View source for Adam Cooney

{{short description|Australian rules footballer, born 1985}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2016}}
{{Use Australian English|date=August 2016}}
{{Infobox AFL biography
| name = Adam Cooney
| image = Cooney.jpg
| alt = 
| caption = 
| fullname = Adam Cooney
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|df=yes|1985|9|30}}
| birth_place = [[Adelaide]], [[South Australia]]
| death_date = 
| death_place = 
| originalteam = [[West Adelaide Football Club|West Adelaide]] ([[SANFL]])
| draftpick = No. 1 <small>([[Priority draft pick|PP]])</small>, [[2003 AFL Draft|2003 National Draft]]
| height = 187 cm
| weight = 83 kg
| position = [[Australian rules football positions#Forward line|Forward]] / [[Australian rules football positions|Midfielder]]
| statsend = 2016
| repstatsend = 2008
| years1 = 2004&ndash;2014
| club1 = {{AFL WB}}
| games_goals1 = 219 (186)
| years2 = 2015&ndash;2016
| club2 = {{AFL Ess}}
| games_goals2 = {{0}}31 {{0}}(16)
| games_goalstotal = 250 (202)
| sooyears1 = 2008
| sooteam1 = [[Dream Team Australian rules football team|Dream Team]]
| soogames_goals1 = 1 (0)
| careerhighlights = *[[Brownlow Medal]] 2008
*[[All-Australian Team]] 2008
*[[2004 AFL Rising Star]] nominee
}}

'''Adam Cooney''' (born 30 September 1985) is a former professional [[Australian rules football]]er who played for the [[Western Bulldogs]] and [[Essendon Football Club]] in the Australian Football League (AFL). He won the [[Brownlow Medal]] in 2008, with 24 votes becoming the tenth Western Bulldogs player to win the award.

==Early life==
Cooney attended Flagstaff Hill R-7 Schools, [[Blackwood High School]] and later [[Aberfoyle Park High School]] and played for the [[Flagstaff Hill Football Club]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.afl.com.au/Season2007/News/NewsArticle/tabid/208/Default.aspx?newsId=35045 |title=2003 Draft Full List |publisher=AFL.com.au |access-date=2008-11-25 |date=2003-11-25 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110524201751/http://www.afl.com.au/Season2007/News/NewsArticle/tabid/208/Default.aspx?newsId=35045 |archive-date=24 May 2011 |df=dmy }}</ref>

==AFL career==
Cooney was recruited from [[West Adelaide Bloods|West Adelaide]] in the [[SANFL]] to the {{AFL WB}} with the number-one pick in the [[2003 AFL Draft|2003 National Draft]] as a [[priority pick]]. Cooney was noted as a pacey player who could kick goals on the run from outside the [[50-metre arc]] as well as [[snap kick]]s near the goal posts.
Cooney debuted in Round 1 2004 against the [[West Coast Eagles]], where he recorded 8 disposals and kicked a goal, and his first season saw him play 19 games and kick 11 goals for the season. He had a vastly improved 2005 season: he played every game, averaged 20 possessions a game and kicked 21 goals.  He was ranked second for clearances in the Bulldogs team.

Cooney progressed to the elite of the competition, four seasons after being selected as the number one draft pick. His threat as a goalkicking midfielder grew, in 2006 and 2007 he kicked 30 & 28 goals respectively, he then pushed into the upper bracket of ball winners, by collecting 458 and 469 total disposals over the 2006 & 2007 season, while maintaining his average of more than a goal per game and also directly assisting in many scores.

Cooney was rewarded for a strong 2008 season by winning the [[Brownlow Medal]]. He polled 24 votes, beating [[Brisbane Lions]] midfielder [[Simon Black]] by one vote.<ref name=foxmedal>{{cite web|url=http://www.foxsports.com.au/story/0,8659,24386319-23211,00.html|title=Cooney a shock Brownlow winner|publisher=FoxSports.com.au|access-date=2008-09-22|date=2008-09-22}}</ref> Cooney is the first No. 1 draft pick (and the first player taken as a [[priority draft pick]]) to win the award.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.realfooty.com.au/news/news/muma-nonbeliever/2008/09/23/1221935594095.html?page=2|title=Mum...a non-believer|publisher=AAP|access-date=2008-11-25|date=2008-09-23}}</ref>
His 2008 season saw him amass 637 total disposals and boot 23 goals, highlighted by a 25 disposal, 5 goal outing against the [[Sydney Swans]] in Round 7. He played 25 total games in 2008 and averaged 25.5 disposals per game.

In 2009, Adam had another great season, playing 23 games, kicking 14 goals and averaging 26.8 disposals, although he only managed to poll 3 Brownlow Medal Votes. He also featured in the official advertisement for the AFL, brushing off tacklers including a [[bull]] in a [[bullfighting]] ring.

From the 2010–2012 season Cooney struggled with injury and form, his impact on game, particularly his goal kicking was very minimal, as he only provided 27 majors over 3 seasons, and playing a total of 47 games in that span.

