Rock played his junior football at St Dominic's Junior FC—a club that later folded due to lack of parent volunteers, leaving him without a club at age 13.
He made his debut in the league during the 1988 season with North Melbourne. He stayed with the club a further 3 years after playing in their 1996 centenary premiership, moving to Hawthorn until his retirement in 2001. His final game was with VFL affiliate Box Hill Hawks, securing another flag in the club's first premiership.
He then joined Fremantle as a development coach for the 2016 season[2] and was then promoted to their Midfield Coach from 2017 to 2019.
Accelerate program
In 2010, the AFLPA supported Anthony Rock with his Accelerate program which provided a unique opportunity for 20 young men rejected by the AFL draft the first time around by putting together an infrastructure of expertise in a bid to keep the game's most talented second-tier players from 18 to 23 in the correct physical and emotional state to win a second chance. In partnership with sports consulting group Infront, three major sponsors, and the AFLPA's support, Rock was able to set up partnerships with seven VFL clubs and worked with 20 footballers hoping to be drafted.[3]
Victoria 17.14 (116) defeated Tasmania 14.20 (104), at North Hobart Oval, 28 May 1991
Queensland 23.14 (152) defeated Victoria 15.8 (108), at The Gabba, 16 July 1991
Victoria 19.16 (130) defeated New South Wales-ACT 8.17 (65), at the MCG, 1 June 1993, crowd: 22,409
South Australia 16.13 (109) defeated Victoria 14.13 (97), at the MCG, 5 June 1993, crowd: 31,792