Daniel Giansiracusa (born 11 March 1982) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Western Bulldogs in the Australian Football League (AFL). He had been used in various positions such as the midfield, half back flanks and half forward flanks. He currently serves as the defensive coach of the Essendon Bombers.[1]

Daniel Giansiracusa
Giansiracusa in August 2018
Personal information
Full name Daniel Giansiracusa
Nickname(s) Gia, Guido
Date of birth (1982-03-11) 11 March 1982 (age 42)
Place of birth Melbourne, Victoria
Original team(s) Western Jets (TAC Cup)
Draft 32nd overall, 1999 National Draft
Height 182 cm (6 ft 0 in)
Weight 80 kg (176 lb)
Position(s) Forward
Playing career1
Years Club Games (Goals)
2001–2014 Western Bulldogs 265 (331)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 2014.
Career highlights
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

Playing career

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Giansiracusa playing with the Bulldogs in 2007

Giansiracusa was selected by the Bulldogs in the 1999 AFL Draft with pick 32. He made his senior debut in round 11, 2001 against Adelaide at Football Park, and joined a special group of players when he goaled with his first kick.

After an exciting start to 2005 he missed 6 weeks due to injury but returned and ended up kicking 23 goals for the year. He had an outstanding game in round 18 against the Brisbane Lions collecting 27 possessions and kicking 2 goals. That same year he was chosen to represent Australia in International Rules.

Giansiracusa injured an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) over the 2007–2008 off-season. The injury was not serious and he recovered in time for the 2008 season opener against Adelaide.

In 2010, Giansiracusa led the Bulldogs to the Nab Cup Grand Finale. He was acting captain due to Brad Johnson being absent. He led the Bulldogs to a 40-point victory against St Kilda. That same year he finished 3rd in the Bulldogs Best and Fairest.

Giansiracusa continued to display fine form in 2011, despite the team's poor season overall. He kicked 45 goals in 20 games playing mainly as a small forward, finishing second on the goalkicking list behind Barry Hall and seventh in the club's Best and Fairest Award count. He reached a personal milestone in Round 10 when he played his 200th game for the Bulldogs.

Providing an experienced head in the Western Bulldogs forward line, Giansiracusa's reliability around goals was imperative in 2012. In the 17 games he goaled on all but one occasion, while contributing multiple majors on eight occasions. He finished the year as the club's leading goal scorer.

In 2013, Giansiracusa began to substitute more regularly matches. His ability to be substituted late in games and make meaningful impacts led to him being called the "Super Sub". In round 19, Giansiracusa kicked an amazing alley-oop goal, which was a serious contender at being crowned Goal of the Year.

In 2014, Giansiracusa played his final season. Despite having limited game time he played a vital role for the Bulldogs, especially up forward. In round 3, after receiving a free kick he kicked a goal late in the final term to put the Bulldogs in front by 2 points and effectively win them the game against Richmond. Giansiracusa played his last game in round 23 against GWS, despite Giansiracusa playing well and kicking 2 goals the Bulldogs lost by 6 points.

Justin Koschitzke incident

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In round 6, 2006, against St Kilda, midway during the third quarter the Western Bulldogs were heading downfield when Giansiracusa clashed heads with Justin Koschitzke, resulting in both players lying motionless for several minutes. Giansiracusa managed to get up but Koschitzke could not. Despite the severity of the incident, the AFL Tribunal decided Giansiracusa had no case to answer for this bump.

Coaching career

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After retiring from playing, Giansiracusa became a forwards coach at the Western Bulldogs in 2015. In 2019 he was appointed as the senior coach of the Footscray VFL side. In 2020 due to the disrupted season he coached the Bulldogs' match simulation games and worked on opposition analysis. He was named as the AFL Coaches Association, Assistant Coach of the Year for 2020.[2] In 2021 he joined the Essendon Football Club as an assistant coach.[3]

Statistics

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[4]
Legend
  G  
Goals
  K  
Kicks
  D  
Disposals 
  T  
Tackles
  B  
Behinds 
  H  
Handballs 
  M  
Marks
Season Team No. Games Totals Averages (per game)
G B K H D M T G B K H D M T
2001 Western Bulldogs 13 12 10 6 95 54 149 59 15 0.8 0.5 7.9 4.5 12.4 4.9 1.3
2002 Western Bulldogs 13 22 25 21 234 135 369 122 34 1.1 1.0 10.6 6.1 16.8 5.5 1.5
2003 Western Bulldogs 13 21 20 11 222 124 346 85 41 1.0 0.5 10.6 5.9 16.5 4.0 2.0
2004 Western Bulldogs 13 15 5 11 171 91 262 57 51 0.3 0.7 11.4 6.1 17.5 3.8 3.4
2005 Western Bulldogs 13 17 23 17 228 128 356 102 25 1.4 1.0 13.4 7.5 20.9 6.0 1.5
2006 Western Bulldogs 13 16 13 3 197 124 321 97 39 0.8 0.2 12.3 7.8 20.1 6.1 2.4
2007 Western Bulldogs 13 22 22 13 252 150 402 131 61 1.0 0.6 11.5 6.8 18.3 6.0 2.8
2008 Western Bulldogs 13 25 33 11 330 200 530 163 70 1.3 0.4 13.2 8.0 21.2 6.5 2.8
2009 Western Bulldogs 13 18 21 12 218 146 364 92 48 1.2 0.7 12.1 8.1 20.2 5.1 2.7
2010 Western Bulldogs 13 25 35 13 297 192 489 130 94 1.4 0.5 11.9 7.7 19.6 5.2 3.8
2011 Western Bulldogs 13 20 45 18 229 135 364 114 56 2.3 0.9 11.5 6.8 18.2 5.7 2.8
2012 Western Bulldogs 13 17 28 15 161 95 256 63 37 1.6 0.9 9.5 5.6 15.1 3.7 2.2
2013 Western Bulldogs 13 20 36 16 185 106 291 92 36 1.8 0.8 9.3 5.3 14.6 4.6 1.8
2014 Western Bulldogs 13 15 15 10 100 63 163 41 18 1.0 0.7 6.7 4.2 10.9 2.7 1.2
Career 265 331 177 2919 1743 4662 1348 625 1.2 0.7 11.0 6.6 17.6 5.1 2.4

Personal life

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Giansiracusa attended Altona Meadows Primary School and Emmanuel College. He married his longtime partner, Kelly Tisdale, in December 2007. The couple currently have two children: daughter Ruby Iris (born in November 2008),[5] and son Otis.

References

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  1. ^ "Assistant Coaches". westernbulldogs.com.au. Western Bulldogs. Archived from the original on 29 June 2015. Retrieved 23 August 2015.
  2. ^ "Giansiracusa named Assistant Coach of the Year".
  3. ^ "Giansiracusa joins coaching panel".
  4. ^ "Daniel Giansiracusa". AFL Tables. Retrieved 4 September 2014.
  5. ^ Baby joy for Daniel Giansiracusa
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