Robert Copeland (footballer)

Robert Copeland
Copeland at a training session in 2008
Personal information
Full name Robert Copeland
Nickname(s) Bushie
Date of birth (1981-05-26) 26 May 1981 (age 43)
Place of birth Redcliffe, Queensland
Original team(s) Northern Eagles AFC
Draft 66th selection, 2001 Rookie Draft
Height 187 cm (6 ft 2 in)
Weight 85 kg (187 lb)
Position(s) Half back
Playing career1
Years Club Games (Goals)
2001–2008 Brisbane Lions 143 (39)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 2008.
Career highlights
  • Premiership player: 2001, 2003
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

Robert Copeland (born 26 May 1981) is a former Australian Football League footballer for the Brisbane Lions and former captain of the Aspley hornets in the NEAFL. He is a dual premiership winner (2001, 2003) and was delisted in 2008.

Early Life and Junior Football

Copeland was born in Redcliffe, Queensland and raised in Kilcoy.[1] He played his junior football with the Strathpine Swans in Brisbane's northern suburbs.[1]

Overlooked in successive AFL Drafts, Copeland was recruited to the Brisbane Lions through the 2001 Rookie Draft (QLD Zone) from the Northern Eagles and was elevated to the Senior list on 10 May that year after Michael Voss was placed on the long-term injury list.[1]

AFL Career

Copeland made his debut for the Brisbane Lions in Round 9, 2001 against Adelaide. Copeland was regularly employed in a tagging role. Copeland's tagging job on Collingwood Captain, Nathan Buckley in the 2003 AFL Grand Final was considered a decisive influence in the Brisbane Lions win.

Copeland played 143 games for the Lions, usually as an automatic selection. However in September 2008 Copeland was delisted due to recurrent injuries and inconsistent performance.[2] After being overlooked in the 2008 draft Copeland was chosen to be the inaugural captain for new first division QAFL club Aspley Hornets.[3][4]

Statistics

[5]
Legend
  G  
 Goals
  K  
 Kicks
  D  
 Disposals 
  T  
 Tackles
  B  
 Behinds 
  H  
 Handballs 
  M  
 Marks
Season Team No. Games Totals Averages (per game)
G B K H D M T G B K H D M T
2001 Brisbane Lions 30 17 7 4 93 27 120 37 26 0.4 0.2 5.5 1.6 7.1 2.2 1.5
2002 Brisbane Lions 30 17 3 3 74 36 110 25 32 0.2 0.2 4.4 2.1 6.5 1.5 1.9
2003 Brisbane Lions 30 18 3 2 143 61 204 63 49 0.2 0.1 7.9 3.4 11.3 3.5 2.7
2004 Brisbane Lions 30 25 2 3 179 93 272 80 66 0.1 0.1 7.2 3.7 10.9 3.2 2.6
2005 Brisbane Lions 30 15 4 0 88 54 142 31 59 0.3 0.0 5.9 3.6 9.5 2.1 3.9
2006 Brisbane Lions 30 17 1 0 134 85 219 65 38 0.1 0.0 7.9 5.0 12.9 3.8 2.2
2007 Brisbane Lions 30 21 15 10 140 94 234 70 49 0.7 0.5 6.7 4.5 11.1 3.3 2.3
2008 Brisbane Lions 30 13 4 3 68 57 125 34 39 0.3 0.2 5.2 4.4 9.6 2.6 3.0
Career 143 39 25 919 507 1426 405 358 0.3 0.2 6.4 3.5 10.0 2.8 2.5

Achievements

References

  1. ^ a b c 2023 Queensland Football Hall of Fame – Robert Copeland 14 September 2023
  2. ^ "Brisbane Lions discard premiership player Copeland". AFL Website. 19 September 2008. Archived from the original on 22 September 2008. Retrieved 19 September 2008.
  3. ^ AFL Queensland: Copeland to inspire new club Aspley
  4. ^ Couriermail.com: Brisbane Lions stars Jamie Charman, Daniel Merrett to play practice match for Aspley
  5. ^ Robert Copeland's player profile at AFL Tables
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