List of players who have converted from one football code to another: Difference between revisions

==From American football==

===American football to Association football===

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| [[Boris Shlapak]] || USA || [[National Football League|NFL]]<br /><small>([[Baltimore Colts]])</small> || [[North American Soccer League (1968–84)|NASL]]<br /><small>([[Chicago Sting]])</small> || 1972 || 1975

 

===American football to Australian rules football===

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| [[Dwayne Armstrong]] || USA || [[NCAA Division I]]<br /><small>([[Iowa State Cyclones|Iowa State]])</small> || [[Australian Football League|AFL]] reserves<br /><small>([[Essendon Football Club|Essendon]])</small> || 1991 || 1995

 

===American football to rugby league===

! Name ||Country || Top American football level || Top rugby league level || American football debut || Rugby league debut

|-

 

===American football to rugby union===

! Name ||Country || Top American football level || Top rugby union level || Top representation level || American football debut || Rugby union debut

|-

Most of the women to have played men's American football have crossed over from association football.

 

|-

| [[Phil Alexander]] || England || [[Norwich City F.C.]] || [[London Monarchs]] || N/A

Following the establishment of [[AFL Women's]] in 2016 (the first professional [[women's Australian rules football]] competition), several [[A-League Women]] players switched codes as they could augment their earnings in the off-season. Foot skills are advantageous in switching between these codes and goalkeepers have an advantage in marking and ball handling.

 

|-

| [[Catherine Brown (footballer)|Catherine Brown]] || Australia || [[Canberra United]] (W-League) || {{AFLW Haw}} (AFL Women's) || N/A || 2012 || 2022

 

===Association football to Gaelic football===

|-

| [[Ciarán Lyng]] || Ireland || [[Preston North End F.C.]], [[Shrewsbury Town F.C.]], Ireland underage teams || [[Wexford GAA|Wexford senior football team]] || ||2000s

 

===Association football to rugby league===

|-

| [[Ted Bateson]] || England || [[Blackburn Rovers F.C.|Blackburn Rovers]] || [[Wakefield Trinity]] || none || 1920s

As well as the players below, players known to have played amateur level soccer after retiring from the AFL include [[Gary Ablett Sr.|Gary Ablett]], [[James Hird]], [[Gavin Wanganeen]],<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://www.news.com.au/adelaidenow/sport/afl/story/0,26547,23541454-5016212,00.html |title=??? |work=News.com.au |access-date=2015-05-14}}</ref> [[Glenn Manton]] and [[Ang Christou]].

 

|-

| [[Peter Bevilaqua (footballer)|Peter Bevilaqua]] || Australia || [[Australian Football League|Victorian Football League]]<br /><small>([[Carlton Football Club|Carlton]])</small> || [[Victorian Premier League]]<br /><small>([[Brunswick Zebras FC|Brunswick Juventus]])</small> || N/A || 1953 || 1954

Notably, the specialist role of punter in Canadian football requires similar skills to those found in Australian football players.

 

|-

| [[Josh Bartel]]<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.ctvnews.ca/sports/australian-punter-turns-heads-for-hamilton-tiger-cats-1.1557976 |title=Australian punter turns heads for Hamilton Tiger-Cats &#124; CTV News |publisher=Ctvnews.ca |date=2013-11-24 |access-date=2015-05-14}}</ref> || Australia || [[Ovens & Murray Football League]]<br /><small>([[Wodonga Football Club|Wodonga]])</small> || [[Canadian Football League]]<br /><small>([[Hamilton Tiger Cats|Hamilton]]/[[Saskatchewan Roughriders|Saskatchewan]])</small> || || 2012

[[File:Tadhg Kennelly 2018.2.jpg|thumb|[[Tadhg Kennelly]] reached the highest level in Australian rules football then Gaelic Football, [[2005 AFL Grand Final|AFL Premiership medallion]] and a [[2009 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final|Senior All-Ireland Championship medal]], the highest possible team player achievement in both sports.]]

