Mark Ricciuto
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| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Birth | June 8, 1975 , Waikerie, South Australia |
| Recruited from | West Adelaide |
| Height and weight | 184cm / 92kg |
| Playing career¹ | |
| Debut | Round 6, April 30, 1993, Adelaide vs. Hawthorn, at AAMI Stadium |
| Team(s) | Adelaide (1993-2007)
312 games, 292 goals |
| ¹ Statistics to end of 2007 season | |
| Career highlights | |
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Mark Albert Ricciuto (born June 8, 1975) is an Australian rules football player, who represented the Adelaide Crows in the Australian Football League.
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Ricciuto was born in Waikerie, South Australia. He was recruited by SANFL team West Adelaide and soon after - as a 16 year old high schooler - was recruited by the Adelaide Crows in 1992. He debuted in the AFL in 1993.
He was appointed as the Adelaide captain in 2001. In 2003, he was joint winner of the league's highest honor, the Brownlow Medal, with Collingwood's Nathan Buckley and Sydney's Adam Goodes.
Late in the 2006 season, Ricciuto was ruled out of the Crows' final few matches due to a "mystery ailment" which was later found to be parvovirus B19.[1]
Ricciuto played his 300th AFL game on the 21st of July 2006 against the Kangaroos. He kicked 5 goals in a game that Adelaide won by 72 points. He was quicker than any other player in AFL history to this milestone, in 13 years and 83 days, some 11 days quicker than Carlton's Craig Bradley.[2]
Ricciuto announced his retirement on the 16th of August 2007 due to persistent injuries. His last game would probably be the most forgetful one in his career struggling against the Hawks in the 1st Elimination Final, Hawthorn winning the game by 3 points and eliminating the Crows in the process. The Final score was 105 to 102. He will be remembered as a true blue Aussie legend.
Ricciuto is noted for his Italian heritage, and bears a large tattoo of his family name on his back. His parents were born in the small Italian town of Soriano Calabro. Ricciuto is engaged to Sarah Delahunt and they have a daughter, Sophie Jane, who was born in November 2006 and an older son.
On December 5th, 2007, Mark Ricciuto was believed to be offered. The 32-year-old is believed to be considering playing for his former club Waikerie in the Riverland league in 2008.
- AFL Rising Star nominee in 1993.
- 8 time All-Australian selection: 1994, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2005.
- All-Australian team captain 2004 and 2005.
- AFL Premiership winner team member, Adelaide Crows 1998
- Wizard Cup winning team captain 2003
- Brownlow Medal winner, 2003
- 3 time Adelaide Best and Fairest winner: 1998, 2003, 2004
- Voted "Best Player" of Adelaide Crows first decade[3]
- Mark Ricciuto profile on the Official AFL Website of the Adelaide Football Club
- Mark Ricciuto's statistics from AFL Tables
| Preceded by Andrew McLeod |
Adelaide Best and Fairest winner 1998 |
Succeeded by Ben Hart |
| Preceded by Mark Bickley |
Adelaide Football Club Captain 2001 - 2007 |
Succeeded by Simon Goodwin |
| Preceded by Simon Black |
Brownlow Medallist 2003 |
Succeeded by Chris Judd |
| Preceded by Ben Hart |
Adelaide Best and Fairest winner 2003 - 2004 |
Succeeded by Simon Goodwin |
| Preceded by Michael Voss |
All-Australian Team Captain 2004 - 2005 |
Succeeded by Brad Johnson |