AFL Season 2015 Trivia Quiz

Answer: Mick Malthouse

The previous record of 714 games as coach was held by Jack McCale who coached Collingwood from 1912-1949.
Mick Malthouse began his sporting career as a player for St Kilda then moved to Richmond Tigers. His coaching career began in 1984 with Footscray (previous name of Western Bulldogs) whom he coached until 1989. He moved west to take over the head job at West Coast Eagles. In his ten years there, they made the finals series each year, playing in three Grand Finals, and winning two of those. He moved to Melbourbe and, from 2000 until 2011 he was coach of Collingwood, guiding them to four Grand Final appearances, only one of which they won. He left Collingwood at the end of 2011 after a three year plan by club President Eddie McGuire to have him train up former player Nathan Buckley as the new coach. He refused the job offered to him for 2012 at Collingwood as Director of Coaching, instead taking a role as commentator for that season. He returned to coaching in 2013 as coach of Carlton with hopes of taking them to his past successes.
They finished in ninth place in his first season, but due to the supplements scandal at Essendon and penalties imposed against them, Carlton made it to the finals series as Essendon were disqulified. They won their elimination final, giving Malthouse the record of the most successful finals coach. The following week they lost and their season was over. Season 2014 was not a successful year and Carlton finished in thirteenth place at the end of the home and away season. Things did not improve in 2015, and after Round 8, sitting at one win and seven losses and 718 games as a coach, he was sacked after he was critical of the club board and administrators in a radio interview, though whispers were rife that his job was already under consideration. Carlton would go on to win only three more games in the season and take out the wooden spoon.

Answer: An imaginary spear

Indigenous Round is a round to celebrate the contribution of Aboriginal players in the league. Ceremonies such as Welcome to Country are preformed before the match as well as entertainment featuring Indigenous performers. Teams wear specially designed guernseys of Aboriginal art in their club colours.
On scoring a goal, Goodes performed a dance which finished with him throwing an imaginary spear into the crowd. Playing at his home ground, he threw the "spear" towards a group of Carlton fans sitting in the stands.
Incorrectly labeled in some media outlets as a traditional war dance, it was actually created by an under 16 Indigenous football team (the Flying Boomerangs) that Adam was involved with and was his homage to future stars of the game as well as a celebration of the Indigenous Round.
Though the move was imitated by children across playgrounds and football fields around the country, reaction to his dance was seen by some as an act of aggression and as a threat and over the next several weeks anger towards this action would build.
Adam Goodes, at the time held the record for the longest playing Indigenous player in the AFL, having taken that title in 2014. He has English, Irish and Scottish ancestry on his fathers side and Indigenous Australian (Adnyamanthanha/Narungga) on his mothers. Some of his other achievements have been: Rising Star (1999), Club Captain (2009-20012), Premiership player (2005, 2012), Club Champion (2003, 2006, 2011), Brownlow Medalist (2003, 2006), All Australian (2003, 2006, 2009, 2011) Indigenous All-Stars (2003), Indigenous Team of the Century (2008), Club leading goal kicker (2009-2011) as well as many media awards. Off the field he is an ambassador for Recognise, campaigning for Indigenous Australians to be mentioned in the Constitution, co-founder of GO Foundation, providing scholarships for Indigenous youth and the face of the government program "Racism. It stops with me." In 2014 he was awarded Australian of the Year for his sporting achievements as well as his charity and youth work.
Other themed rounds that occurred during the season were Women's Round, Multicultural Round, Heritage Round and Rivalry Round.

Answer: Fremantle Dockers

The previous best start to the season had been three consecutive wins for the Dockers. They lost their Round 10 match at home, with Richmond the winners by 27 points. Of those teams mentioned, West Coast lost their season opener in Round one, and the Magpies and the reigning Premiers Hawthorn had their first loss in Round two.

The Dockers had been on top of the ladder since Round 4 and would remain there for the remainder of the home and away season. Though they had an impressive start to the season, Fremantle were not a favourite with punters to win the flag with Hawthorn the leading the betting.

