Following the team’s exit from the 2009 finals series on Saturday night, Rocca informed senior coach Mick Malthouse and his teammates at the Lexus Centre on Monday that he has decided to hang up the boots.
Rocca, who turned 32 in August, was drafted by the Sydney Swans from the Northern Knights with the second overall pick, a priority selection, in the 1994 AFL Draft. He made his league debut against Carlton in round eight, 1995.
After two seasons and 22 games with the Swans, Rocca was granted his wish and traded to Collingwood to play alongside his brother, Saverio, in exchange for Ben Wilson, Mark Orchard and the No. 14 and No. 33 draft choices at the end of 1996.
After playing his first game for Collingwood in a victory over Port Adelaide in the first round of 1997, Rocca established himself as one of the most important players in the Collingwood team and one of the most dangerous key forwards in the competition.
He finishes his playing career at Collingwood having played 220 games in the black and white stripes. Only 16 men in the history of Collingwood have played more games. He also sits eighth on the all-time Collingwood goal kicking list with 404.
Four times Rocca won the Gordon Coventry Trophy for being the Magpies’ leading goal kicker (2000, ’02, ’06, ’07), and he was the recipient of the RT Rush Trophy as runner-up in the Copeland Trophy voting in 1999. Rocca also won the Darren Millane Trophy as best clubman in 2002.
He played in 10 finals with Collingwood, including the 2002 Grand Final where he kicked four of the team’s nine goals and was one of the Magpies’ best in the narrow loss to Brisbane.
His last game was the qualifying final loss to St Kilda two weeks ago, his fourth senior match of the season that unfortunatly ended with him sustaining an ankle injury that kept him out of the semi final win over Adelaide.
His finale, however, was fittingly a big final played in front of a huge MCG crowd, an occasion Rocca looked unlikely to be a part of for large parts of the 2008 and 2009 seasons due to debilitating ankle and achilles problems.
Anthony Rocca on career
“I’m very proud of what I have achieved and I’m also very proud to have played alongside many great players.
“Beginning in Sydney and playing alongside men the calibre of Paul Kelly, Tony Lockett, Paul Roos and Michael O’Loughlin was a huge privilege. Then to move to Collingwood and be alongside the likes of Nathan Buckley, Scott Burns, Gavin Brown, Graham Wright and particularly my brother Saverio, I am very fortunate.”
“I would like to thank the Collingwood Football Club for allowing me to have had the career I've had, and the Sydney Swans for giving me the opportunity to play AFL football, I'm very grateful.
“After starting my career in Sydney, I really wanted to be back in Melbourne, firstly to play with my brother, and secondly to play with Collingwood as well, so that was a bonus.
“Playing with my brother was a career highlight that I'll cherish forever. Playing in the 2002 grand final was a highlight, but also one of the lowlights, but I'll always remember that opportunity. All the milestone games in my career are highlights. I didn't think I'd ever get to 200 games, so to play 242 was a bonus.
“2009 has been a battle, after I had ankle problems at the start of the year and an achilles injury midway through the year, I really didn’t know if I'd get back. A specialist recommended I have six months off with the achilles problem I had, but with the medical and conditioning staff we have at Collingwood I was able to get through it, get back and play five games in the VFL and earn my spot for that final against St Kilda.
“I didn’t get a lot of possessions in the qualifying final but I kicked a couple of goals and I thought a lot of the things I did were encouraging, and if I didn’t get the injury late in that game, I believe I would've played the following week as well. I'm forever grateful to finish with an AFL game, even though the ultimate goal was to finish with a grand final win, it just wasn't to be.
“Looking to life after footy, I want to take some time off, first of all take a holiday and go and visit my brother in the US.
“I'm keen to try and get into the punting scene in the NFL, and I'll try my best to get a job in that arena, but if not I wouldn’t mind doing some sort of part-time coaching role in the AFL. I'd love to stay at Collingwood because I love the place, it would be good to work behind the scenes.
“I’d like to thank all the support staff around the club and those in administration, for all their years of support and encouragement. To all the coaches I’ve worked with, a thank you to them, and particularly to Mick who has had a profound influence on my career. David Buttifant, who is our head of sports science, and conditioning coach Michael Dugina, both those guys have also had a big impact on my career.
“Also to my family, my wife Enza, daughter Mia and parents Mick and Anna, they've stuck by me through the tough times and the great times, the support has been awesome.”
Mick Malthouse on Rocca
“Anthony should be very proud of his career, we at the club certainly are.
“We're richer for him being part of this club.
“I think he's one of the most courageous players who I've coached, and one probably thinks it's easy for a bloke who is 195 centimetres and 105 kilograms to be brave, but the courage I talk of refers to his ability to play with injuries, to play through pain.
“As tough as he was on the football field he had a kind heart for his teammates.
“I think we'll always be mindful of the fact that, in the 2002 grand final, he produced a herculean effort, and he almost got us over the line. Unfortunately for us the following year he wasn't there in the grand final, and it was probably pretty reflective of the score line, and in many respects tells us how important he was to the football club.
“He has his detractors, but very few people worked as hard as he did, and I feel as though we've lost a very important part of our club.
“I hope he can come back in some capacity and help out, I know he wants to, so we'll be looking into that, but he's got other business that he'll be pursuing first up.
“I've got to say he's one of my favourite players, not only because of his personality but also his teammanship, and his ability to lift other people around him when he played.
“I wish him all the very best.”
