Ian Callinan (footballer)

Ian Callinan (born 20 December 1982) is a former professional Australian rules footballer in the Australian Football League, playing with the Adelaide Crows. He was the league's smallest player during his career, standing at only 172 cm. He played as both a midfielder and a small forward during his career.

Ian Callinan
Personal information
Full name Ian Callinan
Date of birth (1982-12-20) 20 December 1982
Original team(s) Clarence (TSL)
Draft No. 64, 2010 Rookie Draft, Adelaide
Height 172 cm (5 ft 8 in)
Weight 74 kg (163 lb)
Position(s) Small Forward/ Wingman
Club information
Current club Adelaide Football Club SANFL
Number 37
Playing career1
Years Club Games (Goals)
2001–2006 Tasmanian Devils 109 (153)
2007–2013 Central District 95 (175)
2011–2013 Adelaide 32 (49)
2014–2015 Adelaide Football Club (SANFL) 34 (42)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 2013.
Career highlights
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

Playing career

Junior

Callinan played his junior football in Tasmania, initially at Rokeby, before joining Lauderdale as an Under-16 and Clarence as an Under-18.[1] He regularly represented Tasmania in junior representative football, most notably in the AFL National Under-18s championships in 2000, where he won the Hunter-Harrison Medal as the tournament's Division Two best and fairest, and was selected in the Under-18 All-Australian team as a forward pocket.[2] Callinan nominated for 2000 AFL Draft, but was not selected.

State level

Callinan first played senior football for Clarence and was a member of that club's Tasmanian State League premiership winning team in 2000.[3] The next season, he was recruited to play for the new Tasmanian Devils Football Club in the Victorian Football League. Callinan became one of the stars of the league, and in 2005 he won the J. J. Liston Trophy (in a tie with Paul Johnson of Sandringham) as the league's best and fairest, as well as the club best and fairest.[2] He played more than 100 games with the Devils between 2001 and 2006.[4]

In 2007, Callinan moved to Central District in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL).[4] In four seasons with Central Districts, Callinan won four premierships (2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010), winning the Jack Oatey Medal as best on ground in the 2010 Grand Final, and two club best and fairest awards (2007, 2010).[2] He was also Centrals leading goalkicker in 2007 and 2010.[5]

Professional career

In 2011, Callinan was recruited to the AFL as a rookie by the Adelaide Football Club, with a fourth round draft pick in the 2011 AFL rookie draft (No. 64 overall). He had undergone pre-season training with at least four different AFL clubs during his career, but this was the first time he was recruited. After a biceps injury in a pre-season match sidelined him for half of the season,[6] he made his AFL debut at age 28 in Round 14, 2011, against Geelong, and played a total of three AFL matches for the season.[7] He continued to play for Centrals when on reserve for Adelaide.[2] Callinan played 32 senior games over three seasons for the Crows before being delisted at the end of 2013.[8]

In 2014, Callinan became the inaugural captain of the Adelaide Crows reserves team, which was entering the SANFL that season, also taking an assistant development coaching role in the team,[8] serving in the role until the end of 2015.[9] He returned to Tasmania and played for Clarence in 2016.[10]

Personal life

Before playing football professionally, Callinan earned his living as an Air Conditioning Installer. Callinan is married to Lauren (née James), daughter of former All-Australian Sandy Bay footballer Des James. The couple has two, sons Jack and Harry.[6]

References
  1. Martin, Hannah (27 March 2011). "Tassie's king of tenacity". The Mercury. Retrieved 22 September 2011.
  2. Smith, Adam (24 June 2011). "Callinan's Crows dream". The Mercury. Retrieved 22 September 2011.
  3. The Mercury , 10 September 2000
  4. "Callinan contemplates return to Tasmania". Australian Broadcasting Commission. 7 November 2007. Retrieved 22 September 2011.
  5. "05 Ian Callinan". Central District Football Club. Retrieved 22 September 2011.
  6. Stubbs, Brett (25 June 2011). "Tough slog to realise dream". The Mercury. Retrieved 22 September 2011.
  7. Ian Callinan's playing statistics from AFL Tables
  8. Jesper Fjeldstad (7 March 2014). "Crows reserves captain Ian Callinan aims to stay in the AFL system". The Advertiser. Adelaide, SA. Retrieved 21 March 2014.
  9. Zac Milbank (29 January 2016). "Calls to be made on captains". SANFL. Retrieved 2 August 2016.
  10. Adam Smith (2 April 2016). "Clarence hero Ian Callinan ready for a torrid return to TSL in first match with red and white since 2006". The Mercury. Hobart, TAS. Retrieved 2 August 2016.
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