Jordan Roughead will play his 200th game of AFL this weekend, after 138 games for the Western Bulldogs and 61 for Collingwood. We look back at his career so far, and what makes Roughead such an integral character of the football club.
Roughead debuted for the Western Bulldogs in 2010, a scruffy young man with the ability to play across multiple positions. Deployed in the ruck and up forward for a majority of his early career at the Bulldogs, Roughead impressed in his first few seasons at the club.
Playing a majority of his games in 2011 in the VFL, Roughead had the coaching group at the Bulldogs excited by his potential, earning him nine games of senior football and a promising outlook for 2012.
The following year, Roughead proved his ability at the level as a forward, providing an option deep in the forward line with his height causing issues for his opponents. Despite his conversion in front of goal letting him down at times, Roughead has always been a strong marker of the ball, and provided versatility as a second ruck option.
In 2013, Roughead was sent into the backline as a struggling Bulldogs side looked for stability. He played all 22 games, however the Bulldogs could only muster eight wins for the season.
The 200-centimetre defender averaged over 11 disposals in 2014 and highlighted his skill with both hand and foot, finishing with a disposal efficiency of 82.5% for the year. He was ranked 9th in the league for one-percenters per game, an early indication as to the type of player Roughead would grow to be throughout his career.
After being a recognised defender in previous years, 2015 saw Roughead thrust into the ruck as the Bulldogs looked to find a replacement to the ageing Will Minson.
Roughead reflected on his 2015 season in a post-season interview with the Bulldogs:
“It was a pretty frustrating year to be honest. It’s two in a row now that I’ve played a few games but the body hasn’t held up as well as I’d like it to… Hopefully I can have a really solid pre-season and come out bigger and better next year…”
After spending just 32.1% of his time in the ruck in 2015, this figure rose to 69.4 in 2016.
Roughead and the Bulldogs burst onto the scene in 2016 and went on to win the premiership. An essential cog in a premiership team, Roughead formed a formidable ruck combination with former number 1 draft pick Tom Boyd.
He played a career high 25 games that year, and recorded a career high in disposals, contested possessions, contested marks, goals, goal assists, inside 50s and tackles.
In an interview after the premiership, Roughead spoke to his 2016 season:
“I loved playing footy this year, and that’s been a bit different to the last couple of years. I’ve been dealing with injury and I just haven’t had any consistency in my footy and it was great to get out there and play 25 games in a season. It’s not often you get to do that, so to get out there on the park with the boys every week.”
Injuries ravaged the next two years for Roughead, 2017 starting with a knee injury he suffered in a pre-season game.
Only managing 12 games in 2018, Roughead expressed his desire to explore his options as a restricted free agent, and as a result moved to Collingwood in exchange for pick 75 in the 2018 national draft.
After heartbreaking defeat at the end of 2018, the Pies were buoyed by the inclusion of Roughead. A player who filled a gap in the Collingwood team as key defender Tom Langdon had suffered a horrible injury run and up and coming star Darcy Moore required help down back.
Roughead made an instant impact, as Collingwood went on to win 16 matches in 2019 including a win streak of seven games between rounds 4 and 10. In his first win with the Pies, round 2 against the Tigers, Roughead was outstanding. Amassing 20 disposals to go with 13 marks on a night that saw Richmond’s star studded forward line unable to make an impact.
An indication of his success, Roughead finished 10th in the 2019 Copeland Trophy, just one-point behind Brody Mihocek in ninth place.
As reward for his presence both on and off field, Roughead was included in the leadership group for the 2020 season.
It was another consistent year in 2020 for Roughead, solidifying his spot in Collingwood’s back line in what was a difficult season for the AFL. He was integral in helping the Pies reach the semi finals.
2021 has been a career defining year for Roughead. With injuries depleting the regular back line all season, he has had a significant amount of responsibility put on him to lead a young and inexperienced defence.
He has risen to the occasion.
This season, Roughead has broken his record for career high disposals twice, had double-digit marks on three occasions, and has been an integral part of keeping the team together in times of adversity.
His best performance came in round 3 against Brisbane. On a night that didn’t end the way Pies fans would’ve hoped for, Roughead did nothing but represent the black and white stripes with effort and integrity. In a dominant display, the defender had 20 disposals with 17 marks on a night where he was a brick wall in defence.
Roughead’s presence at Collingwood extends further than his impact on field. A leader, an educator and a great person to be around, the club extends its congratulations to Jordan for a fantastic career so far.
Collingwood Media sat down with Jordan to reflect on his career so far.
