Sam Fisher

Sam Fisher is an experienced defender for the St Kilda Football Club, who has won the  Trevor Barker Award twice, first 2008 and again in 2011. Fisher is also one of few Saints to have won far more games than lost, and has played in the winning side in 105 of his 167 matches (62%), with just 58 losses and 4 draws, making Fisher a highly-valuable on-field contributor to the Saints' success.

Draft and Debut
At the time of being recruited as a 21 year old Fisher was 191 centimetres and 88 kilograms, a shoulder injury prevented him from making his first VFL appearance in 2004 until Round 4. He was named as an emergency for St Kilda in Round 6 and made his AFL debut in Round 7 2004 against Fremantle at Subiaco. Fisher played as a key forward, replacing the suspended Justin Koschitzke.

The Saints commenced the 2004 season in great fashion and were in the process of winning a then club record first 10 games of the season making competition for spots in the side intense. It is difficult for a new player to retain their position in the side in situations like this and Fisher was dropped back to the VFL the following week as Koschitzke returned, Sam did not reappear for St Kilda until Round 15.

Although Fisher had been recruited as a key forward he played as a defender for six straight matches from Round 15, as St Kilda’s regular three tall defenders, Max Hudghton, Matt Maguire and Luke Penny only played two games between them during the five weeks from Round 16 to Round 20 due to injuries.

Whilst Fisher was dropped when the regular defenders recovered from their injuries, he had played at full-back and centre half-back on the opposition key forwards allowing him to gain experience which would be invaluable in preparing for the following season. In 2004 Fisher played 7 matches averaging 7.0 kicks, 2.4 handballs and 3.6 marks a game with a disposal efficiency of 87.9%.

2005 Season
In Round 1 2005 Fisher was a late replacement for Justin Peckett who was ill. In the first seven rounds of 2005 Fisher averaged 8.6 disposals a game, however from round 8 onwards his output more than doubled as he averaged 17.8 possessions a game during his final 14 games for the season with his strengths being his rebound from defense, good ball-use, hard running and strong marking ability.

Fisher did not lose his spot in the St Kilda side all season until a foot injury caused him to miss Round 21 and Round 22. Sam returned to the St Kilda side for the Qualifying Final against Adelaide at AAMI Stadium and was one of the Saints best players with 22 possessions. St Kilda won the game by 8 points, however late in the game Fisher re-injured his foot which caused him to miss the Preliminary Final against Sydney.

With Fisher, Xavier Clarke, Aaron Hamill, Justin Koschitzke, Justin Peckett and Luke Penny all missing due to injury St Kilda lost the Preliminary Final to Sydney by 31 points despite leading by seven points at three quarter time.

The profile for Sam Fisher in the AFL Record Guide to season 2006 said “Without question, the most improved footballer at the club. A bit-part player in 2004, he played a big part in 2005 and carved out a reputation as a reliable member of the backline.”1

During the 2005 season Fisher played 21 matches averaging 107 minutes, 9.0 kicks, 4.9 handballs and 4.3 marks a game with a disposal efficiency of 83.2%. Despite missing three of St Kilda’s last four games of the season Fisher finished sixth in St Kilda’s 2005 best and fairest, and was ranked No. 1 at St Kilda for rebound 50s.

2006 Season
In 2006 Fisher played all 23 games and had 20 or more disposals 14 times, he received two Brownlow Medal votes in St Kilda’s Round 19 victory over Geelong when he had 15 kicks, seven marks, seven handballs and kicked a goal.

In 2006 Fisher averaged 114 minutes, 13.5 kicks, 7.0 handballs and 6.9 marks per game with a disposal efficiency of 83.1%. Fisher was ranked No. 1 at St Kilda for rebound 50s, and was in the top five for kicks, marks, hard-ball gets, handballs and loose-ball gets. Whilst Fisher mainly played as a key defender he was still the instigator of many of St Kilda’s attacking forays due to his ability to read the play brilliantly and use the ball efficiently. Although Fisher averaged almost 50% more disposals per game in 2006 than 2005 he was still able to maintain his disposal efficiency at 83%.

Fisher’s rapid improvement continued throughout the 2006 season as he finished third in the St Kilda best and fairest, behind centre half forward Nick Riewoldt and fellow defender Jason Gram. Fisher was rewarded for his outstanding 2006 season with selection in Australia’s International Rules team.

