Darryl White (b. 12 June 1973) is an Australian rules footballer whose career with the Brisbane Bears and Lions in the Australian Football League lasted from 1992 to 2005. An Indigenous Australian, in 2005 he was named at fullback in the Australian rules football Indigenous Team of the Century. The Australian rules football Indigenous Team of the Century was selected in 2005 to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the first senior game played by an indigenous Australian player, Fitzroys Joe Johnson in 1904. ... The ATSIC Abo All-Stars are an Australian rules football team composed purely of Abos. ... State of Origin is the name used in Australia for sporting events or other competitions which involve teams from different States or Territories. ... Capital Brisbane Government Constitutional monarchy Governor Quentin Bryce Premier Peter Beattie (ALP) Federal representation  - House seats 28  - Senate seats 12 Gross State Product (2004-05)  - Product ($m)  $158,506 (3rd)  - Product per capita  $40,170/person (6th) Population (End of November 2006)  - Population  4,164,590 (3rd)  - Density  2. ... Slogan or Nickname: The Territory, The NT, The Top End Motto(s): none Other Australian states and territories Capital Darwin Government Constitutional monarchy Administrator Ted Egan Chief Minister Clare Martin (ALP) Federal representation  - House seats 2  - Senate seats 2 Gross Territorial Product (2004-05)  - Product ($m)  $10,418 (8th)  - Product... The Goal of the Year is a competition for the best goals kicked in the Australian Football League. ... The All-Australian Team is an all star team of Australian rules footballers, selected by a panel at the end of each season. ... is the 163rd day of the year (164th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1973 (MCMLXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display full calendar) of the 1973 Gregorian calendar. ... High marking is a key skill and spectator attribute of Aussie Rules Precise field and goal kicking using the oval shaped ball is the key skill in Aussie Rules Football Australian rules football, also known as Australian football, Aussie rules, or simply football or footy is a code of football... The Brisbane Bears Football Club was the first Queensland-based club in the Victorian Football League. ... Brisbane Lions Australian Football Club (the trading name for the Brisbane Bears-Fitzroy Football Club) are an Australian Football League club based in Brisbane, Queensland. ... The Australian Football League (AFL), formerly known as the Victorian Football League, and sometimes known as the VFL/AFL, is the elite Australian national competition in the sport of Australian rules football. ... Year 1992 (MCMXCII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1992 Gregorian calendar). ... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Australian Aborigines are the indigenous peoples of Australia. ... The Australian rules football Indigenous Team of the Century was selected in 2005 to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the first senior game played by an indigenous Australian player, Fitzroys Joe Johnson in 1904. ...

White grew up in Alice Springs in central Australia, playing junior football for the Pioneer Football Club. Like many of his peers he had a difficult adolescence, but had a natural talent for football. In 1990 he represented the Northern Territory at the Teal Cup under-17 national football carnival held in Brisbane, where he came to the attention of Brisbane Bears coach Robert Walls and his football manager Scott Clayton. Impressed with his clean ball handling skills, his leap and his ability to "play tall", the Bears drafted him at the end of the season with a priority draft pick from their Queensland-Northern Territory recruiting zone. Year 1990 (MCMXC) was a common year starting on Monday (link displays the 1990 Gregorian calendar). ... Slogan or Nickname: The Territory, The NT, The Top End Motto(s): none Other Australian states and territories Capital Darwin Government Constitutional monarchy Administrator Ted Egan Chief Minister Clare Martin (ALP) Federal representation  - House seats 2  - Senate seats 2 Gross Territorial Product (2004-05)  - Product ($m)  $10,418 (8th)  - Product... The Teal Cup is the former name of the National Under 18 Championships in Australian rules football. ... Brisbane (pronounced ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Queensland, as well as the third largest city in Australia. ... The Brisbane Bears Football Club was the first Queensland-based club in the Victorian Football League. ... Robert Walls (born July 27, 1950) is a former premiership-winning Australian rules footballer and coach who now works primarily as a television commentator and newspaper columnist on the sport. ... Capital Brisbane Government Constitutional monarchy Governor Quentin Bryce Premier Peter Beattie (ALP) Federal representation  - House seats 28  - Senate seats 12 Gross State Product (2004-05)  - Product ($m)  $158,506 (3rd)  - Product per capita  $40,170/person (6th) Population (End of November 2006)  - Population  4,164,590 (3rd)  - Density  2. ...