Cooney then bounced back in 2013, playing 19 games, kicking 19 goals and tallying 485 disposals for the season.

The 2014 season was Cooney's final year at the Bulldogs, he kicked 13 goals and played 18 games. His last game for the Dog's saw him tally 20 disposals and 2 tackles, a game in which the Dog's lost to the GWS Giants.

In October 2014, Cooney was traded to {{AFL Ess}}.

The 2015 season was Cooney's first in the red and black, he only managed 11 games and kicked 10 goals, including 3 on debut against the Sydney Swans in Round 1.

The [[Essendon Football Club supplements saga|Essendon Supplements Saga]]  ordeal allowed Adam more of an opportunity to play regular senior football during the 2016 season. He managed to play 20 games and kick 6 goals, he also tallied 457 disposals. In August 2016, Cooney announced he would retire after the round 22 match against {{AFL WB}} at [[Docklands Stadium|Etihad Stadium]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/essendon-bombers-veteran-adam-cooney-announces-his-retirement-20160816-gqtdli.html|title=Essendon Bombers veteran Adam Cooney announces his retirement|last=Lerner|first=Ronny|date=16 August 2016|work=[[The Age]]|publisher=[[Fairfax Media]]|access-date=16 August 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.afl.com.au/news/2016-08-25/cooney-officially-done-number-of-others-set-to-play-their-final-games|title=Cooney officially done, number of others set to call it quits|last=Navaratnam|first=Dinny|date=25 August 2016|work=AFL.com.au|publisher=[[Bigpond]]|access-date=25 August 2016}}</ref>
His final AFL game was also his 250th game and was fittingly against his old side, the Bulldogs, he gathered 22 disposals and kicked a goal.

==Other ventures==
From 2 April 2023, Cooney appeared as a contestant in the [[I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! (Australian season 9)|ninth season]] of ''[[I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! (Australian TV series)|I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!]]''.<ref>{{cite web|last=Bond|first=Nick|url=https://www.news.com.au/entertainment/tv/reality-tv/im-a-celebrity/im-a-celebrity-get-me-out-of-here-full-cast-revealed/news-story/4447c7306fd69df895f3d57007b246c6|title=I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here: Full cast revealed|date=2 April 2023|website=[[News.com.au]]|access-date=2 April 2023}}</ref> Cooney was eliminated ninth on 27 April 2023.<ref>{{cite web|url= https://10play.com.au/im-a-celebrity-get-me-out-of-here/articles/im-a-celebrity-2023-adam-cooney-and-nathan-henry-leave-the-jungle-ahead-of-the-grand-finale/tpa230427hvxrz|title= Adam Cooney And Nathan Henry Leave The Jungle Ahead Of The Grand Finale|date=27 April 2023|website=10play.com.au|access-date=30 April 2023}}</ref>

==Personal life==
Cooney proposed to his partner Haylea McCann with a [[Burger Rings|Burger Ring]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.sen.com.au/news/2018/02/09/coonss-disastrous-weekend-away/ |title=Coons's disastrous weekend away |work=[[Sports Entertainment Network]] |date=9 February 2018 |access-date=10 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220410045504/https://www.sen.com.au/news/2018/02/09/coonss-disastrous-weekend-away/ |archive-date=10 April 2022 |url-status=live}}</ref> On 24 October 2009, he and McCann married in a ceremony at Glenelg Beach, [[Adelaide]].<ref>{{cite news|last=Moo|first=Kathpin|title=Adam Cooney marries childhood sweetheart, Haylea MacCann|url=http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/entertainment/confidential/adam-cooney-marries-childhood-sweetheart-haylea-maccann/story-e6fredqc-1225791027992|access-date=20 June 2011|newspaper=[[Sunday Mail (Adelaide)|Sunday Mail]]|date=24 October 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nowtolove.com.au/celebrity/celeb-news/afl-star-adam-cooneys-perfect-wedding-23644/ |title=AFL star Adam Cooney's perfect wedding |work=[[Now to Love]] |date=16 December 2009 |access-date=10 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170823035934/https://www.nowtolove.com.au/celebrity/celeb-news/afl-star-adam-cooneys-perfect-wedding-23644/ |archive-date=23 August 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref>

==Statistics==
<ref>{{cite news|url=http://afltables.com/afl/stats/players/A/Adam_Cooney.html|title=Adam Cooney|publisher=AFL Tables|access-date=8 July 2014}}</ref>