2007 Season
Fisher had 20 or more disposals 10 times in 2007 including a four game purple patch from Round 14 to Round 17 where he had 30, 30, 24 and 32 possessions. Fisher had previously reached 30 possessions in a game only once, against Geelong in Round 10 of that season when he had 22 kicks and nine handballs.

Fisher “established himself as one of the AFL’s premier defenders in 2007, finishing runner-up in the best and fairest and narrowly missing All-Australian selection.”2 Fellow tall defenders Max Hudghton and Matt Maguire were restricted to 10 games each for the season due to injury problems which led to Fisher normally playing on the oppositions best key forward. Fisher finished second in the best and fairest behind Nick Riewoldt who won the Trevor Barker Award for a club record equaling fourth time.

<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:19.1875px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;">In 2007 Sam played 20 matches averaging 111 minutes, 14.8 kicks, 5.5 handballs, and 9.3 marks a game with a disposal efficiency of 83.3%. Fisher was ranked second at St Kilda for kicks and marks, first for rebound 50s and fifth for loose-ball gets. Fisher was named in the squad of 40 for the All-Australian team.

2008 Season
<p style="line-height:19.1875px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;">Fisher started the 2008 season in superb fashion, receiving 3 Brownlow Medal votes for the Round 1 victory over Sydney in which he had 18 kicks, 6 handballs and 9 marks. The profile of Fisher in the AFL Record Season Guide 2009 said “the key backman can shut down one of the opposition’s power forwards but still remain one of the Saints’ star playmakers – he finished third in the league last year for rebound 50s and marks.”3

<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:19.1875px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;">In 34 point Semi-Final victory against Collingwood Fisher was outstanding, having 20 kicks, seven handballs and taking 17 marks, in eight of his last 12 matches of the 2008 season he took at least 10 marks.

<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:19.1875px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;">Fisher was rewarded for his great 2008 season with selection on the half-back flank of the All-Australian team. In 2008 he played all 25 matches, averaging 117 minutes, 14.4 kicks, 8.7 handballs and 9.1 marks a game with a disposal efficiency of 81.1%. Fisher won the Trevor Barker award for being St Kilda’s best and fairest and was ranked second at St Kilda for kicks and marks, and third for handballs.

2009 Season
<p style="line-height:19.1875px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;">Fisher was an important player in St Kilda’s 2009 season, leading the backline magnificently and playing every game for the season apart from the Round 19 match in Launceston against Hawthorn when he is a late withdrawal with a back injury. Fisher “rarely played on the opposition’s No. 1 forward, but in the few times that he did he was outstanding, keeping Matthew Pavlich to eight disposals and no goals in Round 8 and Adam Goodes to 13 disposals and two goals in Round 18.”4

<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:19.1875px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;">During 2009 St Kilda were reluctant to have Fisher play a pure shut-down role preferring to have him play on an opponent where he would be able to use his ability to read the play, and provide run and efficient ball use from defense to full effect. This role also allowed Fisher to assist his teammates that were playing on the key forwards by cutting off leads and taking marks or spoiling the ball.

<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:19.1875px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;">Opposition clubs were aware that Fisher was very damaging as a rebounding defender and that St Kilda liked seeing the ball in the hands of Sam due to his skillful delivery and good decision making, on several occasions Fisher was tagged by an opposition forward to reduce his influence on the game. This tactic was used with varying degrees of success and Fisher was restricted to 18 possessions or less on five occasions, however in one of these games against Essendon in Round 20 he was still effective, kicking two goals.

<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:19.1875px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;">Fisher had 20 or more disposals 15 times in 2009 including four games with 30 or more disposals. Importantly for St Kilda two of these 30 or more possession games were in the finals, including a career best 42 possessions in the Qualifying Final against Collingwood. Fisher did an excellent job of repelling Collingwood’s attacking forays as he took 16 marks, had 25 kicks and 17 handballs to be one of the Saints best in their 28 point victory.

<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:19.1875px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;">In 2009 Fisher played 24 matches averaging 119 minutes, 13.5 kicks, 9.5 handballs and 7.7 marks a game with a disposal efficiency of 82.2%. Fisher finished seventh in St Kilda’s best and fairest and was ranked fifth at St Kilda for kicks, third for marks and first for rebound 50s.

