Tom Lonergan (footballer)
Tom Lonergan | |||
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Personal information | |||
Full name | Tom Lonergan | ||
Nickname(s) | Domsy | ||
Date of birth | 17 May 1984 | ||
Original team(s) |
TAC Cup ) | ||
Draft | No. 23, 2002 national draft | ||
Height | 197 cm (6 ft 6 in) | ||
Weight | 95 kg (209 lb) | ||
Position(s) | Defender | ||
Playing career1 | |||
Years | Club | Games (Goals) | |
2005–2017 | Geelong | 209 (55) | |
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 2017. | |||
Career highlights | |||
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Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com |
Tom Lonergan (born 17 May 1984) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Geelong Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL).
Career
Early career
Lonergan grew up in
2006: Injury
On 26 August 2006, Lonergan suffered serious internal injury to his kidney whilst playing in a Round 21 draw against Melbourne - which was also just his seventh AFL-level match.[3] Lonergan's kidney was severely damaged when he backed into a marking contest against Melbourne's Brad Miller.[3]
Lonergan was immediately hospitalised, taken to the Geelong Hospital and had been in a stable condition before his blood pressure rose overnight,[4] forcing him to undergo trauma surgery to remove his right kidney.[3] His kidney was found to be badly lacerated and bruised, which was accentuated by the scar tissue caused by a previous footballing injury he had suffered as a 16-year-old.[3] During the six-hour procedure, Lonergan's entire blood supply had to be replaced three times, flushing it through with up to 40 units of blood,[5] placing him into an induced coma.[3][6] Lonergan remained in a coma for four days, with it taking six hours to bring him back to consciousness.[7] He also lost 17 kg during the ordeal.[8]
Lonergan decided to continue his AFL career, after considering premature retirement, with Geelong agreeing to delist Lonergan, but then re-draft him via the Rookie Draft,
The day after being re-drafted by Geelong, Lonergan was again involved in another potentially life-threatening incident, this time in the form of a serious car accident.[11] The accident occurred when Lonergan was driving to training, and another car careered into his passenger-side door and pushed him into oncoming traffic.[11] He was lucky to escape with just a scratched leg, but the accident did write off his car.[11] This was another chapter in Lonergan's run of bad luck, with his car getting broken into just a week and a half before the accident.[11] Lonergan stated to the media that he hoped his bad luck had finally come to an end, and jokingly attributed the bad luck to the fact he wore the "unlucky" number 13.[11]
2007: VFL comeback and glory
Lonergan made his return to the sport on 17 June,
To cap a fairytale return to football Lonergan played in the 126-52 VFL Grand Final win over the
Lonergan was the recipient of the club's Community Champion award, presented at the club's Best and Fairest dinner.[13][14]
2008–2017: AFL success
Lonergan played in the Geelong team in the 2008 AFL Grand Final, and missed selection into the Geelong 2009 premiership team. However, during 2011 Tom became a key member of Geelong's defensive back six players, and played a critical role in the 2011 AFL Grand Final holding Travis Cloke goalless in the second half, after Cloke had kicked three goals early in the game while playing on Harry Taylor.[15] The job he executed was crucial for the Cats as it helped stemmed the flow of Collingwood goals and took the red-hot Cloke out of the game.[16]
During the
Coaching
Following his retirement from playing, Lonergan took on talent and development coaching roles in the Victorian under-18s competition, first at the Calder Cannons as talent manager (2019–2020), then at the Geelong Falcons as talent operations lead (2021–2022). He joined the Carlton Football Club as talent and development manager in 2023.[19]
Personal life
Following his injuries, Lonergan became an ambassador for Zaidee's Rainbow Foundation, an organisation raising awareness of organ donation. The Geelong senior side wore rainbow-coloured laces (the symbol of the foundation) in their boots during their match against the Brisbane Lions immediately following Lonergan's VFL match.[8] Lonergan was in fact wearing rainbow laces during the match in which he was injured.[20]
He is the youngest son of Trish and Bernie (Stump) Lonergan, who still live in
Statistics
- Statistics are correct to the end of the 2017 season[21]
G
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Goals
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K
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Kicks | D
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Disposals | T
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Tackles |
B
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Behinds
