Sam Butler (footballer, born 1986)

For other people with the same name, see Samuel Butler (disambiguation).

Sam Butler
Personal information
Full name Samuel Butler
Born (1986-01-14) 14 January 1986
Original team Central District (SANFL)
Draft No. 20, 2003 national draft
Height 187 cm (6 ft 2 in)
Weight 82 kg (181 lb)
Position Defender
Playing career1
Years Club Games (Goals)
2004–2017 West Coast 166 (16)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 2017.
Career highlights
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

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 following season due to a groin injury. Butler struggled with groin injuries throughout his career, playing his 100th game during the 2013 season, ten seasons after his debut. Butler retired from being a Footballer in 2017.

Career

Originally from Gawler, South Australia, Butler began playing Australian Rules Football as a teenager. He previously represented South Australia in under-16 soccer.[1] Playing for the South Gawler Football Club, he became the first South Gawler player to reach the AFL.[2] He went on to represent underage squads for Central District Football Club. As 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.[3]

Butler made his debut for the West Coast Eagles in 2004 in Round 10, against Richmond, gathering 14 disposals, five marks and one goal in a 37-point victory against the Eagles. In 2005, He went on to play 12 games that season, including a losing elimination 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). These include the semi-final against the Western Bulldogs (30 disposals, three marks, six tackles) and the preliminary final against Adelaide (22 disposals, six marks, one goal). He was part of the 2006 premiership-winning team.[4]

In 2007, he struggled with a persistent groin strain (Osteitis pubis), not playing any AFL games and only playing a handful of WAFL reserve games for Perth.[5]

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.[5]

Playing against Collingwood in round 20 of the 2014 season, Butler recorded 32 disposals and took 14 marks, both career highs.[6][7]

Butler amassed 25 disposals in the 2015 AFL Grand Final. He was contracted with the Eagles until the end of 2017, the year when he retired.[8] After retirement, Butler accepted a position in West Coast’s commercial partnerships team.[9]

Statistics

Across his 166-game career, Butler recorded a total of 16 goals and 22 behinds, amassing 2,701 disposals (1,603 kicks, 1,098 handballs), 746 marks, and 433 tackles. His per-game averages were 16.3 disposals, 9.7 kicks, 6.6 handballs, 4.5 marks, and 2.6 tackles.[7]
Legend
  G  
 Goals
  K  
 Kicks
  D  
 Disposals 
  T  
 Tackles
  B  
 Behinds 
  H  
 Handballs 
  M  
 Marks
Season Team No. Games Totals Averages (per game)
G B K H D M T G B K H D M T
2004 West Coast 26 12 1 2 87 77 164 33 16 0.1 0.2 7.3 6.4 13.7 2.8 1.3
2005 West Coast 26 14 3 2 103 62 165 51 18 0.2 0.1 7.4 4.4 11.8 3.6 1.3
2006 West Coast 26 14 6 5 156 123 279 58 59 0.4 0.4 11.1 8.8 19.9 4.1 4.2
2007 West Coast 26 0 — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
2008 West Coast 26 5 0 3 49 30 79 21 11 0.0 0.6 9.8 6.0 15.8 4.2 2.2
2009 West Coast 26 16 1 1 132 124 256 60 38 0.1 0.1 8.3 7.8 16.0 3.8 2.4
2010 West Coast 26 5 0 0 45 47 92 26 17 0.0 0.0 9.0 9.4 18.4 5.2 3.4
2011 West Coast 26 13 0 0 160 68 228 80 51 0.0 0.0 12.3 5.2 17.5 6.2 3.9
2012 West Coast 26 14 1 3 177 68 245 74 33 0.1 0.2 12.6 4.9 17.5 5.3 2.4
2013 West Coast 26 15 1 2 167 101 268 78 58 0.1 0.1 11.1 6.7 17.9 5.2 3.9
2014 West Coast 26 12 1 1 108 84 192 47 34 0.1 0.1 9.0 7.0 16.0 3.9 2.8
2015 West Coast 26 17 2 3 181 123 304 96 32 0.1 0.2 10.6 7.2 17.9 5.6 1.9
2016 West Coast 26 20 0 0 162 136 298 86 54 0.0 0.0 8.1 6.8 14.9 4.3 2.7
2017 West Coast 26 9 0 0 76 55 131 36 12 0.0 0.0 8.4 6.1 14.6 4.0 1.3
Career 166 16 22 1603 1098 2701 746 433 0.1 0.1 9.7 6.6 16.3 4.5 2.6

See also

References

  1. ^ Peter Argent (6 June 2013). "The Butler Did It – Bulldogs Export makes 100" – Central District Football Club. Retrieved 10 August 2014.
  2. ^ Chronology Archived 22 February 2014 at the Wayback Machine – South Gawler Football Club. Retrieved 10 August 2014.
  3. ^ "Player - Sam Butler". TheBench. Retrieved 17 March 2026.
  4. ^ "Last of the '06 flag heroes goes as Butler retires". The West Australian. 22 August 2017. Retrieved 8 February 2026.
  5. ^ a b "Sam Butler | WAFL". wafl.com.au. Retrieved 8 February 2026.
  6. ^ "Eagles soar over cold Pies to keep finals hopes alive" – AFL.com.au. Retrieved 10 August 2014.
  7. ^ a b Sam Butler – AFL Tables. Retrieved 10 August 2014.
  8. ^ "Last of the '06 flag heroes goes as Butler retires". The West Australian. 22 August 2017. Retrieved 8 February 2026.
  9. ^ "Sam Butler's unique Grand Final role". AFL Players' Association Limited. 27 September 2018. Retrieved 8 February 2026.
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