Nick Duigan

Nick Duigan (born 7 September 1984) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Carlton Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL).

Background Originally from South Australia, Duigan grew up supporting the Adelaide Crows and playing junior football for Pembroke School in Adelaide throughout his early 20s, Duigan studied psychology at university, and by the end of 2010, then aged 26, Duigan had completed his master's degree in psychology. During the same period, Duigan played football semi-professionally for the Norwood Football Club in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL), primarily as a defender. He appeared in a total of 87 senior games for the Redlegs during that time, and was the club's vice-captain in 2010. He finished tenth in the 2010 Magarey Medal, and kicked the game-winning goal in Norwood's come-from-behind preliminary final victory against the Eagles. He immediately became a regular in the Carlton backline in the 2011, and he was noted for both his ability and his courage. He played twenty-two games for the year and won Carlton's Best First-Year Player award. He played sixteen matches in 2012.

In 2013, Duigan was elevated to the club's five-man leadership group; however, he struggled to retain his place in the team on form, playing only three home-and-away matches for the year. He was famously brought into Carlton's 2013 elimination final team as a late replacement after Brock McLean was injured at the very end of the warm-up, and he kicked four goals as Carlton overcame a 32-point deficit to defeat in front of a crowd of 94,690.

Duigan had intended to continue playing in 2014, but after struggling with an ongoing knee injury during the first month of the pre-season, he announced his retirement on 9 December 2013.

Post-AFL career In 2014, Duigan moved Geraldton, Western Australia, to take a role with mental health services provider Youth Focus. He also took a role as coach, with ambitions to play should his knee heal sufficiently, with the Towns Football Club in the Great Northern Football League.