Some players involved in the Irish Experiment to play professional Australian rules football returned to Ireland and went on to be notable in senior level Gaelic football. Such players have included:

|-

| [[Paul Earley]] || Ireland || [[Australian Football League|Victorian Football League]]<br /><small>([[Melbourne Football Club|Melbourne]])</small> || [[Gaelic Athletic Association]]<br /><small>([[Roscommon GAA|Roscommon]])</small> || [[Ireland international rules football team|Ireland]] (Inter-rules) || 1984 ||1985

===Australian rules football to rugby league===

Early in the history of the two codes in Australia, players would interchange the codes and even had discussions of merging them into a single game.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://rl1908.com/articles/AFL.htm |title=Saintsandheathens.Com &#124; Australian Rugby History &#124; Sean Fagan |publisher=Rl1908.com |access-date=2015-05-14 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061021081015/http://www.rl1908.com/articles/AFL.htm |archive-date=2006-10-21 }}</ref> Rugby league has since evolved to specialise in physicality and body type making it more difficult for successful conversion between the two, although it does sometimes happen at junior level, particularly in areas where both codes are played (such as the Riverina region). Though the modern specialist {{rlp|fb}} and {{rlp|wg}} positions in rugby league can be suitable for the body type and skill of some Australian rules players. League players [[Darren Lockyer]],<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,21753488-5003425,00.html |title=Bennett : My greatest insult |work=News.com.au |access-date=2015-05-14}}</ref> [[Glenn Lazarus]],<ref>{{cite web |title=Career Overview |publisher=Glenn Lazarus Senator for Queensland |url=http://www.senatorlazarus.com/career-overview/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160122015000/http://www.senatorlazarus.com/career-overview/ |archive-date=22 January 2016}}</ref> [[Greg Brentnall]],<ref name="wagga.nsw.gov.au">{{Cite web|url=http://www.wagga.nsw.gov.au/museum/collections/hall-of-fame/inductees/brentnall,-greg|title=Greg Brentnall – Wagga City Council<!-- Bot generated title -->|accessdate=18 March 2023}}</ref> [[Chris Kinna]],<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article118121685 |title=THE RAIDERS IN '87 |newspaper=[[The Canberra Times]] |volume=61 |issue=18,774 |location=Australian Capital Territory, Australia |date=27 February 1987 |accessdate=3 May 2022 |page=5 (SUPPLEMENT TO THE CANBERRA TIMES) |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> [[Eric McCormack (rugby league)|Eric McCormack]],<ref>"The Encyclopedia Of Rugby League Players" by Whiticker/Hudson ({{ISBN|1875169571}})</ref> [[Kevin Proctor]],<ref>{{cite news |author=Steve Mascord |date=4 July 2013 |title=Proctor the ultimate code-hopper |newspaper=The Sydney Morning Herald |url=https://www.smh.com.au/sport/nrl/proctor-the-ultimate-codehopper-20130703-2pcbf.html}}</ref> [[Matt Duffie]],<ref>[http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/league/10549841/Kiwi-wing-Matt-Duffie-re-signs-with-Melbourne Kiwi wing Matt Duffie re-signs with Melbourne] Chris Barclay. Stuff.co.nz Sep 28 2014</ref> [[Shaun Johnson]],<ref>[https://amp.couriermail.com.au/sport/nrl/he-was-almost-lost-to-afl/news-story/47f88539c058b4d6c4cbc99ce122ec15 Warriors star Shaun Johnson was almost lost to AFL] Peter Badel September 9, 2011</ref> [[Tom Trbojevic]],<ref>[https://www.foxsports.com.au/nrl/nrl-premiership/teams/sea-eagles/how-manly-sea-eagles-young-gun-tom-trbojevic-was-almost-lost-to-rugby-league/news-story/ec9fc785d56d97a4e0012a48ce7c03cd How Manly Sea Eagles young gun Tom Trbojevic was almost lost to rugby league] from Fox Sports July 22nd, 2016</ref><ref>[https://www.foxsports.com.au/nrl/nrl-premiership/nrl-2021-tom-trbojevic-afl-manly-sea-eagles-sydney-swans-isaac-heeney/news-story/ae6179ea081c06e29229c7d0573b1791 How Tommy Turbo chose rugby league over AFL after training with Swans star] from Fox Sports September 16th, 2021</ref> [[Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cairnspost.com.au/former-coach-nq-cowboys-flyer-could-have-made-afl/news-story/f239ec0168ed5b137847b79ce7b31171 |title= NQ Cowboys flyer could have made AFL |date=21 February 2020}}</ref> [[William Warbrick]],<ref name="YahooProfile">{{cite web |title=From AFL to rugby sevens, Warbrick finds league home |url=https://au.sports.yahoo.com/afl-rugby-sevens-warbrick-finds-053342169.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAKV6mIcfa20JaqSOGtqLa9IMfVp8VzMQXDj3O6Q801SQqENfZ6dW3xvx2WPUDVj57aE1Tlst3mYrbFGygjrqKgfJhnE99DmdLqbk1x360alGv2Iy9Thm1xJ8HqmLlEemCk_ShcLTq-hkgHoG2yiU1mJDMVebRO7gsnL5INy3Jqph |website=Yahoo Sports |publisher=Australian Associated Press |access-date=26 March 2023 |date=9 March 2023}}</ref> [[Kalyn Ponga]]<ref>[https://www.zerotackle.com/kalyn-ponga-reveals-how-close-he-came-to-joining-afl-42043/ Kalyn Ponga reveals how close he came to joining AFL] by Ben Cotton for Zero Tackle 17 March 2019</ref> and [[Corey Horsburgh]]<ref>[https://www.zerotackle.com/from-brisbane-lions-academy-to-state-of-origin-corey-horsburgh-159143/ From Brisbane Lions Academy to State of Origin: Corey Horsburgh] by Ethan Lee Chalk for Zero Tackle 8 July 2023</ref> all played Aussie Rules at a junior level.

