Nick Duigan

Nick Duigan /ˈdaɪɡən/[1] (born 7 September 1984)[2] is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Carlton Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL).

Nick Duigan
Personal information
Full name Nick Duigan
Date of birth (1984-09-07) 7 September 1984
Original team(s) Norwood (SANFL)
Draft No. 70, 2010 National Draft, Carlton
Height 186 cm (6 ft 1 in)
Weight 88 kg (194 lb)
Position(s) Defender
Playing career1
Years Club Games (Goals)
2011–2013 Carlton 43 (10)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 2013.
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

Background

Originally from South Australia, Duigan grew up supporting the Adelaide Crows and playing junior football for Pembroke School in Adelaide[2] and also was a junior player at the Walkerville Football Club. Throughout his junior career, he was troubled by injuries and had a hard time stringing a series of games together until after the age of twenty.[1]

Duigan is a registered psychologist;[3] throughout his early 20s, Duigan studied psychology at university, and by the end of 2010, then aged 26, Duigan had completed his master's degree in psychology.[4] During the same period, Duigan played football semi-professionally for the Norwood Football Club in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL), primarily as a defender. He appeared in a total of 87 senior games for the Redlegs during that time,[5] and was the club's vice-captain in 2010.[6] He finished tenth in the 2010 Magarey Medal,[7] and kicked the game-winning goal in Norwood's come-from-behind preliminary final victory against the Eagles.[6]

Duigan is the son of former South Australian Member of Parliament for the seat of Adelaide, Michael Duigan.

AFL career

Duigan left Norwood at the end of 2010, intending to travel to Sudan for a year to do volunteer work.[4] However, he also nominated for the AFL draft, and was drafted by the Carlton Football Club with its fifth selection (#70 overall).[2] The selection surprised many, as it was very rare at the time for a player as old as Duigan (26), and without previous AFL experience, to be drafted.[5] Duigan was given guernsey number 34.

Playing in defence, Duigan impressed for the Blues during the pre-season, and he made his senior AFL debut in the club's first round match against Richmond.[8] He immediately became a regular in the Carlton backline in the 2011, and was noted for both his ability and his courage.[9] He played twenty-two games for the year and won Carlton's Best First Year Player award.[10] He played sixteen matches in 2012.

In 2013, Duigan was elevated to the club's five-man leadership group,[11] however struggled to retain his place in the team on form, playing only three home-and-away matches for the year. He was famously brought into Carlton's elimination final team as an emergency after Brock McLean was injured at the very end of the warm-up, and kicked four goals as Carlton overcame a 32-point deficit to defeat Richmond in front of a record crowd of 94,690.[12]

Duigan had intended to continue playing in 2014, but after struggling with an ongoing knee injury during the first month of the pre-season, he announced his retirement on 9 December 2013.[13]

Post-AFL career

In 2014, Duigan moved Geraldton, Western Australia to take a role with mental health services provider Youth Focus. He also took a role as coach, with ambitions to play should his knee heal sufficiently, with the Towns Football Club in the Great Northern Football League.[14]

References
  1. de Bolfo, T., Blues shore up the spine, says Hughes Archived 28 March 2011 at the Wayback Machine, Retrieved 23 March 2011
  2. Carlton Football Club Selection 70 - Nick Duigan Archived 28 March 2011 at the Wayback Machine, retrieved 23 March 2011.
  3. Windley, Matt. "AFL players often get labelled meatheads who can only kick a footy, but who is the smartest player at your club?". The Advertiser. News Corporation. Retrieved 15 August 2017.
  4. Gleeson, M., The Age, "Out of Africa and into Carlton", 19 November 2010, Retrieved 23 March 2011.
  5. Morgan, K, The Messenger, "Legs pair's dream AFL call-up," 18 November 2010, Retrieved 23 March 2011.
  6. Davis, E. SANFL News Archived 17 February 2011 at the Wayback Machine, "Norwood defeat Eagles", 26 September 2010, Retrieved 23 March 2011.
  7. Norwood Football Club 2010 Magarey Medal Count, Retrieved 23 March 2011
  8. Windley, M., Herald Sun, "Carlton to play three debutants against Richmond in season opener", 23 March 2011, Retrieved 23 March 2011.
  9. Pierik, Jon (5 June 2011). "Duigan talent drawing attention". The Age. Retrieved 3 August 2011.
  10. "Murphy wins his first John Nicholls Medal". Carlton Football Club. 4 October 2011. Archived from the original on 17 November 2011. Retrieved 5 October 2011.
  11. "Blues name 2013 leadership group". Carlton Football Club. 10 December 2012. Retrieved 11 December 2012.
  12. Jon Ralph (8 September 2013). "Carlton kicks Richmond out of AFL finals in thrilling elimination final comeback". Herald Sun. Melbourne, VIC. Retrieved 8 September 2013.
  13. "Carlton given permission to place Nick Duigan on long-term injury list". Herald Sun. 9 December 2013. Retrieved 9 December 2013.
  14. Dale Miller (22 February 2014). "Twist takes Duigan to Geraldton". The West Australian. Retrieved 28 March 2014.
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