{{AFL player statistics legend}}
{{AFL player statistics start with votes}}
|- style="background-color: #EAEAEA"
! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | [[2004 AFL season|2004]]
|{{AFL WB}}
| 17 || 19 || 11 || 12 || 119 || 105 || 224 || 44 || 30 || 0.6 || 0.6 || 6.3 || 5.5 || 11.8 || 2.3 || 1.6 || 3
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | [[2005 AFL season|2005]]
|{{AFL WB}}
| 17 || 22 || 21 || 13 || 236 || 198 || 434 || 93 || 56 || 1.0 || 0.6 || 10.7 || 9.0 || 19.7 || 4.2 || 2.5 || 12
|- style="background:#eaeaea;"
! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | [[2006 AFL season|2006]]
|{{AFL WB}}
| 17 || 24 || 30 || 19 || 242 || 216 || 458 || 128 || 60 || 1.3 || 0.8 || 10.1 || 9.0 || 19.1 || 5.3 || 2.5 || 4
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | [[2007 AFL season|2007]]
|{{AFL WB}}
| 17 || 22 || 28 || 21 || 262 || 207 || 469 || 112 || 79 || 1.3 || 1.0 || 11.9 || 9.4 || 21.3 || 5.1 || 3.6 || 9
|- style="background:#eaeaea;"
! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | [[2008 AFL season|2008]]
|{{AFL WB}}
| 17 || 25 || 23 || 6 || 311 || 326 || 637 || 98 || 65 || 0.9 || 0.2 || 12.4 || 13.0 || 25.5 || 3.9 || 2.6 || 24
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | [[2009 AFL season|2009]]
|{{AFL WB}}
| 17 || 23 || 14 || 15 || 277 || 340 || 617 || 81 || 58 || 0.6 || 0.7 || 12.0 || 14.8 || 26.8 || 3.5 || 2.5 || 3
|- style="background:#eaeaea;"
! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | [[2010 AFL season|2010]]
|{{AFL WB}}
| 17 || 20 || 9 || 12 || 263 || 252 || 515 || 79 || 60 || 0.5 || 0.6 || 13.2 || 12.6 || 25.8 || 4.0 || 3.0 || 8
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | [[2011 AFL season|2011]]
|{{AFL WB}}
| 17 || 13 || 9 || 8 || 156 || 129 || 285 || 38 || 40 || 0.7 || 0.6 || 12.0 || 9.9 || 21.9 || 2.9 || 3.1 || 2
|-style="background:#eaeaea;"
! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | [[2012 AFL season|2012]]
|{{AFL WB}}
| 17 || 14 || 9 || 6 || 162 || 131 || 293 || 38 || 37 || 0.6 || 0.4 || 11.6 || 9.4 || 20.9 || 2.7 || 2.6 || 3
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | [[2013 AFL season|2013]]
|{{AFL WB}}
| 17 || 19 || 19 || 11 || 264 || 221 || 485 || 82 || 44 || 1.0 || 0.6 || 13.9 || 11.6 || 25.5 || 4.3 || 2.3 || 7
|-style="background:#eaeaea;"
! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | [[2014 AFL season|2014]]
|{{AFL WB}}
| 17 || 18 || 13 || 6 || 190 || 164 || 354 || 67 || 59 || 0.7 || 0.3 || 10.6 || 9.1 || 19.7 || 3.7 || 3.3 || 7
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | [[2015 AFL season|2015]]
|{{AFL Ess}}
| 13 || 11 || 10 || 4 || 123 || 64 || 187 || 33 || 25 || 0.9 || 0.4 || 11.2 || 5.8 || 17.0 || 3.0 || 2.3 || 0
|-style="background:#eaeaea;"
! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | [[2016 AFL season|2016]]
|{{AFL Ess}}
| 17 || 20 || 6 || 14 || 259 || 198 || 457 || 116 || 57 || 0.3 || 0.7 || 13.0 || 9.9 || 22.8 || 5.8 || 2.8 || 4
|- class="sortbottom"
! colspan=3| Career
! 250
! 202
! 147
! 2864
! 2551
! 5415
! 1009
! 670
! 0.8
! 0.6
! 11.5
! 10.2
! 21.7
! 4.0
! 2.7
! 86
|}

==Honours and achievements==
*'''Team'''
**'''[[VFL/AFL pre-season competition|NAB Cup]] ([[Western Bulldogs]])''': [[2010 NAB Cup|2010]]
*'''Individual'''
**'''[[Brownlow Medal]]''': 2008
**'''[[All-Australian Team]]''': 2008
**'''[[AFL Hall of Fame Tribute Match|Dream Team Representative Honours in AFL Hall of Fame Tribute Match]]''': 2008
**'''[[AFL Rising Star|AFL Rising Star Nominee]]''': 2004 (Round 21)
**'''[[2003 AFL Draft#National Draft|Number 1 AFL Draft Pick]]''': 2003

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
*{{Essplayer}}
*{{AFL Tables|A/Adam_Cooney}}

{{AFL Brownlow Medallists}}
{{2008 All-Australian team}}
{{AFLCA best young player of the year}}
{{2004 AFL Rising Star nominees}}
{{2008 Dream Team players}}
{{AFL number one draft picks}}
{{2003 AFL national draft}}
{{Southern Football League Greatest Exports Team}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cooney, Adam}}
[[Category:1985 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Western Bulldogs players]]
[[Category:West Adelaide Football Club players]]
[[Category:All-Australians (AFL)]]
[[Category:Brownlow Medal winners]]
[[Category:Essendon Football Club players]]
[[Category:Flagstaff Hill Football Club players]]
[[Category:Australian rules footballers from Adelaide]]
[[Category:21st-century Australian sportsmen]]