Australian Football

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Key Facts

Full name
David Schwarz

Known as
David Schwarz

Born
24 July 1972 (age 51)

Age at first & last AFL game
First game: 18y 243d
Last game: 29y 339d

Height and weight
Height: 195 cm
Weight: 105 kg

Senior clubs
Melbourne

Jumper numbers
Melbourne: 44, 5

David Schwarz

ClubLeagueCareer spanGamesGoalsAvgWin %AKIAHBAMKBV
MelbourneAFL1991-1995, 1997-20021732431.4046%9.184.754.6631
Total1991-1995, 1997-20021732431.4046%9.184.754.6631

AFL: 10,190th player to appear, 951st most games played, 291st most goals kickedMelbourne: 1,123rd player to appear, 37th most games played, 18th most goals kicked

After making his way up through the ranks at Melbourne David Schwarz made his senior league debut in the opening round of the 1991 season against Essendon at the Docklands and went on to have a highly memorable, and in some ways unique, career. During the first part of his career he acquired a deserved reputation for being among the AFL’s most spectacular aerialists. The AFL Media Guide for 1995 described him as “a genuine AFL star centre half-forward. High-leaping, aggressive and mobile”. However, a bad knee injury sustained in an intra-club practice match threw a major spanner in the works and ultimately forced Schwarz to re-invent himself as a forceful, bullocking key position forward.

Schwarz actually made two aborted comebacks after initially injuring his knee, necessitating three full knee reconstructions. He finally returned to action midway through the 1997 season and gradually began to master his new role, so much so that he won a best and fairest award in 1999 and played state of origin football for Victoria the same year. The highlights reel for the second half of his career might not have been anything like as lengthy or eye-catching as that for the first half but equally there is no doubt that Schwarz became, for a time, an even more effective contributor to the team cause.

David Schwarz’s knee withstood the rigours of the game until he retired, after 173 AFL appearances and 243 goals, midway through a 2002 season which had seen him struggle to have a significant impact on matches for the first time in his career. His subsequent life has not been without its troubles but if his football career is anything to go by he will certainly not be throwing in the towel.

Author - John Devaney

Sources

Encyclopedia of AFL Footballers by Russell Holmesby & Jim Main; Wikipedia article; http://demonwiki.org/David+Schwarz

Footnotes

* Behinds calculated from the 1965 season on.
+ Score at the end of extra time.