Travis Varcoe

Travis Varcoe
Varcoe in 2011
Personal information
Full name	Travis Varcoe
Date of birth	(1988-04-10) 10 April 1988
Place of birth	South Australia
Original team(s)	Smithfield (SAAFL) Central District (SANFL)
Draft	15th overall, 2005 Geelong
Height/Weight	180cm / 80 kg
Position(s)	Forward pocket
Club information
Current club	Collingwood
Number	18
Playing career1
Years	Club	Games (Goals)
2006–2014 2015– Total	Geelong Collingwood	138 (130) 022 0(10) 160 (140)
Representative team honours
Years	Team	Games (Goals)
2009	Indigenous All-Stars	1
International team honours
2010	Australia	2
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 2015 season. 2 State and international statistics correct as of 2010.
Career highlights
Geelong premiership player 2009, 2011

Travis Varcoe (born 10 April 1988) is an Australian rules footballer for the Collingwood Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL).

Career

Varcoe debuted in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL) for Central District Football Club in 2005 at the age of 17. A foot injury early in the season held him back from performing in front of prospective recruiters, before Geelong selected him at the end of the first round with the 15th overall pick in the 2005 National Draft.

Geelong

Varcoe was given the honour of wearing Geelong's number five guernsey, previously worn by club legends Gary Ablett and Polly Farmer. Varcoe plays as a forward pocket but can also play as a midfielder if required, drawing comparisons to Melbourne speedster Aaron Davey, with his consistent forward line pressure and high-speed chase downs on the field. Varcoe is often referred to as "The Magician" with his quick, at times invisible handballs and tricky skills.

Varcoe playing for Geelong in 2008.

Varcoe played a key utility role for Geelong in 2009, which included a valuable contribution in the Grand Final as Geelong defeated St Kilda Football Club. Varcoe played a critical role in delivering a handball to Paul Chapman late in the game which resulted in a brilliant Chapman goal giving Geelong a six-point lead. Shortly after, team mate Max Rooke scored a goal after the final siren to give Geelong a 12-point win.

Going in to the 2010 AFL season, Varcoe put in the most promising preseason of his career, only to succumb to a thumb injury to put him out for the first few weeks of the season. However, onhis return to the senior side, Varcoe played well enough to finish ninth in Geelong's 2010 Best and Fairest count.

Varcoe kicked the first goal of the 2011 AFL Grand Final inside the first 10 seconds of the match. He also kicked the second goal of the match. However his goal at the eight-minute mark in the 4th quarter was possibly goal of the season. Before kicking the goal Varcoe took a mark in Geelong's backline whilst he was almost simultaneously bumped forcing the ball free, and the mark going unpaid. However Varcoe ran forward with the play gathering possessions and ultimately converted a goal from inside 50 moments later. He picked up his 2nd Premiership Medallion in 2011. As of Round 11, 2015, Varcoe had played 149 games and of those 149 games had won 122 of those games. He was also the quickest player to reach 100 wins, playing in his 100th win in his 113th game.

Collingwood

On 15 October 2014, Varcoe was traded to the Collingwood Football Club in a three-way trade between Collingwood, Geelong and Melbourne which also saw Mitch Clark and Heritier Lumumba find new clubs. Despite being considered past his best during his last year at Geelong, since moving to Collingwood Varcoe has enjoyed a renaissance of form, playing arguably the best football of his career. Varcoe is considered one of the best recruits of the 2015 AFL season.

Personal life

In August 2007, Varcoe caused controversy after concerns were raised about the racial and sexual content featured on his MySpace page. The site promoted the theme of black supremacy and contained several images of topless women in suggestive poses. The Geelong Football Club acted swiftly, removing the content immediately after it came to its attention.

Statistics

Statistics are correct to the end of the 2014 season

Season	Team	#	Games	G	B	K	H	D	M	T	G	B	K	H	D	M	T
			Totals								Averages (per game)
2007	Geelong	5	18	15	7	72	72	144	35	57	0.8	0.4	4.0	4.0	8.0	1.9	3.2
2008	Geelong	5	16	14	7	98	87	185	45	72	0.9	0.4	6.1	5.4	11.6	2.8	4.5
2009	Geelong	5	22	22	14	140	173	313	65	75	1.0	0.6	6.4	7.9	14.2	3.0	3.4
2010	Geelong	5	20	31	13	146	174	320	72	82	1.6	0.7	7.3	8.7	16.0	3.6	4.1
2011	Geelong	5	24	31	17	187	202	389	57	51	1.3	0.7	7.8	8.4	16.2	2.4	2.1
2012	Geelong	5	1	0	0	1	1	2	0	1	0.0	0.0	1.0	1.0	2.0	0.0	1.0
2013	Geelong	5	14	8	6	74	95	169	25	59	0.6	0.4	5.3	6.8	12.1	1.8	4.2
2014	Geelong	5	18	8	6	113	152	265	52	68	0.4	0.3	6.3	8.4	14.7	2.9	3.8
Career			133	129	70	831	956	1787	351	465	1.0	0.5	6.2	7.2	13.4	2.6	3.5

External links

• Travis Varcoe's profile on the official website of the Collingwood Football Club
• Travis Varcoe's statistics from AFL Tables

Awards
Preceded by Mathew Stokes	Geelong F.C. Community Champion Award 2010 With: Nathan Djerrkura	Succeeded by Joel Selwood