Despite initial reluctance to move to the Bears—a club which, in White's words, "only won two games a year" (Morris, 2004)—the future football star was persuaded to give the club a chance (turning up to his first training session in a purple LA Lakers singlet and bouncing a basketball). He found the transition from Alice Springs football to training under strict disciplinarian Walls difficult once there, however: on one occasion during an 8km cycle up a mountain he hurled his bike off a cliff, telling his coach he'd come to play football, not ride bikes. (Voss, 2005; Steele, 2005) Lakers logo 1966-1991 The Los Angeles Lakers are a National Basketball Association (NBA) team based in Los Angeles, California. ...

His first season of football was an announcement of a rare talent, leading the Brownlow Medal count after three rounds with two best-on-ground performances and kicking the official goal of the year with his first-ever goal. However White suffered continual problems with homesickness. At the end of the season he immediately returned to Alice Springs and did not return for the start of pre-season training a month later. When Walls telephoned him to ask him if he was coming back, the response was: "I'm really busy—call me again in a couple of weeks." (Walls, 2002) Little wonder that his coach and teammates sometimes questioned his commitment to football, but his sheer skill and ability compelled them to persist with him. Despite regularly disappearing to Alice Springs every summer, he always returned, ready to try again. The Charles Brownlow Trophy, better known as the Brownlow Medal and colloquially as Charlie, is the medal awarded to the best and fairest player in the Australian Football League during the regular season (ie not including finals matches) as decided upon by umpires. ...

White soon became a crowd favourite, with a marking ability well beyond that which his height would normally allow. Fans grew to instantly recognise his loping running style, his casual but pinpoint foot passing, and his idiosyncratic pose after a mark, holding the ball aloft on its point as if to show the world he'd caught it. He even found city-wide fame when a photo of a spectacular White mark was published on the cover of the 1996 Brisbane White Pages telephone directory (a marketing coup for the struggling club). Year 1996 (MCMXCVI) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display full 1996 Gregorian calendar). ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ...

White's vertical jump allowed his coaches to take advantage of his flexibility by positioning him in a variety of key positions—even, when injuries to teammates demanded it, the ruck. White's opponents were often much taller and stronger but his leap and flexibility allowed him to hold his own in such contests.

White survived the 1996 merger between Fitzroy and the Bears which formed the Brisbane Lions, and was an integral member of its first premiership victory in 2001 playing off half-back. He also played in the Lions' flag wins in 2002 and 2003, as well as its Grand Final loss in 2004. Fitzroy Football Club, most recently nicknamed The Lions, was an Australian rules football club formed in 1883 to represent the inner Melbourne suburb of Fitzroy, Victoria and was a foundation member club of the Victorian Football League (now the Australian Football League) on its inception in 1897. ... Brisbane Lions Australian Football Club (the trading name for the Brisbane Bears-Fitzroy Football Club) are an Australian Football League club based in Brisbane, Queensland. ... Year 2001 (MMI) was a common year starting on Monday (link displays the 2001 Gregorian calendar). ... Also see: 2002 (number). ... Year 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... A Grand Final is the culmination of a series of final matches played between a number of sporting teams to decide the premier team. ... Year 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

By now, White had become an inspiration to other indigenous players, especially those from his former home of the Northern Territory. On one occasion, he even found himself approached by a young indigenous player from another club immediately after a match who asked him to pose for a photograph with him before leaving the ground. His progression from erratic youth to responsible adult had been guided by mentor and former teammate, fellow aborigine Michael McLean. A trip to South Africa in 1997 and a 36-hour gaol term for assault in the same year (later overturned on appeal) opened his eyes to what his life could have been. "I used to be out stealing handbags," he said in 2001. "I was just starting to get into bigger and better stuff. Back then, I was stealing BMWs. Luckily I got caught and got sent away for six months in [a] juvenile detention centre in Perth. Look at me now, it's all changed." (Burke, 2001) Michael Magic McLean (born March 3, 1965 in Darwin, Northern Territory) is a former Australian rules footballer in the VFL/AFL. // McLean was recruited from the Northern Territory Football Leagues Nightcliff Football Club by the Footscray Football Club. ... Year 1997 (MCMXCVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1997 Gregorian calendar). ... The Perth skyline viewed from the Swan River This article is about the metropolitan area of Perth, Western Australia. ...

In 2005 he was named captain of the Indigenous All-Stars, an all-Aboriginal team, selected to play the Western Bulldogs in Darwin that February. White was devastated when he ruptured a thumb ligament at Lions training in the weeks before the game, and was unable to play. Desperate to play a part, he flew in for the occasion and acted as the team's runner during the game. The ATSIC Abo All-Stars are an Australian rules football team composed purely of Abos. ... The Western Bulldogs, formerly known, and occasionally still referred to, as the Footscray Football Club, is an Australian Football League (AFL) club based at the Whitten Oval in Footscray, an inner western suburb of Melbourne. ... Darwin is the capital city of the Australian Territory of the Northern Territory. ...

