| Adam Ramanauskas | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Personal information | |||
| Full name | Adam Ramanauskas | ||
| Date of birth | (1980-11-19)19 November 1980 (age 44) | ||
| Place of birth | Doveton, Victoria | ||
| Original team(s) | Noble Park, Victoria /Dandenong U18 | ||
| Height | 183 cm (6 ft 0 in) | ||
| Weight | 83 kg (183 lb) | ||
| Playing career1 | |||
| Years | Club | Games (Goals) | |
| 1999–2008 | Essendon | 134 (63) | |
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 2008. | |||
| Career highlights | |||
| |||
| Sources:AFL Tables,AustralianFootball.com | |||
Adam Ramanauskas (born 19 November 1980) is a formerAustralian rules footballer for theEssendon Football Club.
OfLithuanian descent, Ramanauskas was selected at no. 12 in the1998 AFL Draft and was mainly a defender or midfielder. In2000, he was a regular selection on the wing in Essendon's2000 premiership season, in which they lost just one game for the entire year.
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Ramanauskas debuted with the Essendon Football Club in1999 after being selected at No. 12 in the1998 AFL Draft. Playing mainly as a defender or midfielder, he was an integral member of the dominant 2000 Bombers' premiership team. He was one of three talented AFL prospects featured in the 2000 television documentaryThe Draft, with the other draft prospects beingDes Headland andBrendan Fevola.[1]
Regarded as one of AFL's up-and-coming young stars, Ramanauskas was runner-up in theAFL Rising Star Award in 2000 and placed third in Essendon'sCrichton Medal the following year before being diagnosed with cancer in 2003.
After surgery, Ramanauskas missed eight matches but made a quick recovery to play a handful of games again in 2003 before a recurrence of his cancer. He had weeks of radiotherapy treatment, but he managed to come back and compete a solid2004 season, where he played in all of the Bombers' 24 games.
Ramanauskas had more misfortune in2005 when he underwent a season-ending knee reconstruction after a Round 4 training mishap. After he had completed his recovery, he was set to make another comeback. However, in February 2006, a recurrence of the cancer appeared, and he underwent further invasive surgery and six months ofchemotherapy treatment.
At the end of 2006, Essendon sought special consideration from the AFL to place Ramanauskas on a mature-aged rookie list for the 2007 season. In July 2007, Ramanauskas was elevated to the senior list and played his first AFL match in two years.
Named as one ofThe Australian newspaper's "Most Inspirational People" in 2007, Ramanauskas's courage and determination both on and off the field has inspired many. Since 2007, he has worked passionately with the Essendon Football Club Community Affairs Department, co-ordinating youth programs and developing a strong alliance with the Cancer Council of Victoria.
Ramanauskas announced his retirement from AFL football at the end of the2008 season. In 2009, he accepted a part-time role at Essendon focusing on fast-tracking the development of the club's youngest players. Alongside his duties at Essendon, he also began work on the management team at Elite Sports Properties, a sports talent management agency. He has also joined the football commentary team at 774 ABC Radio.
In 2003, Ramanauskas was diagnosed with a low-grade cancer (fibromatosis) in his neck after Round 3. He missed the next eight matches but made a quick recovery to play again in 2003. Following this was a solid 2004 season in which he played in all of the Bombers' 24 games.
Ramanauskas had more misfortune in 2005 when he underwent aknee reconstruction after a Round 4 training mishap. After he had completed his recovery, however, in February 2006, a recurrence of the cancer appeared.[2]
At the end of 2006, Ramanauskas was delisted by Essendon, who asked for special consideration in placing him on a mature-agedrookie list for the 2007 season. After long deliberation by theAFL Commission on this issue, Essendon were granted permission for this to go ahead. Ramanauskas was re-drafted by Essendon with pick 33 in the 2006 Rookie Draft.[3][4] On Wednesday, 4 July, Ramanauskas was elevated to the senior list and played his first AFL match in two years against theGeelong Football Club on 6 July 2007.
G | Goals | K | Kicks | D | Disposals | T | Tackles |
B | Behinds | H | Handballs | M | Marks |
| Season | Team | No. | Games | Totals | Averages (per game) | Votes | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | B | K | H | D | M | T | G | B | K | H | D | M | T | |||||
| 1999 | Essendon | 9 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 4 | 13 | 1 | 5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 4.5 | 2.0 | 6.5 | 0.5 | 2.5 | 0 |
| 2000 | Essendon | 9 | 24 | 13 | 8 | 221 | 155 | 376 | 105 | 38 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 9.2 | 6.5 | 15.7 | 4.4 | 1.6 | 4 |
| 2001 | Essendon | 9 | 25 | 13 | 3 | 258 | 124 | 382 | 90 | 50 | 0.5 | 0.1 | 10.3 | 5.0 | 15.3 | 3.6 | 2.0 | 3 |
| 2002 | Essendon | 9 | 23 | 13 | 5 | 275 | 124 | 399 | 109 | 49 | 0.6 | 0.2 | 12.0 | 5.4 | 17.3 | 4.7 | 2.1 | 7 |
| 2003 | Essendon | 9 | 10 | 8 | 10 | 107 | 63 | 170 | 34 | 23 | 0.8 | 1.0 | 10.7 | 6.3 | 17.0 | 3.4 | 2.3 | 0 |
| 2004 | Essendon | 9 | 24 | 6 | 6 | 220 | 104 | 324 | 112 | 31 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 9.2 | 4.3 | 13.5 | 4.7 | 1.3 | 0 |
| 2005 | Essendon | 9 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 22 | 16 | 38 | 9 | 8 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 7.3 | 5.3 | 12.7 | 3.0 | 2.7 | 0 |
| 2006 | Essendon | 9 | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 0 |
| 2007 | Essendon | 9 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 36 | 24 | 60 | 19 | 6 | 0.6 | 0.4 | 7.2 | 4.8 | 12.0 | 3.8 | 1.2 | 0 |
| 2008 | Essendon | 9 | 18 | 7 | 2 | 140 | 102 | 242 | 77 | 28 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 7.8 | 5.7 | 13.4 | 4.3 | 1.6 | 0 |
| Career | 134 | 63 | 36 | 1288 | 716 | 2004 | 556 | 238 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 9.6 | 5.3 | 15.0 | 4.1 | 1.8 | 14 | ||
On 25 August 2008, Ramanauskas and longtime teammateJason Johnson announced their retirements from AFL effective at the end of the season.[6]
Ramanauskas is now an expert AFL commentator for774 ABC as well as aFoxtel Cup commentator forFox Footy.
Ramanauskas was born to Joseph and Lucy Ramanauskas and grew up inDoveton, Victoria. He has an older brother, Daniel, and younger sister, Kayla. Ramanauskas attendedDoveton Primary School. He later graduated high school fromSt John's Regional College,Dandenong, in 1998. Growing up, he supported theRichmond Football Club.[7]
Ramanauskas married his high-school sweetheart, Belinda Henneman, in January 2006. They have two sons, Aidan (born October 2008)[8] and Lucas (born August 2010).
