View source for Adrian Fletcher

{{short description|Australian rules footballer, born 1969}}
{{for|the fictional character|Adrian "Fletch" Fletcher}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2021}}
{{Use Australian English|date=August 2012}}
{{Infobox AFL biography
| name = Adrian Fletcher
| image = 
| fullname = Adrian Fletcher
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1969|10|10|df=y}}
| birth_place = 
| death_date = 
| death_place = 
| originalteam = [[Glenorchy Football Club|Glenorchy]] ([[Tasmanian Football League|TFL]])
| draftpick = No. 20, [[1988 VFL draft|1988 national draft]]<!--do not capitalise draft or national draft per 1988 AFL draft article title and the Wikipedia manual of style-->
| height = 178&nbsp;cm
| weight = 84&nbsp;kg
| position = 
| statsend = 2001
| years1 = 1989–1991
| club1 = {{AFL Gee}}
| games_goals1 = {{0}}23 (10)
| years2 = 1992
| club2 = {{AFL StK}}
| games_goals2 = {{0}}22 (10)
| years3 = 1993–1996
| club3 = {{AFL BB}}
| games_goals3 = {{0}}86 (49)
| years4 = 1997
| club4 = {{AFL BL}}
| games_goals4 = {{0}}21 {{0}}(4)
| years5 = 1998–2001
| club5 = {{AFL Fre}}
| games_goals5 = {{0}}79 (24)
| games_goalstotal = 231 (97)
| careerhighlights = *{{AFL Fre}} [[List of Fremantle Football Club captains|co-captain]]: 2000–2001
*[[Doig Medal]]: 1999
*[[Norm Goss Memorial Medal]]: 2003
* [[Geoff Christian Medal]]: 1999
* [[VFL]] premiership player: 2003
* [[William Leitch Medal]]: 1988
}}

'''Adrian Fletcher''' (born 10 October 1969) is a former [[Australian rules football]]er and current assistant coach. He is regarded as one of football's nomads, having played for five [[Australian Football League]] clubs in his 13-year career. Fletcher's play relied on being an excellent play reader which resulted in him being a prolific possession gatherer, especially by [[Handball (Australian rules football)|handball]].<ref>[http://afltables.com/afl/stats/players.html#a05 Top Handballs 1984–2009]</ref>

==Early career==
Fletcher was recruited from the [[Tasmanian Football League]] (TFL) club [[Glenorchy Football Club|Glenorchy]] with the 20th selection in the [[1988 VFL draft]] by the [[Geelong Football Club]] after winning the [[William Leitch Medal]] as the best player in the TFL.<ref name="Encyc">{{Ref AFL Encyc|4th|201}}</ref> He played 23 games for Geelong between [[1989 VFL season|1989]] and [[1991 AFL season|1991]], kicking 10 goals. Fletcher was traded to [[St Kilda Football Club|St Kilda]] in [[1992 AFL season|1992]], where he played 22 games, kicking 10 goals. Due to a contract dispute, he left the Saints and was selected by the [[Brisbane Bears]] with the 4th selection in the [[1992 AFL draft|1993 Pre-season draft]].

==Brisbane Bears career==

Fletcher made his name as a tough, ball-winning midfielder at Brisbane. Between 1993 and 1996, Fletcher played 86 of a possible 90 games, finishing in the top five of the club champion award in each year.<ref>[http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/news/sport/fletch-lives-at-lions/2007/12/03/1196530535693.html Fletch lives at Lions]; The Brisbane Times (3 December 2007)</ref> He was a significant player in the Bears' 1996 preliminary final loss to [[North Melbourne Football Club|North Melbourne]] playing on the half back line.

==Brisbane Lions career==

In 1997, Fletcher was a member of the inaugural Brisbane Lions team following the Bears merger with Fitzroy; however, his form slumped after the lack of a solid pre-season. He fought back, however, and ended up with a season average of 19 possessions per game in 21 games. However, despite a season that, although starting badly, was not considered by Fletcher to be his worst, he was traded to the Fremantle Dockers.

