Brett Chalmers (born 23 April 1973) is a former Australian rules footballer who played in the Australian Football League.

Brett Chalmers
Personal information
Full name Brett Chalmers
Date of birth (1973-04-23) 23 April 1973 (age 51)
Original team(s) Port Adelaide
Height 195 cm (6 ft 5 in)
Weight 94 kg (207 lb)
Playing career1
Years Club Games (Goals)
1991–92, 94–99 Port Adelaide (SANFL) 120 (47)
1993 Collingwood 00 0(0)
1994–1997 Adelaide 50 0(8)
1998–1999 Port Adelaide 25 (12)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 1999.
Career highlights
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

Originally from Cleve in Port Adelaide’s country zone, Chalmers was a highly rated player from his early teens, playing for the State Schoolboys Under-15s in 1988.[1] He was drafted at sixteen to the VFL/AFL by the Richmond Football Club with the No. 103 selection in the 1989 VFL draft.[2] By this time, Chalmers had already played some games for the Port Adelaide thirds,[2] but never even considered going to Punt Road.[1][3] He remained in the SANFL for the next three years, making his senior debut for the SANFL Magpies in 1991 and representing the league the following season, at whose end he had played 42 senior games.[3]

Frustrated by their failure to convince Chalmers to join the club, and with their hold expiring with the 1992 AFL National Draft, Richmond attempted to trade Chalmers to numerous other AFL clubs, most notably St. Kilda[4] and Hawthorn.[5] Chalmers insisted he would play in the AFL only with Collingwood — with whom Richmond were implacably opposed to doing any deal because they believed doing so constituted subverting the draft[5] — although when drafted Chalmers announced he would not join Collingwood until 1994.[6] It soon emerged that Chalmers had engaged in draft tampering: in an attempt to get to Collingwood, he had contacted most other AFL clubs and told them that he would remain in the SANFL if another club drafted him. In May 1993, Chalmers admitted his guilt,[7] and in response, the AFL issued Chalmers a huge $30,000 fine, and made him ineligible to play for Collingwood for three years.[8]

Consequently, Collingwood traded Chalmers to Adelaide. He played four seasons for the Adelaide Crows, during which he was affected by a succession of injuries,[1] then two seasons for the Port Adelaide Power. He totalled 75 AFL games, but continued to play for the SANFL Magpies when recovering from injury or losing form.[1]

Personal life

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Chalmers is the father of Olympic gold medallist swimmer Kyle Chalmers.[9]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d Hamilton, Jodie (24 July 1997). "Family Key to AFL Success". Port Lincoln Times. Port Lincoln, South Australia. p. 36.
  2. ^ a b "The 1989 National Draft". The Age. 16 November 1989. p. 34.
  3. ^ a b Denham, Greg; Blake, Martin; Johnson, Len (11 November 1992). "Eagles Likely To Make Ruckman Top Draft Choice". The Age. p. 32.
  4. ^ Linnell, Stephen (12 November 1992). "AFL Query Over Pies' Top Recruit". The Age. p. 28.
  5. ^ a b Baum, Greg; Linnell, Stephen (3 November 1992). "Hawks Drop Deal with Tigers for Chalmers". The Age. p. 38.
  6. ^ "The 1992 AFL Draft". The Age. 12 November 1992. p. 26.
  7. ^ Linnell, Stephen (19 May 1993). "I'm Guilty, Says Chalmers". The Age. p. 36.
  8. ^ Linnell, Stephen (9 June 1993). "Chalmers fined $30,000". The Age. Melbourne, VIC. p. 34.
  9. ^ "Kyle Chalmers ready to make a splash in world swimming championships". The Sydney Morning Herald. 4 August 2015. Retrieved 28 August 2015.
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