Answer: Adelaide Crows

Phil Walsh, in his first year as head coach, was stabbed to death at home. He was aged fifty five. His son was charged in relation to his death. With a career spanning thirty three years, first as a player, then in coaching roles, he had finally achieved his dream of head coach. In his career he had been involved with seven of the leagues clubs.
The football world was in shock and mourning. The match between Adelaide and Geelong was cancelled, the first time in AFL/VFL history that had match was cancelled rather than postponed or rescheduled and the points split between the two. For the remaining matches on the weekend, all pre-game and post game ceremonies were scrapped, so too the playing of club songs and the banners the players run through. A video tribute to Walsh was played before the game and there was a minute of silence. Players wore black arms. At the end of each match both teams and coaches came together and stood arm in arm around the centre circle, alternating colours. Starting times of other matches were changed so that the memorial from Adelaide Oval could be shown across other arenas.
On social media tributes flew with the hashtags We Fly As One (the club motto) and Put Out Your Scarves trending. Memes were created along the lines of "I support (team name), but this weekend We Fly As One."
A makeshift memorial of flowers, candles and team memorabilia was set up by fans at Adelaide Oval. On the day the match was supposed to have been played, the gates were thrown open. A crowd of more than 15,000 representing fans of various AFL teams, had marched silently to the stadium. At 2.50pm local time, when the match was scheduled to start, the siren sounded. After a minutes silence the siren sounded again, the crowd clapped and cheered and shouted "Carn crows!" and then the tears flowed.
Tribute was paid to him in the opposing football code, the NRL, with a minutes silence being observed at all matches there as well.
Their first match back, in the following round, took place in Perth against the West Coast Eagles, where Walsh had been an assistant coach for five years. The team was given a standing ovation by the crowd. Adelaide were in the lead at the end of the first quarter but went on to lose the match. The players walked off the field in tears through an honour guard of family and friends flown in from interstate for the match to a heartfelt round of applause.
Their Round 16 match was the Showdown, held between the two Adelaide clubs. Walsh had been an assistant coach for Port Power in the preceding season. Both teams ran onto the field together, through a single banner with the words "Vale Phil Walsh". Adelaide won the Showdown. A one time only medal, named in his honour, was created for the match. Awarded to the fairest and best on field that day, it was presented by Walsh's daughter to Crows midfielder Scott Thompson.
A second tragic event, though not as widely felt came during Round 20 when the son of Hawthorn assistant coach Brett Ratten was killed in a car accident.

Answer: Adam Goodes

While every action has a reaction, there is also the social media over reaction. Notorious as being hostile to visiting teams, the fans that only two weeks before had shown their hearts to the Crows now showed something else. The booing started with a small group in the crowd and intensified as the match went on, with Goodes being booed and heckled every time he was involved in the game play or near the ball. The home team was well in the lead, with the visitors not scoring a goal until the second quarter.
The booing and the animosity towards Goodes had been building over several years, with various events being blamed. However, since he threw the imaginary spear in the Indigenous round it had escalated every time he played away from home. Frustrated by the way the crowd was booing Goodes, team mate and fellow Indigenous player Lewis Jetta, imitated Goodes spear throw upon his scoring a goal.
There were two fans ejected from the stadium on the day for racially abusing Goodes, reported by other members of the crowd via the stadiums SMS hotline.
The booing was labelled by the Sydney Swans as being racially motivated. The public disagreed and a social media backlash took place. Goodes was labelled "a sook" and "a flog", with many stating that he had brought this on himself. Spiteful memes were created mocking Goodes.
Things that were listed as his supposed indiscretions and warranting of the abuse, started back to an incident back in the 2013 season, when playing in the Indigenous Round, he heard what he took to be a racist remarked, shouted at him from the crowd. He pointed to where it came from and alerted a security guard who was sitting on the ground nearby. The person who yelled it was a thirteen year old girl. Security stepped in and she was removed from the stands and questioned by police and security at the ground about her actions. Once Goodes found out how young she was, he refused to press charges, instead asking that people support and educate her. The public backlash that had continued since it happened was he should have said nothing and just accepted that it was "part of the game and because of his looks, not his skin colour". He was labelled a villain by some because of her age.
Another listed excuse was those who believed that he called Australia Day "Invasion Day" during his acceptance speech for Australian of the Year. In his speech he admitted that was his feelings once but had now grown to see it as a chance to celebrate his heritage before and after European settlement.
A third of his supposed indiscretions was the "spear" he threw with some saying that he should have advised the public he was going to do it before the match, or thrown it towards the middle of the ground, or at the players rather than the fans. Other reasons social media users used were that he was a "dirty player" who played for free kicks, though the stats had him listed at 168th out of all players in the current season with an average of 0.68 per game. In previous seasons he averaged around one per match. A smaller number attacked him for, as they put it, "Failing to remember his white side".
Even after Goodes withdrew from team selection and requested a leave of absence due to the toll the situation was taking on him mentally, the backlash continued.
Everyone from the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition, to radio shock jocks and former sporting stars weighed in on the debate. Some were on his side while others, like many of those on social media, put the blame on him.
The captains of all eighteen teams released a joint statement, a portion of it read: "Enough is enough. Enjoy the game. Celebrate the success, but don't boo, taunt or jeer players for who they are and what they stand for".
In Round 18 the Sydney Swans ran onto the ground through a banner with the word "Respect". Signs supporting Goodes were waved by Swans fans. At the seven minute mark of the third quarter, in reference to his playing number 37, fans stood and gave one minutes applause to show their support. Across the league, the Melbourne Demons and other Indigenous players wore arm or wrist bands with the Aboriginal flag and Goodes' playing number written on it. Western Bulldogs and Richmond wore their Indigenous strips. A new traditional dance was done on scoring a goal, this time without the spear.
Goodes returned to the game in Round 19 and the booing would continue each time he played away from home.

Answer: Gold Coast Suns/West Coast Eagles

While the Adelaide and Geelong match of Round 14 was cancelled and points awarded to both teams in the wake of Phil Walsh's death, it was not recorded as a draw. Official records show both teams having played one less game in the season. The first match played that ended in a draw, didn't take place until Round 18. It is not uncommon to have one or two games each season that end a draw. Tom Lynch for the Suns kicked the goal in the final seconds of the match to end it in a draw. He was unaware that the margin was six (6) points and thought he had actually kicked the winning goal.
Of the other matches listed Melbourne had their first win over Collingwood since 2007, ending an eleven game losing streak, Hawthorn lost to Richmond and Carlton lost to North Melbourne.
A second draw for the season, involving Geelong and St Kilda, occurred in Round 21.

