AustralianFootball.com Celebrating the history of the great Australian game
Key Facts
Full name
Nathan Eagleton
Known as
Nathan Eagleton
Born
10 November 1978 (age 44)
Age at first & last AFL game
First game: 18y 168d
Last game: 31y 312d
Height and weight
Height: 180 cm
Weight: 84 kg
Senior clubs
West Adelaide; Port Adelaide; Australia; Western Bulldogs; Norwood
Jumper numbers
Port Adelaide: 25, 11
Western Bulldogs: 10
Recruited from
West Adelaide (1997); Port Adelaide (2000)
Nathan Eagleton
| Club | League | Career span | Games | Goals | Avg | Win % | AKI | AHB | AMK | BV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Adelaide | SANFL | 1996-1999 | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Port Adelaide | AFL | 1997-1999 | 56 | 45 | 0.80 | 46% | 9.80 | 2.48 | 2.70 | 5 |
| Australia | IR | 1998-1999, 2005 | 5 | 1 | 0.20 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Western Bulldogs | AFL | 2000-2010 | 221 | 186 | 0.84 | 48% | 11.25 | 6.16 | 5.11 | 31 |
| Norwood | SANFL | 2011 | 23 | 22 | 0.96 | — | — | — | — | — |
| SANFL | 1996-1999, 2011 | 31 | 22 | 0.71 | — | — | — | — | — | |
| AFL | 1997-2010 | 277 | 231 | 0.83 | 48% | 10.96 | 5.42 | 4.62 | 36 | |
| IR | 1998-1999, 2005 | 5 | 1 | 0.20 | — | — | — | — | — | |
| Total | 1996-2011 | 313 | 254 | 0.81 | — | — | — | — | — | |
AFL: 10,788th player to appear, 148th most games played, 318th most goals kickedPort Adelaide: 28th player to appear, 84th most games played, 54th most goals kickedWestern Bulldogs: 882nd player to appear, 17th most games played, 24th most goals kicked
In his distinguished 277-game career with Port Adelaide and the Western Bulldogs, Nathan Eagleton made a name for himself as a player of scintillating speed with a long, raking left-foot kick. Originally from Happy Valley, Eagleton then played for West Adelaide before joining Port Adelaide as a zone selection in the 1997 national draft to become part of the Power's initial intake of players.
Eagleton debuted in round five of Port's initial AFL season and, although he picked up only four possessions on that day, immediately became a permanent member of the Power line-up. He did not miss another match until round four, 1999, when a wane in form saw him dropped for a month. He returned to the side in round nine but in a match against later that season, he collapsed suddenly on the field of play. Diagnosed with Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome (an electrocardiogram abnormality), he missed only three weeks and played out the season.
Shortly thereafter, Eagleton was traded to the Western Bulldogs in exchange for Brett Montgomery and a second-round draft pick. As he had been for most of his time at Port Adelaide, he became a permanent feature of the Dogs' line-up, often contributing long goals running in from his favoured wing position. He suffered the odd form lapse over the next few seasons, but returned each time a better and more-rounded player. He featured prominently in the Bulldogs's finals campaigns of 2008, 2009 and 2010 before hanging up the boots after the Dogs' lost the 2010 Preliminary Final to St Kilda.
His 221 games and 186 goals for the Bulldogs - along with his initial 56 games and 45 goals for Port - across 14 seasons are a testament to Eagleton's resilience and durability. HIs career total of 277 games sees only 111 players ahead of him, putting Eagleton in the top 1% on the all-time VFL/AFL games-played list.
Eagleton returned to his home in 2011 and finished his senior career with a solid year at Norwood.
Author - Andrew Gigacz