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H
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Handballs | M
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Marks
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Season | Team | No. | Games | Totals | Averages (per game) | ||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
G | B | K | H | D | M | T | G | B | K | H | D | M | T | ||||
2005 | Geelong | 13 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 13 | 12 | 25 | 12 | 2 | 1.3 | 0.8 | 3.3 | 3.0 | 6.3 | 3.0 | 0.5 |
2006 | Geelong | 13 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 17 | 7 | 24 | 12 | 5 | 0.3 | 0.7 | 5.7 | 2.3 | 8.0 | 4.0 | 1.7 |
2008 | Geelong | 13 | 16 | 36 | 21 | 121 | 70 | 191 | 87 | 25 | 2.3 | 1.3 | 7.6 | 4.4 | 11.9 | 5.4 | 1.6 |
2009 | Geelong | 13 | 9 | 2 | 1 | 40 | 67 | 107 | 36 | 20 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 4.4 | 7.4 | 11.9 | 4.0 | 2.2 |
2010 | Geelong | 13 | 22 | 0 | 1 | 99 | 196 | 295 | 109 | 46 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 4.5 | 8.9 | 13.4 | 5.0 | 2.1 |
2011 | Geelong | 13 | 21 | 0 | 0 | 99 | 108 | 207 | 80 | 44 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 4.7 | 5.1 | 9.9 | 3.8 | 2.1 |
2012 | Geelong | 13 | 22 | 3 | 2 | 144 | 107 | 251 | 98 | 40 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 6.5 | 4.9 | 11.4 | 4.5 | 1.8 |
2013 | Geelong | 13 | 25 | 4 | 3 | 104 | 106 | 210 | 85 | 47 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 4.2 | 4.2 | 8.4 | 3.4 | 1.9 |
2014 | Geelong | 13 | 23 | 1 | 3 | 136 | 116 | 252 | 97 | 42 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 5.9 | 5.0 | 11.0 | 4.2 | 1.8 |
2015 | Geelong | 13 | 19 | 2 | 1 | 162 | 113 | 275 | 119 | 25 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 8.5 | 6.0 | 14.5 | 6.3 | 1.3 |
2016 | Geelong | 13 | 22 | 1 | 0 | 162 | 94 | 256 | 98 | 36 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 7.4 | 4.3 | 11.6 | 4.5 | 1.6 |
2017 | Geelong | 13 | 23 | 0 | 1 | 153 | 170 | 323 | 99 | 45 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 6.7 | 7.4 | 14.0 | 4.3 | 2.0 |
Career | 209 | 55 | 38 | 1250 | 1166 | 2416 | 932 | 377 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 6.0 | 5.6 | 11.6 | 4.5 | 1.8 |
References
- ^ a b c d Robinson, Mark (30 September 2011)Geelong defender Tom Lonergan dreams of first premiership; Herald Sun
- ^ "Tom Lonergan statistics". AFL Tables. Retrieved 2 May 2010.
- ^ a b c d e "Geelong's Lonergan tipped to play on". The Age. 28 August 2006. Retrieved 27 September 2008.
- ^ "Aussie Rules player loses kidney in clash". Independent Online. 27 August 2006. Retrieved 27 September 2008.
- ^ Sheahan, Mike (21 September 2006). "Cat reveals his brush with death". Herald Sun. Retrieved 27 September 2008.
- ^ a b Johnson, Lyall (13 June 2007). "Cats cheer Lonergan's VFL comeback". realfooty.com.au. Retrieved 27 September 2008.
- ^ "Geelong's Lonergan taken out of coma". The Age. 31 August 2006. Retrieved 27 September 2008.
- ^ a b c Gullan, Scott (14 June 2007). "Lucky Tom at end of rainbow". Herald Sun. Retrieved 27 September 2008.
- ^ a b c d McCullagh-Beasy, Justine (14 November 2006). "Lonergan to don hoops next season". sportsaustralia.com. Retrieved 27 September 2008.
- ^ "Lonergan set to resume training". ABC Sport. 14 November 2006. Retrieved 27 September 2008.
- ^ a b c d e f "This Cat has nine lives". PerthNow. 13 December 2006. Retrieved 27 September 2008.
- ^ Gullan, Scott (17 June 2007). "Lonergan returns to footy sans kidney". The Age. Retrieved 27 September 2008.
- ^ Gullan, Scott (5 October 2007). "Ablett turns the tables on Bartel in Geelong B&F". Herald Sun. Retrieved 29 September 2008.
- ^ Witham, Jennifer (4 October 2007). "Ablett tops off a grand year for Geelong". AFL BigPond Network. Archived from the original on 25 April 2009. Retrieved 29 September 2008.
- ^ "Lonergan relishes Cloke and tagger role". The Age. 1 October 2011. Archived from the original on 24 August 2015.
- ^ Geelong confirm greatness with incredible Cat-trick Archived 5 November 2011 at the Wayback Machine, The Michael DiFabrizio Report, Retrieved on 6 October 2011.
- ^ a b Ralph, Jon (8 October 2014). "Tom Lonergan offered three-year contract to move from Geelong to Western Bulldogs". Herald Sun. Melbourne: The Herald and Weekly Times. Archived from the original on 9 October 2014. Retrieved 12 October 2014.
- ^ "AFL trades: James Gwilt is set to sign with Essendon after being delisted by St Kilda". Herald Sun. Melbourne: The Herald and Weekly Times. 11 October 2014. Archived from the original on 11 October 2014. Retrieved 12 October 2014.
- ^ "Tom Lonergan". Carlton Football Club. 16 January 2023. Retrieved 27 August 2023.
- ^ Shields, Jason (14 June 2007). "Tom Cat's new goal". Geelong Advertiser. Retrieved 27 September 2008.
- ^ Tom Lonergan's player profile at AFL Tables
External links
- Tom Lonergan's profile on the official website of the Geelong Football Club
- Tom Lonergan's playing statistics from AFL Tables