Samuel Butler (born 14 January 1986) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the West Coast Eagles in the Australian Football League (AFL). Raised in Gawler, South Australia, Butler took up Australian rules football as a teenager. He was drafted by the West Coast Eagles with the 20th pick in the 2003 National Draft after playing in a SANFL reserves premiership for Central District in the same year. Butler debuted for West Coast during the 2004 season and was nominated for the AFL Rising Star award. A mid-sized defender and occasional midfielder, he played in West Coast's 2006 premiership team, but did not participate in the next season due to injury. Butler has struggled with injury throughout his career, playing his 100th game during the 2013 season, ten seasons after his debut.

Contents

• Career
• Statistics
• See also
• References
• External links

Career

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Originally from Gawler, South Australia, Butler began playing Australian Rules Football as a teenager, where he previously represented the state in under-16 soccer. ^[1] He played junior football for the South Gawler Football Club, becoming the first South Gawler player to reach the AFL ^[2] and later featured in underage sides for Central District Football Club. A member of the AIS/AFL Academy, he represented South Australia at the AFL Under-18 Championships in 2002 and 2003, and was part of Central District's reserves SANFL premiership team in 2003.

Butler made his debut for the West Coast Eagles in Round 10, 2004 against Richmond, gathering 14 disposals, five marks and one goal in a 37-point win to the Eagles. He went on to play 12 games that season, including a losing elimination final against Sydney.

In 2005, he played 14 games for the club, including the losing grand final against Sydney.

He played his first game of the 2006 season in round 13 against the Western Bulldogs, where he picked up 22 disposals and six marks. He then played in a further 13 games (14 games in total for the season) and performed well in the final series. Notable performances include the semi-final against the Western Bulldogs (30 disposals, three marks, six tackles) and the preliminary final against Adelaide l (22 disposals, six marks, one goal). He was part of the 2006 premiership-winning team.

In 2007, he struggled with a persistent groin strain (Osteitis pubis), not playing any AFL games and only playing a handful of WAFL and WAFL reserve games for Perth.

He had a slow start to the 2008 season, having a modified pre-season training program due to groin injuries and played five games for his WAFL side Perth, playing two reserves games and three senior games. He was given a week off before making his return to the Eagles senior side against Sydney in Round 11.

Playing against Collingwood in round 20 of the 2014 season, Butler recorded 32 disposals and took 14 marks, both career highs. ^{[3] [4]}

Butler amassed 25 disposals in the 2015 AFL Grand Final. He was contracted with the Eagles until the end of 2017.

Statistics

^[5]

See also

• List of AFL debuts in 2004
• List of West Coast Eagles players

References

External links

• Sam Butler's playing statistics from AFL Tables
• Sam Butler at AustralianFootball.com
• Sam Butler's WAFL playing statistics at WAFLFootyFacts.net