Travis Varcoe

Travis Varcoe (born 10 April 1988) is an Australian rules footballer for the Collingwood Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL).

Varcoe debuted in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL) for Central District Football Club in 2005 at the age of 17. A foot injury early in the season held him back from performing in front of prospective recruiters, before Geelong selected him at the end of the first round with the 15th overall pick in the 2005 National Draft.

Geelong

Varcoe playing for Geelong in 2008.

Varcoe was given the honour of wearing Geelong's number five guernsey, previously worn by club legends Gary Ablett and Polly Farmer. Varcoe plays as a forward pocket but can also play as a midfielder if required, drawing comparisons to Melbourne speedster Aaron Davey, with his consistent forward line pressure and high-speed chase downs on the field. Varcoe is often referred to as "The Magician" with his quick, at times invisible handballs and tricky skills.

Varcoe played a key utility role for Geelong in 2009, which included a valuable contribution in the Grand Final as Geelong defeated St Kilda Football Club. Varcoe played a critical role in delivering a handball to Paul Chapman late in the game which resulted in a brilliant Chapman goal giving Geelong a six-point lead. Shortly after, team mate Max Rooke scored a goal after the final siren to give Geelong a 12-point win.

Going in to the 2010 AFL season, Varcoe put in the most promising preseason of his career, only to succumb to a thumb injury to put him out for the first few weeks of the season. However, on his return to the senior side, Varcoe played well enough to finish ninth in Geelong's 2010 Best and Fairest count.

Varcoe kicked the first goal of the 2011 AFL Grand Final inside the first 10 seconds of the match. He also kicked the second goal of the match. However his goal at the eight-minute mark in the 4th quarter was possibly goal of the season. Before kicking the goal Varcoe took a mark in Geelong's backline whilst he was almost simultaneously bumped forcing the ball free, and the mark going unpaid. However Varcoe ran forward with the play gathering possessions and ultimately converted a goal from inside 50 moments later. He picked up his 2nd Premiership Medallion in 2011. As of Round 11, 2015, Varcoe had played 149 games and of those 149 games had won 122 of those games. He was also the quickest player to reach 100 wins, playing in his 100th win in his 113th game.

Collingwood

Varcoe training with Collingwood in 2014.

On 15 October 2014, Varcoe was traded to the Collingwood Football Club in a three-way trade between Collingwood, Geelong and Melbourne which also saw Mitch Clark and Heritier Lumumba find new clubs. Despite being considered past his best during his last year at Geelong, since moving to Collingwood Varcoe has enjoyed a renaissance of form, playing arguably the best football of his career. Varcoe was considered one of the best recruits of the 2015 AFL season.

In August 2007, Varcoe caused controversy after concerns were raised about the racial and sexual content featured on his MySpace page. The site promoted the theme of black superiority and contained several images of topless women in suggestive poses. The Geelong Football Club acted swiftly, removing the content immediately after it came to its attention.

Statistics are correct to the end of the 2016 season