Australian Football

Andrew Rogers joined Woodville from Risdon in Port Pirie, and made his senior SANFL debut in 1985. In three seasons with the Warriors he played a total of 63 league games, earning a reputation as one of the toughest defenders in the competition. In 1987 he represented South Australia against both Victoria and Western Australia, and earned selection in that year's All Australian team making him only the second Woodville player (after Malcolm Blight in 1972 and 1985) to be so honoured. 

In 1988, he crossed to VFL club Essendon, but found it difficult to gain a regular place in the powerful Bomber line-up, and managed just eight games for the year. At Geelong between 1989 and 1992 he seemed much more at home, perhaps finding the small town ambience more to his liking (or perhaps the style of his old Woodville coach, Malcolm Blight), and he produced some of the best and most consistent football of his career. The last of his 75 games for the Cats was the Grand Final of 1992 against West Coast, but it was a sad way to bring the curtain down on the AFL portion of his career, as the Eagles comfortably won both the match, and the premiership. 

Returning to South Australia in 1993, Rogers joined Woodville-West Torrens, which was about to embark on its third season in the SANFL having been formed through the merger of the Woodville and West Torrens clubs in 1990. At the end of the year he had the satisfaction of appearing in the first and only premiership side of his senior career as the Eagles overwhelmed Norwood on Grand Final day to the tune of 73 points. Rogers was vice-captain on that occasion, and later served as club captain between 1995 and 2000. He won the Eagles' best and fairest award in 1993, 1995 and 1996, and his eventual tally of 179 games for the club included the losing Grand Finals of 1994, 2000 and 2001 (his last game). Some would argue that Andrew Rogers was the single most important footballer to play for Woodville-West Torrens during the club's formative period.

Author - John Devaney