2010 Season
<p style="line-height:19.1875px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;">Fisher injured his ankle in the 2010 pre-season Grand Final against the Western Bulldogs which caused him to miss the opening two rounds of the home and away season. Sam returned to the St Kilda side for the Round 3 match against Collingwood at Etihad Stadium and was playing very well until he suffered concussion in the third quarter. Fisher courageously returned to the field in the last quarter, finishing with 28 possessions and 10 marks in St Kilda’s gutsy win.

<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:19.1875px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;">In Round 6 Fisher took Barry Hall completely out of the game in the first half against the Western Bulldogs, and then drifted forward late in the last quarter to kick a great match winning goal after receiving a handball from Adam Schneider at a stoppage. Fisher had 10 kicks, 14 handballs and took six marks against the Bulldogs.

<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:19.1875px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;">In Nick Riewoldt’s absence St Kilda experimented for a couple of weeks with using Sam Fisher as a key forward, and whilst he did a good job, providing a much needed marking target he later returned to his customary position in St Kilda’s backline. The St Kilda defense looked considerably more composed and functioned more effectively after Fisher returned to the backline.

<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:19.1875px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;">In Round 16 against Collingwood Fisher consistently gained possession across half back to have 21 kicks, 12 handballs, take 18 marks and have four rebound 50s. Fisher provided considerable rebound from defense and was generally good with his ball use, having a disposal efficiency of 82%.

<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:19.1875px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;">During the second quarter of the Grand Final against Collingwood the St Kilda backline was under siege yet remained remarkably composed to limit Collingwood to only three goals. Leading the charge was defensive general Sam Fisher who time and again read the ball beautifully to mark in St Kilda’s back line and provide drive for the Saints. Fisher finished the match with eight marks including an astounding five contested marks, two more than any other player on the ground. To put it into perspective only two other St Kilda players took more than one contested mark for the match, Goddard and Riewoldt. Fisher had a game-high 22 kicks, three handballs, 12 rebound 50s and was one of only two Saints along with Zac Dawson to play 100% of the game. Fisher finished fourth in the Norm Smith Medal voting behind teammates Hayes and Goddard and Collingwood’s Dale Thomas.

<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:19.1875px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;">In the week after the Grand Final Collingwood said they were going to put extra attention into Fisher in planning for the Grand Final Replay, however Fisher playing superbly against Collingwood shouldn’t have come as a surprise as in Fisher’s previous five matches against the Magpies before the Grand Final he had been one of St Kilda’s best six players on each ocassion. During his previous six matches against Collingwood including three finals Fisher has the amazing record of averaging 19.5 kicks, 12.8 marks and 11.2 handballs.

<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:19.1875px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;">In 2010 Fisher played 24 matches averaging 113 minutes, 12.7 kicks, 8.7 handballs and 7.8 marks a game with a disposal efficiency of 82.7%. Fisher finished seventh in St Kilda’s best and fairest and was ranked second at St Kilda for marks, and fifth for rebound 50s and contested marks.

<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:19.1875px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;">The profile for Fisher in the AFL Record Guide to season 2011 said “The leader of the AFL’s most miserly defence, Fisher thrives both at stopping the opposition and setting up play.”

2011 Season
<p style="line-height:19.1875px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;">In Round 7 vs Carlton Fisher was resolute in defense for St Kilda showing superb judgement and skill to take a game-high six contested marks. Fisher had 15 kicks, seven handballs, 11 marks and a team-high five rebound 50s to set up attacking forays for the Saints.

<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:19.1875px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;">Defender Sam Fisher was a standout for the Saints in Round 8 vs Hawthorn, reading the play magnificently and using great judgement to regularly gain possession across St Kilda’s half back line and repel Hawthorn attacks. Fisher displayed magnificent aerial skills to take 11 marks included an equal team-high three contested. Fisher comprehensively led St Kilda in a host of statistical categories to have 16 kicks and 15 handballs including 15 contested possessions. No other St Kilda player had more than 20 disposals, 10 contested possessions or took more than six marks. As well as being a ball magnet Fisher was also very effective with his ball use to operate at a disposal efficiency of 90%.

<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:19.1875px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;">Sam Fisher commenced the Round 11 match against Collingwood performing a tagging role on midfielder Dane Swan and was able to limit the winner of the past three Copeland Trophies to just three first quarter possessions. Fisher had 13 kicks, seven handballs, took six marks and was effective with his ball use, having a disposal efficiency of 85%. Spending more time in the midfield than in previous years Fisher won four clearances, ranked equal second at St Kilda behind Jack Steven and also laid an equal team-high seven tackles.