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| Eric Frauenfelder || Australia || [[Ovens & Murray Football Netball League|OMFL]] <small>(Albury)</small> || [[Queensland Rugby League|QRL]] <small>([[Past Brothers]])</small> || New South Wales (AR)<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article109985505 |title=INTER-STATE FOOTBALL AT NORTH IPSWICH. |newspaper=[[Queensland Times]] |volume=LXIII |issue=11,028 |location=Queensland, Australia |date=11 July 1921 |accessdate=14 September 2022 |page=4 (DAILY.) |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref><br />Queensland (RL)<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article106405698 |title=WAGGA DIOCESE. |newspaper=[[The Catholic Press]] |issue=1482 |location=New South Wales, Australia |date=29 May 1924 |accessdate=14 September 2022 |page=40 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref>|| 1918 || 1921

Also at amateur level, conversion is quite common, as in the case of many start-up Australian rules clubs in countries such as France<ref>{{cite web |author=Aaron Richard |url=http://www.worldfootynews.com/article.php?story=20060314181346203 |title=French almost pull off an upset against the Reading Roos |publisher=World Footy News |access-date=2015-05-14}}</ref> and countries such as New Zealand, Samoa and Papua New Guinea where there are dual-internationals at junior level.

 

|-

| [[George Coulthard]] || Australia || [[Victorian Football Association]]<br /><small>([[Carlton Football Club|Carlton]])</small> || Waratah ([[New South Wales Rugby Union|NSWRU]]) || [[Victoria Australian rules football team|Victoria]] (AR) || 1874 || 1877

 

===Gaelic football to association football===

|-

| {{nowrap|[[Jack Kirwan]]}} || Ireland || [[All-Ireland Senior Football Championship|All-Ireland Championship]] winner with [[Dublin GAA|Dublin]] || [[FA Cup]] winner with [[Tottenham Hotspur F.C.]] || [[Ireland national football team (1882–1950)|Ireland]]

The [[Gaelic Athletic Association]] prohibits professionalism, meaning that there is a financial lure for players to compete in the professional elite Aussie Rules competitions in Australia.<ref name="GAA_03Jan2006_ColmBegleyAFLClubs">{{cite web |url=http://www.gaa.ie/plugins/newsfeed.cgi?rm=content&plugin_data_id=10054 |title=Begley warns Aussies are watching |date=2006-01-03 |publisher=[[Gaelic Athletic Association|GAA]] |access-date=2009-01-26 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080425030900/http://www.gaa.ie/plugins/newsfeed.cgi?rm=content&plugin_data_id=10054 |archive-date=2008-04-25 }}</ref>

 

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| [[Sean Wight]] || Ireland<ref>Wight was born in [[Glasgow]], Scotland.</ref> || Kerry minor (Under-18) || [[Australian Football League|AFL]] || NA || 1982 || 1985

 