==Fremantle career==
Fletcher had an immediate impact at Fremantle, finishing second in the club's [[Doig Medal|Best and Fairest]] award in 1998 and winning it in 1999; additionally, he won Fremantle's first-ever [[Glendinning–Allan Medal]], which had previously been won all 9 times by West Coast from 1995 to early 1999. He was then named co-captain along with [[Shaun McManus]] in 2000 and 2001. At the end of the 2001 season he was asked to retire by the Fremantle club despite being ranked in the AFL's top 20 for overall disposals<ref name="Encyc"/> and also was in the AFL's top five for handballs. He played 79 games for the Dockers, ending up with 25 goals.

While at Fremantle, Fletcher is remembered for being the player who kicked the ball to field umpire [[Peter Carey (umpire)|Peter Carey]], when Carey infamously and humorously took a chest mark in general play.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.150years.com.au/150Moments/Vote/tabid/11389/Default.aspx?page116446=9 |title=Moment #59: Umpire Carey's big mark |access-date=29 September 2011 |publisher=Australian Football League |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120331212820/http://www.150years.com.au/150Moments/Vote/tabid/11389/Default.aspx?page116446=9 |archive-date=31 March 2012 }}</ref>

==Statistics==
:<ref>{{cite web|url=https://afltables.com/afl/stats/players/A/Adrian_Fletcher.html|title=Adrian Fletcher|work=AFL Tables|access-date=11 October 2017}}</ref>
{{AFL player statistics legend}}
{{AFL player statistics start with votes}}
|- style="background-color: #EAEAEA"
! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | [[1989 VFL season|1989]]
|{{AFL Gee}}
| 4 || 8 || 5 || 1 || 76 || 53 || 129 || 22 || 4 || 0.6 || 0.1 || 9.5 || 6.6 || 16.1 || 2.8 || 0.5 || 0
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | [[1990 AFL season|1990]]
|{{AFL Gee}}
| 4 || 9 || 3 || 2 || 106 || 93 || 199 || 23 || 11 || 0.3 || 0.2 || 11.8 || 10.3 || 22.1 || 2.6 || 1.2 || 1
|- style="background-color: #EAEAEA"
! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | [[1991 AFL season|1991]]
|{{AFL Gee}}
| 4 || 6 || 2 || 0 || 68 || 62 || 130 || 19 || 10 || 0.3 || 0.0 || 11.3 || 10.3 || 21.7 || 3.2 || 1.7 || 0
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | [[1992 AFL season|1992]]
|{{AFL StK}}
| 16 || 22 || 10 || 7 || 231 || 223 || 454 || 73 || 38 || 0.5 || 0.3 || 10.5 || 10.1 || 20.6 || 3.3 || 1.7 || 5
|- style="background-color: #EAEAEA"
! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | [[1993 AFL season|1993]]
|{{AFL BB}}
| 6 || 20 || 15 || 6 || 236 || 235 || 471 || 87 || 41 || 0.8 || 0.3 || 11.8 || 11.8 || 23.6 || 4.4 || 2.1 || 4
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | [[1994 AFL season|1994]]
|{{AFL BB}}
| 6 || 19 || 5 || 5 || 236 || 213 || 449 || 68 || 35 || 0.3 || 0.3 || 12.4 || 11.2 || 23.6 || 3.6 || 1.8 || 6
|- style="background-color: #EAEAEA"
! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | [[1995 AFL season|1995]]
|{{AFL BB}}
| 6 || 23 || 14 || 11 || 319 || 294 || 613 || 96 || 49 || 0.6 || 0.5 || 13.9 || 12.8 || 26.7 || 4.2 || 2.1 || 7
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | [[1996 AFL season|1996]]
|{{AFL BB}}
| 6 || 24 || 15 || 17 || 341 || 239 || 580 || 90 || 61 || 0.6 || 0.7 || 14.2 || 10.0 || 24.2 || 3.8 || 2.5 || 14
|- style="background-color: #EAEAEA"
! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | [[1997 AFL season|1997]]
|{{AFL BL}}
| 6 || 21 || 4 || 10 || 238 || 172 || 410 || 84 || 59 || 0.2 || 0.5 || 11.3 || 8.2 || 19.5 || 4.0 || 2.8 || 8
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | [[1998 AFL season|1998]]
|{{AFL Fre}}
| 2 || 16 || 8 || 6 || 225 || 142 || 367 || 68 || 40 || 0.5 || 0.4 || 14.1 || 8.9 || 22.9 || 4.3 || 2.5 || 3
|- style="background-color: #EAEAEA"
! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | [[1999 AFL season|1999]]
|{{AFL Fre}}
| 2 || 22 || 9 || 5 || 298 || 283 || 581 || 105 || 38 || 0.4 || 0.2 || 13.5 || 12.9 || 26.4 || 4.8 || 1.7 || 15
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | [[2000 AFL season|2000]]
|{{AFL Fre}}
| 2 || 20 || 4 || 2 || 215 || 220 || 435 || 67 || 53 || 0.2 || 0.1 || 10.8 || 11.0 || 21.8 || 3.4 || 2.7 || 10
|- style="background-color: #EAEAEA"
! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | [[2001 AFL season|2001]]
|{{AFL Fre}}
| 2 || 21 || 3 || 5 || 230 || 250 || 480 || 97 || 54 || 0.1 || 0.2 || 11.0 || 11.9 || 22.9 || 4.6 || 2.6 || 3
|- class="sortbottom"
! colspan=3| Career
! 231
! 97
! 77
! 2819
! 2479
! 5298
! 899
! 493
! 0.4
! 0.3
! 12.2
! 10.7
! 22.9
! 3.9
! 2.1
! 76
|}