However, in 2003 and 2004 his form had been patchy, spending increasing time in the club's seconds side, and at the end of each season there was increasing speculation that he would retire. The Lions continued to show their loyalty to the player who had served them so well and re-signed him for the 2005 season, but he added only ten games to his career tally. In the second-last home-and-away game of that season, with the Lions struggling to make the finals, White played in the seconds and kicked nine goals, ensuring his recall for one last game. The Lions were thrashed by St Kilda in Melbourne in a disappointing finish to a spectacular and entertaining career. The Suncoast Lions Football Club is the reserve team of the Brisbane Lions Australian Football Club, and competes in the AFLQ Australian rules football competition. ... St Kilda Football Club, nicknamed The Saints, is an Australian rules football club playing in the Australian Football League. ... Melbourne (pronounced ) is the second most populous city in Australia, with a metropolitan area population of approximately 3. ...

In the last quarter, White fielded a mark at half-forward and held it skyward in trademark fashion. He then drilled a no-look pass forward to Jared Brennan, a player who had idolised White as a boy. Brennan goaled. White's shellshocked teammates flocked around him to offer congratulations. After the siren, he was carried from the ground by indigenous teammates Chris Johnson and Ash McGrath, signifying the respect in which he had been held by his community. Jared Brennan (born July 28, 1984) is an Australian rules footballer in the Australian Football League. ... Chris Johnson (b. ... Ashley Vernon McGrath (born May 20, 1983) is an Australian rules footballer in the Australian Football League. ...

White's contribution to football and his community was recognised in 2005 when he was named at fullback in the Indigenous Team of the Century, alongside premiership teammate Johnson and former mentor McLean. His Brisbane captain, Michael Voss, said that it was important that White be kept involved in football. "He has taught me a lot and helped me try to understand their indigenous culture. He will leave the game with a lot of respect from his teammates and fellow players." (Cartwright, 2005) The Australian rules football Indigenous Team of the Century was selected in 2005 to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the first senior game played by an indigenous Australian player, Fitzroys Joe Johnson in 1904. ... Michael Voss (born July 7, 1975) is an Australian rules footballer, usually playing midfield or in the forward line for Australian Football League team the Brisbane Lions. ...

In the 2005/2006 NTFL Season White played for the Darwin Football Club, playing in a premiership team. The NTFL is a 7 team Australian rules football semi-professional league operating in Darwin in the Northern Territory. ... The Darwin Football Club is a member club of the Northern Territory Football League. ...

In 2006/2007, White switched to the Southern Districts Football Club, where he followed up with another NTFL premierhip. The Southern Districts Football Club is an Australian rules football club established in 1984. ...

References

• Burke, B. 2001, 'White thankful for lucky timing', The Australian, 19 September, p. 24.
• Cartwright, D. 2005, 'White's nine goals earn fond farewell', The Courier-Mail, 26 August, p. 58.
• Morris, G. 2004, 'NT champ is first to 250', Northern Territory News, 2 June, p. 48.
• Steele, S. 2005, 'Lions farewell a favourite', The Sunday Mail, 28 August, p. 98.
• Voss, M. 2005, 'Band of brothers lights up the football world - on and off the field', Sunday Age, 17 July, p. 6.
• Walls, R. 2002, 'Cubs Could Only Dream Of Premierships, Now Lions Are The Stuff Of Nightmares', The Age, 27 March, p. 1.

currently he now plays for AFLQ state League side, Mt Gravett Vultures with fellow former lions player, Shane Morrison. The Australian (informally referred to as The Oz) is a national daily broadsheet newspaper published by Rupert Murdochs News Corporation. ... The Courier-Mail is a daily newspaper published in Brisbane, Australia. ... Northern Territory News is the major tabloid paper in Australias Northern Territory, and the only daily. ... The Sunday Mail is Brisbanes only Sunday newspaper. ... Michael Voss (born July 7, 1975) is an Australian rules footballer, usually playing midfield or in the forward line for Australian Football League team the Brisbane Lions. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Robert Walls (born July 27, 1950) is a former premiership-winning Australian rules footballer and coach who now works primarily as a television commentator and newspaper columnist on the sport. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

External links

• Profile at Brisbane Lions homepage
• Career statistics