Andrew Purser
Purser in 2023
Personal information
Full name Andrew Douglas Purser
Date of birth (1958-10-31) 31 October 1958 (age 65)
Original team(s) East Fremantle (WAFL)
Draft No. 1, 1982 interstate draft
Height 193 cm (6 ft 4 in)
Weight 83 kg (183 lb)
Position(s) Ruckman
Playing career1
Years Club Games (Goals)
1978–1982 East Fremantle 085 (29)
1983–1987 Footscray 112 (16)
1988 West Perth 002 0(1)
Total 199 (46)
Representative team honours
Years Team Games (Goals)
1983–1985 Western Australia 3 (0)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 1988.
Career highlights
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

Andrew Douglas Purser (born 31 October 1958) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Footscray Football Club in the Victorian Football League (VFL) and for the East Fremantle Football Club and West Perth Football Club in the Western Australian Football League (WAFL).

Career

Purser began his football career in 1978 with East Fremantle Football Club in the Western Australian Football League (WAFL). He played 85 games for East Fremantle over five seasons, where he was a member of the 1979 premiership team[1] and won the club's fairest and best award in 1981.[2]

Purser was drafted No. 1 by the Footscray Football Club in the 1982 VFL draft.[3] He debuted for Footscray in 1983 and played 112 VFL games over five seasons.[4] He was awarded the Charles Sutton Medal in 1984 as the club's best and fairest[3] and in 1985 he helped the club reach the preliminary final, where they lost to Hawthorn by 10 points.[5] He also represented Western Australia football in 1983, 1984 and 1985.[6]

Purser returned to Western Australia in 1988 and played two games for West Perth Football Club in the WAFL before retiring from football at age 28[2] to pursue a career in the finance industry.[5]

Profile

Purser played as a ruckman. At 193 cm (6 ft 4 in), he was considered undersized for the position.[5] He was bound by a Footscray club rule to not enter the forward 50 and to always remain a kick behind play.[5]

Personal life

Purser and his wife, Jenny, have two children.[5] His son, Ben, is a basketball player.[7]

References

  1. ^ "1979 Premiers". facebook.com/effccollection. 9 January 2021. Retrieved 9 January 2021.
  2. ^ a b "Andrew Purser". australianfootball.com. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
  3. ^ a b "Andrew Purser". draftguru.com.au. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
  4. ^ "Andrew Purser". afltables.com. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
  5. ^ a b c d e "Western Bulldogs Past Players – Newsletter February 2020" (PDF). Western Bulldogs. 29 July 2020. pp. 3–4. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
  6. ^ "State Games 1951-2011". wafooty.com.au. Retrieved 19 February 2016.
  7. ^ Hope, Shayne (3 August 2011). "Wildcats bring in ex-AFL star's son". Yahoo.com. The West Australian. Archived from the original on 2 March 2014.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Andrew Purser.
Charles Sutton Medal · Western Bulldogs best and fairest winners
Western Australian team – 1983 Interstate Championships
Western Australian team – 1984 Interstate Championships
Western Australian team – 1985 Interstate Championships
1982 VFL interstate draft
VFL/AFL number one overall draft picks
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