Answer: James Hird

Round 20 saw Essendon lose to Adelaide Crows by 112 points. It was their second hundred point loss of the season. Essendon had an impressive start to the match, leading by a goal the end of the first the term, but the match blew out in Adelaide's favour. In the final term the Crows kicked 11.1(67) to Essendon's 2.1(13).
Once a celebrated player, Brownlow Medal winner and a third generation player for Essendon, his role as coach had been embroiled in controversy. In 2013 the club came under investigation for injecting players with supplements in the preceding two seasons, in what became known as the Essendon supplements scandal. Hird was suspended from coaching in the 2014 season for his part and Essendon were banned from playing in the finals series of 2013. It wouldn't be until May 2015, that the investigation would ruled the players as not guilty of taking a banned substance. The doctor involved however, was given a lifetime ban. Hird had already served his punishment. The scandal forced the club to abandon their newly chosen motto "Whatever it takes".
During his suspension, Hird remained on Essendon's payroll. He returned to coaching in the 2015 season, though his return was not celebrated by all. Speculation mounted that he had clauses in his contract that made it financially better to keep him on as coach, rather than sack him. Essendon had won only five of their matches by Round 20 and many footy commentators were speculating how long he would remain as coach. His resignation, whether it came on his own terms or if it was forced, was seen by many as a positive move in helping the club put the scandal of the previous years behind them.

Answer: Biting

Fremantle Dockers had a two and a half game lead at the top of the ladder over their cross town rivals the West Coast Eagles. West Coast had, at the start of the round held the second spot, but a win during the weekend by Hawthorn had seen them slip to third. It was Derby 42 and the record stood at 21-20 in West Coasts favour. Fremantle wanted the win to even the score and West Coast wanted the win to regain second position. The win would go the way of the Eagles.
In the second quarter Dockers Alex Silvagni was reported for a crude elbow on Eagles Jamie Crips 70m off the ball. Crips left the field with a suspected broken jaw. He was given the all clear and later returned to the field.
Eagles Chris Masten was reported in a post match review the following day for biting Dockers Nick Suban during a third quarter clash, though Suban did mention to the umpire at the time what had happened. Masten was awarded a free kick at the time for a high tackle. The reactions on social media again were over the top. West Coast fans accused the Dockers of sooking over losing the match and suggested that Suban went into the match with the injury to his arm and tried to pin it on Masten. Suban was widely abused by Eagles fans. Dockers fans, bemused by the Eagles fans reaction, were circulating pictures of Masten with a plastic cone on his head and would banter with Eagles fans referring to Masten as Mastiff.
Both players faced the tribunal on the Tuesday, Silvagni took an early plea and was suspended for four weeks. Masten admitted his teeth made contact with Subans' arm but claimed that Suban had forced his arm into his mouth and it was self defence. He was found guilty by the tribunal and suspended for two weeks. On Twitter fellow Eagle Will Schofield reacted furiously 'Mark down today's date in your diary, the players code is no more' and former Eagle Jacob Brennan said that Suban speaking out against being bitten was a 'dog act'. Schofield later removed his tweet after a phone call from his mother, but not before the media had widely circulated it.
It was the first time since 1991 that a player sent before the tribunal on biting charges.

Answer: The first US born and raised player

While there have been US born players before in the AFL, Holmes was the first to have been born and raised in the US with the others having moved to Australia in their early childhood. A talented basketballer, he was recruited by St Kilda at the age of 22, as an international rookie.

He had never played Aussie Rules until he was invited to participate at the AFL's Los Angeles combine in 2013 and had only ever seen it in passing on cable sports six years prior. His vertical leap of 97cm was only 4cm behind West Coast player Nic Natanui.

It was watching video of Natanui in action that inspired him to give the game a go. He was raised in Chicago and has a brother who plays for Oakland Raiders in the NFL. On debut he had 34 hit-outs, the highest in the match.

The game ended in a draw. In Round 23 he would play against Nic Natanui, the player who inspired him.

Answer: Fremantle Dockers

The Dockers won their first ever minor Premiership taking home the McCelland trophy. It was their best ever result at the end of the home and away season, finishing two places higher than their previous best in 2013. West Coast Eagles came in second, making it the first time in the history of the VFL/AFL that the top two spots were held by non Victorian teams from the same state.

Despite the tragic events that hit Adelaide, they managed to finish in the top eight, having lost only three matches since the death of their coach.

The ladder at the end of the home and away season was Fremantle Dockers, West Coast Eagles, Hawthorn Hawks, Sydney Swans, Richmond Tigers, Western Bulldogs, Adelaide Crows, North Melbourne, Port Adelaide, Geelong, Greater Western Sydney, Collingwood, Melbourne, Essendon, Gold Coast, Brisbane Lions and Carlton.