by the AFL tribunal.

In round four, 2010 Kerr seriously injured his hamstring in the West Coast Eagles' win against Essendon, ending his season. His absence was felt on the field as the Eagles would win only three more games for the season.

Kerr returned to the side in Round 2, 2011 and was a big part of the Eagles' push to the finals in that season. He continued his fine form into 2012.