== Post-AFL and coaching career==
After being delisted by Fremantle after the [[2001 AFL season|2001 season]] and not being drafted by another AFL club, Fletcher retired from the AFL, and played for [[Williamstown Football Club]] in the [[Victorian Football League|VFL]] for two years. He played 41 games and kicked 17 goals.

Fletcher won the Williamstown best and fairest award in both these seasons and also won the [[Norm Goss Medal]] for best on ground in the 2003 VFL grand final, Fletcher's last game of senior football. He also was a development coach for the [[Collingwood Football Club]] (Williamstown's [[VFL-affiliation|AFL-affiliate]]) during this time.

In 2004, Fletcher joined the [[Geelong Football Club]] as an assistant coach before returning to Collingwood in 2005 as their midfield coach. After the 2007 season, he left Collingwood and returned to the [[Brisbane Lions]] as an assistant coach, where he remains as of 2011.<ref>AAP (3 December 2007) [http://www.theage.com.au/news/Sport/Fletcher-returns-to-Lions/2007/12/03/1196530568309.html Fletcher returns to Lions]; [[The Age]]</ref>

He has made several appearances in [[AFL Legends Match]]es. His wife, [[Narelle Fletcher]], played 295 games in the [[Women's National Basketball League]].<ref>Howell, Stephen (30 January 2003) [http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2003/01/29/1043804406601.html Veteran Fletcher ices a stunning career]</ref>

Fletcher's son, [[Jaspa Fletcher|Jaspa]], was taken at Pick 12 in the [[2022 AFL draft]] by the Brisbane Lions under the [[father–son rule]].

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*{{AFL Tables|A/Adrian_Fletcher}}

{{Fremantle Football Club captains}}
{{Doig Medal}}
{{Glendinning–Allan Medal}}
{{1991 Tasmania State of Origin players}}
{{1993 Tasmania State of Origin players}}
{{1996 The Allies State of Origin players}}
{{Inaugural Brisbane Lions team}}
{{1988 VFL national draft}}
{{1993 AFL pre-season draft}}
{{NGMM}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fletcher, Adrian}}
[[Category:1969 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Australian rules footballers from Tasmania]]
[[Category:Brisbane Bears players]]
[[Category:Brisbane Lions players]]
[[Category:Geelong Football Club players]]
[[Category:St Kilda Football Club players]]
[[Category:Fremantle Football Club players]]
[[Category:Doig Medal winners]]
[[Category:Williamstown Football Club players]]
[[Category:William Leitch Medal winners]]
[[Category:Glenorchy Football Club players]]
[[Category:Tasmanian Football Hall of Fame inductees]]
[[Category:Allies State of Origin players]]
[[Category:Tasmanian State of Origin players]]
[[Category:Fremantle Football Club captains]]