Ross Funcke
Encyclopedia
Ross Funcke is a former Australian rules football
er in the Australian Football League
(AFL).
AFL Draft
. Touted as a half-back player, he fulfilled that role for the Tigers, though not too impressively. At the end of the 1999 season Richmond delisted the then 21-year-old Funcke. It seemed that would be the end of his AFL career, but it was not.
(VFL) with the North Ballarat Roosters and surprisingly was picked up by the Melbourne Football Club
and given a lifeline at AFL level. By that time, Funcke was a tagger
/run-with player and he was utilised accordingly in his debut season with Melbourne in 2001. After playing the first game in Round 1, 2001, he did not return to the side until Round 19, but performed solidly when he returned, and was impressive in Melbourne's Round 20 win over Sydney
. He was retained in the side for the rest of the season, but in 2002 he had a poor year and was finally delisted.
in the South Australian National Football League
(SANFL) once his AFL career ended, and he became a valuable player for the club. Personal issues forced him home during the 2005 season.
In 2006, Funcke has signed on as a player-coach with Donald Football Club in the North Central Football League
. He married his long term partner Kellie in October 2006.
Australian rules football
Australian rules football, officially known as Australian football, also called football, Aussie rules or footy is a sport played between two teams of 22 players on either...
er in the Australian Football League
Australian Football League
The Australian Football League is both the governing body and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football...
(AFL).
Richmond career
Funcke was recruited to the Richmond Tigers in the 19951995 AFL Draft
The 1995 AFL Draft was held at the conclusion of the 1995 Australian Football League season.The AFL Draft is the annual draft of new unsigned players by Australian rules football clubs that participate in the main competition of that sport, the Australian Football League.Clubs receive picks based...
AFL Draft
AFL Draft
The AFL Draft is the annual draft of new unsigned players by Australian rules football teams that participate in the main competition of that sport, the Australian Football League.-History:...
. Touted as a half-back player, he fulfilled that role for the Tigers, though not too impressively. At the end of the 1999 season Richmond delisted the then 21-year-old Funcke. It seemed that would be the end of his AFL career, but it was not.
Melbourne career
In 2000 Funcke played in the Victorian Football LeagueVictorian Football League
The Victorian Football League which evolved from the former Victorian Football Association , taking its new name as from the 1996 season, is the premier Australian rules football league in Victoria The Victorian Football League (VFL) which evolved from the former Victorian Football Association...
(VFL) with the North Ballarat Roosters and surprisingly was picked up by the Melbourne Football Club
Melbourne Football Club
The Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed The Demons, is an Australian rules football club playing in the Australian Football League , based in Melbourne, Victoria....
and given a lifeline at AFL level. By that time, Funcke was a tagger
Tagger
Tagger may refer to:* a method for doing part-of-speech tagging, or grammatical tagging, for example Brill tagger* Tag editor, software that supports editing metadata of multimedia file formats* A position in Australian rules football...
/run-with player and he was utilised accordingly in his debut season with Melbourne in 2001. After playing the first game in Round 1, 2001, he did not return to the side until Round 19, but performed solidly when he returned, and was impressive in Melbourne's Round 20 win over Sydney
Sydney Swans
The Sydney Swans Football Club is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League . The club is based in Sydney, New South Wales. The club, founded in 1874, was known as the South Melbourne Football Club until it relocated to Sydney in 1982 to become the Sydney...
. He was retained in the side for the rest of the season, but in 2002 he had a poor year and was finally delisted.
Post-AFL career
Funcke carved out a career with the Port Adelaide MagpiesPort Adelaide Magpies
The Port Adelaide Football Club, nicknamed The Magpies, is an Australian rules football club which competes in the South Australian National Football League...
in the South Australian National Football League
South Australian National Football League
The South Australian National Football League is an Australian rules football league based in the Australian state of South Australia. It is also the governing body for the sport of Australian rules football in South Australia....
(SANFL) once his AFL career ended, and he became a valuable player for the club. Personal issues forced him home during the 2005 season.
In 2006, Funcke has signed on as a player-coach with Donald Football Club in the North Central Football League
North Central Football League
The North Central Football League is an Australian rules football league based in North Central Victoria, Australia.The League was formed in 1930...
. He married his long term partner Kellie in October 2006.