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Damian
MONKHORST
Damian
MONKHORST
1988-1999
RUCK
202cm
108kg
Recruited From
Woori Yallock
Collingwood Debut
Round 2, 1988
Date of Birth
21 August 1969
Other Numbers
38
thumbnail
205
CFC GAMES
45
CFC GOALS
7
Finals
911
CFC Debut Number
CAREER AVERAGES
Disposals
13.6
Kicks
6.5
Handballs
7.1
Goals
0.2

A ruckman from Woori Yallock who was thrust into the No.1 ruckman role at a young age.

He marked time in his second year and although he started slowly in the 1990 finals he eventually came good and outpointed Simon Madden in the Grand Final to help greatly towards the flag win.

He was never a prolific mark, but compensated with great strength in the packs. Over the years he resisted all attempts by Collingwood to make him move from Woori Yallock to somewhere nearer Victoria Park.

By his own admission he was something of a lout as a young man, but developed into one of the Collingwood team leaders. He said that in 1990 he had been lucky to be picked for the Grand Final after playing second fiddle to James Manson during the finals.

In 1996 he was plagued by foot, back and hamstring injuries. He had a hard competitive edge that was reflected in the rough facial visage with the missing teeth.

In 1995 he was involved in a controversial incident during Collingwood's clash with Essendon when he was accused of racial abuse against Essendon's Michael Long. The case led to the introduction of the AFL's racial vilification laws.

He had a saga of run-ins with Essendon. In 1990 he kicked the Grand Final goal that sealed the flag for Collingwood and in 1994 he ran through the Essendon huddle before the game and precipitated a wild melee and prompted the AFL's introduction of the melee rule.

Injuries restricted him from 1994 to 1995, but before that he had seldom been on the sidelines apart from the odd suspension.

Foot injuries and other problems saw him put on weight in 1997 and he struggled badly, but he started 1998 brilliantly before injuries and form deterioration hit hard.

After notching his 200th game in a rare victory out at Waverley Park in 1999, he crossed to Tim Watson's St Kilda for a year and although he tried hard, he was unable to make a significant impact.

He twice represented Victoria in state of origin games and later served as a highly respected ruck coach with Hawthorn.

In March 2014, Monkhorst was inducted into the Collingwood Hall of Fame.

CFC Career Stats

Season played Games Goals Finals Win %
1988-1999 205 45 7 52.2%

CFC Season by Season Stats

Season GP GL B K H T D Guernsey No.
Full Name
Damian Monkhorst
Nickname
Monky
CFC Last Game
Round 18 1999
Total AFL Games
215
Total AFL Goals
45

Other CFC Games

Team League Years Played Games Goals
Collingwood U19s 1985 - 1988 23 9
Collingwood Night/Pre-season 1989 - 1996 9 3
Collingwood Reserves 1986 - 1999 50 18

Also Played For

Team League Years Played Games Goals
St Kilda AFL 2000 10 0

Awards

Anzac Day medal
1997
Best Clubman (Darren Millane Memorial Trophy)
1992, 1993, 1994
CFC Hall of Fame
2014
CFC Life Member
2000
Most Improved Player
1989
Premiership
1990
Third Best and Fairest (J.J. Joyce Trophy)
1992, 1993, 1994
Under-19s Premiership
1986