===Gaelic football to rugby league===

|-

| [[Brian Carney (rugby)|Brian Carney]] || Ireland || [[Gaelic Athletic Association]]<br /><small>(Valleymount)</small> || [[Super League]]<br /><small>([[Gateshead Thunder (1999)|Gateshead]]/[[Hull F.C.|Hull]]/[[Wigan Warriors|Wigan]])</small> || [[Ireland national rugby league team|Ireland]] (RL)<br />[[Great Britain national rugby league team|Great Britain]] (RL) || 1998 || 1999

Up until the mid-1990s, both codes were officially amateur. However, the professionalisation of rugby union has provided a financial lure.

 

|-

| [[Dick Spring]] || Ireland || [[Kerry GAA|Kerry senior team]] || [[Munster Rugby|Munster]], [[London Irish]] || [[Ireland national rugby union team|Ireland]] || 1960s, 1970s

 

===Rugby league to association football===

|-

| [[Albert Brough]] || England || [[Barrow Raiders|Barrow]] || [[Barrow A.F.C.]] || || 1920s

Rugby union and American football share the same origins, but have evolved into very different games. Both are very physical and require similar body types with high speed and strength.<ref name="urlHow Many Players In Rugby Have Played NFL?">{{Cite web|url=https://www.florugby.com/articles/6750092-how-many-players-in-rugby-have-played-nfl|title=How Many Players In Rugby Have Played NFL? - FloRugby|website=www.florugby.com|date=8 June 2020 |accessdate=18 March 2023}}</ref>

 

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| [[Colin Scotts]] || Australia || Australian schoolboys || [[National Football League|NFL]], [[History of the St. Louis Cardinals (NFL)|St. Louis Cardinals]] || Australia || 1980s

 

===Rugby union to association football===

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| [[John Willie Sutcliffe|J.W. Sutcliffe]] || England || [[Bradford Park Avenue A.F.C.|Bradford F.C.]]/[[Heckmondwike (rugby league)|Heckmondwike]] || [[Bolton Wanderers F.C.|Bolton Wanderers]]/[[Manchester United F.C.|Manchester United]] || England (both) || 1880s/1910s

In recent years, several schoolboy rugby union players have made a transition to Australian Rules, including [[Ray Smith (Australian footballer)|Ray Smith]] (Queensland Under 19), [[Jim Stynes]], [[Lewis Roberts-Thomson]], [[Aaron Edwards]], [[Adam Campbell (Australian rules footballer)|Adam Campbell]] (New Zealand Under 15), [[Daniel Merrett]], [[Brad Moran (footballer)|Brad Moran]] ([[West Midlands (county)|West Midlands (England)]] Under 16) and [[Tom Williams (Australian footballer, born 1986)|Tom Williams]] (Queensland Under 16). In 2012, Canadian Mike Pyke became the first former professional rugby player to win an AFL premiership.

 

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| [[Andrew Stoddart]] ||England || [[British & Irish Lions]] || [[Great Britain men's national Australian rules football team|Great Britain]] || [[British & Irish Lions]] (RU)<br />[[Great Britain men's national Australian rules football team|Great Britain]] (AR) || 1886 || 1888

===Rugby union to Gaelic football===

{{See also|Comparison of Gaelic football and rugby union}}

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| {{nowrap|[[Jarlath Fallon]]}} || Ireland || [[Galwegians RFC|Galwegians]], [[Connacht Rugby|Connacht]] || [[Tuam Stars GAA|Tuam Stars senior team]], [[Galway GAA|Galway senior team]] || [[Galway GAA|Galway senior team]] || {{nowrap|1990s, 2000s}}

Two of the closest codes, they share many similar skills. Until 1995 union was officially amateur and union players were offered money to switch codes. That trend has since reversed, as rugby union is now richer than rugby league. Conversion from one code to the other is more difficult for forwards than backs, where the skills are most similar. Several players, including [[Iestyn Harris]] and [[Mat Rogers]], have converted between the two codes on more than one occasion.

 

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| [[Frano Botica]] || New Zealand || [[New Zealand national rugby union team|All Blacks]] || [[New Zealand national rugby league team|NZ Kiwis]], [[National Rugby League|NRL]] || New Zealand (RU/RL) Croatia (RU) || 1980/90s