Robert Campbell

Robert "Robbie" Campbell (born 2 June 1982) is an Australian rules footballer who played for the Hawthorn Football Club and Melbourne Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). At 200 cm tall, he made his AFL debut with the Hawthorn Hawks in 2002. After appearing sporadically in his first few seasons, Campbell starred in 2006 with 230 disposals and 300 hit outs, playing in each of the club's 22 games.

In 2007, he became the Hawks' number one ruckman after Peter Everitt's departure to the Sydney Swans. He played in every game for the season, including two finals appearances.

Campbell has a reputation for providing value around the ground with his strength and tenacious attitude. Campbell was rewarded for his efforts with a Premiership medallion after the Hawks upset Geelong in the 2008 Grand Final.

In percentage terms, no other AFL ruckman hits the ball to the advantage of his on-ballers more often than Campbell according to jini.

He has evolved into one of the competition's most durable and reliable ruckmen, missing only one of the Hawks' past 71 matches. He was first for Hawthorn's hit-outs last season, averaging about 15 a match. He regularly played as a ruckman and was capable of filling other key positions on the field. He finished 13th in the Peter Crimmins Medal count in both 2007 and 2008.

Campbell played as the primary ruckman for Hawthorn and was a member of the premiership-winning squad.

Retirement

Robbie announced his retirement at the 2009 Hawthorn Peter Crimmins Medal Count on 3 October due to a knee injury. A tearful Campbell thanked fans, players, his family and coaching staff in a heartfelt speech.

Comeback

He returned to football in 2010 playing in finals and including 8 games for the Box Hill Hawks (VFL) after finding out his knee wasn't as bad as they first thought. Robert then stated he would like to make a comeback to AFL football and would enter the draft at the end of 2010.

Campbell was selected by the Melbourne Demons during round 5 at pick number 63 in the 2011 Rookie Draft. Due to Melbourne's strong ruck depth in 2011, notably Mark Jamar, Campbell was unable to break into Melbourne's senior team. As a result, he retired at the end of the season.

Statistics

116 !! 25 !! 10 !! 368 !! 665 !! 1033 !! 312 !! 263 !! 1466 !! 0.2 !! 0.1 !! 3.2 !! 5.7 !! 8.9 !! 2.7 !! 2.3 !! 12.6 !! 0

Honours and achievements Team AFL premiership player : 2008 VFL premiership player : 2001

Individual Box Hill All-Stars team (1999–2019)