Nigel Lappin

Nigel Lappin
Personal information
Full name Nigel Lappin
Date of birth (1976-06-21) 21 June 1976
Place of birth Corowa, New South Wales
Original team(s) Chiltern (T&DFL)
Draft No. 2, 1993 National Draft, Brisbane Bears
Height / weight 188cm / 87kg
Playing career1
Years Club Games (Goals)
1994–1996
1997–2008
Total		 Brisbane Bears
Brisbane Lions		 061 0(40)
218 (134)
279 (174)
Representative team honours
Years Team Games (Goals)
Victoria
International team honours
2001 Australia 2
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 2008.
Career highlights

Nigel Lappin (born 21 June 1976) is a former professional Australian rules footballer. Lappin is currently serving as an assistant coach with the Geelong Football Club.[1]

Playing career

Lappin was born in the locally based regional hospital at Corowa, New South Wales and grew up in Chiltern, Victoria. He was drafted to play for the Brisbane Bears in the Australian Football League in 1993, playing his first AFL game the following year. In 1997 he was a member of the inaugural Brisbane Lions team following the Bears merger with Fitzroy.

A long, accurate kick, capable of running as a play maker throughout the whole match, he was recognised as a member of the group of players known as the "Fab Four",[2] a group of highly skilled midfield players considered to be one of the major driving forces behind the Lions successive Australian Football League premierships in 2001, 2002 and 2003. An example of his courage was the 2003 Grand Final win, in which he played the whole match with a broken rib.

Lappin represented Australia in International Rules in 2001.

In 2004 he achieved a personal milestone in winning his first Merrett-Murray Medal. However his 2005 season ended prematurely when he broke his right ankle late in the season. Weeks into his comeback, the ankle was re-injured in a 2006 pre-season practice match, forcing him to miss the entire 2006 season.

Following the retirement of longtime captain Michael Voss at the end of 2006, Lappin was appointed co-captain of the club alongside Simon Black, Luke Power, Jonathan Brown, and Chris Johnson on 20 March 2007.

His cousin Matthew Lappin also played AFL football for Carlton and St. Kilda.

Retirement

On 19 August 2008, Nigel Lappin announced his retirement from professional football. After only being able to play 4 games in the 2008 season due to an Achilles tendon problem, Nigel decided it was time to draw a close on his career. "I'm really disappointed this season hasn't worked out for me," Lappin said at a Gabba press conference. "Every footballer wants the fairytale ending. It's hard to walk away from something that's been a really big part of your life, but I've got a family that will care for me."[3]

In October 2008, Lappin joined the Geelong Football Club as an assistant coach.[4] In 2016 he was inducted into the Australian Football Hall of Fame.

Statistics

[5]
Legend
 G  Goals  B  Behinds  K  Kicks  H  Handballs  D  Disposals  M  Marks  T  Tackles
Season Team # Games G B K H D M T G B K H D M T
Totals Averages (per game)
1994 Brisbane Bears 44 17 8 3 115 82 197 37 11 0.5 0.2 6.8 4.8 11.6 2.2 0.6
1995 Brisbane Bears 44 19 17 18 179 80 259 56 14 0.9 0.9 9.4 4.2 13.6 2.9 0.7
1996 Brisbane Bears 44 25 15 15 376 126 502 118 16 0.6 0.6 15.0 5.0 20.1 4.7 0.6
1997 Brisbane Lions 44 21 10 14 281 119 400 107 17 0.5 0.7 13.4 5.7 19.0 5.1 0.8
1998 Brisbane Lions 44 20 15 12 269 130 399 96 15 0.8 0.6 13.5 6.5 20.0 4.8 0.8
1999 Brisbane Lions 44 25 23 23 281 185 466 109 29 0.9 0.9 11.2 7.4 18.6 4.4 1.2
2000 Brisbane Lions 44 24 16 12 337 179 516 107 33 0.7 0.5 14.0 7.5 21.5 4.5 1.4
2001 Brisbane Lions 44 25 26 19 383 232 615 157 50 1.0 0.8 15.3 9.3 24.6 6.3 2.0
2002 Brisbane Lions 44 18 7 12 275 167 442 92 74 0.4 0.7 15.3 9.3 24.6 5.1 4.1
2003 Brisbane Lions 44 22 8 15 371 191 562 124 70 0.4 0.7 16.9 8.7 25.5 5.6 3.2
2004 Brisbane Lions 44 25 17 17 379 251 630 115 121 0.7 0.7 15.2 10.0 25.2 4.6 4.8
2005 Brisbane Lions 44 16 8 5 220 147 367 76 49 0.5 0.3 13.8 9.2 22.9 4.8 3.1
2006 Brisbane Lions 44 0 — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
2007 Brisbane Lions 44 18 4 6 257 225 482 85 75 0.2 0.3 14.3 12.5 26.8 4.7 4.2
2008 Brisbane Lions 44 4 0 2 35 39 74 14 22 0.0 0.5 8.8 9.8 18.5 3.5 5.5
Career 279 174 173 3758 2153 5911 1293 596 0.6 0.6 13.5 7.7 21.2 4.6 2.1

Career highlights

Teal Cup

Brisbane Bears/Lions

References

  1. ↑ "Coaches presented by Momentum Energy". geelongcats.com.au. Geelong Football Club. Retrieved 16 August 2015.
  2. ↑ Michael Voss says Carlton Fab Four has way to go to match Brisbane greats
  3. ↑ "Nigel Lappin calls it quits". AFL website. 2008-08-19. Retrieved 2008-08-19.
  4. ↑ "Nigel joins Cats' coaching ranks". ABC News website. 2008-10-15. Retrieved 2008-10-15.
  5. ↑ Nigel Lappin's player profile at AFL Tables
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