Dean Polo

Dean Polo
Polo playing for St Kilda in 2011
Personal information
Full name	Dean Polo
Date of birth	5 August 1986
Place of birth	Gippsland, Victoria
Original team(s)	Wy Yung / Gippsland Power
Draft	20th overall, 2004 Richmond
Height/Weight	187 cm / 81 kg
Position(s)	Half back flank
Playing career^1
Years	Club	Games (Goals)
2005–10 2011–12 Total	Richmond St Kilda	56 (11) 21 0(7) 77 (18)
^1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 2012 season.
Career highlights
Yiooken Award 2006

Dean Polo (born 5 August 1986) is a former Australian rules footballer who last played for St Kilda in the Australian Football League (AFL).

Playing career

2005-10: Career with Richmond

Polo was drafted by the Richmond Football Club with the 20th selection in the 2004 AFL Draft.

In his first season at Richmond in 2005, Polo initially struggled with the move from a small country town to the "big city", and was dropped to the Coburg reserves early on in the season. However, in the second half of the season his performances earned him a promotion to the Coburg seniors, where his performances continued to improve to the point where he was considered a possibility to debut for Richmond towards the end of the 2005 season.

After starring for Coburg in the early part of the 2006 season, Polo made his AFL debut in Round 6 against Essendon in the "Dreamtime at the 'G" game. He starred in the game, collecting 28 disposals and kicking three goals, helping Richmond beat their arch-rivals Essendon. Polo was rewarded with the Yiooken Award for his best-on-ground performance and was also nominated for the 2006 NAB Rising Star award. IT's said that this was Polo's only "good" game for his career.

In 2010 Polo was banned by the club for one week following a drunken incident in a Sydney hotel. This only added to the pain of Richmond's previously-winless start to the season. On 14 October 2010 he was delisted by the Tigers after 56 senior games in his six seasons at the club.

2011-12: Career with St Kilda

On 18 November 2010, Polo was drafted by St Kilda for the 2011 season, he played 15 games and kicked 6 goals in his first season at the saints and proved that he can play football at the highest level.^[1]

Polo was delisted by St Kilda after the 2012 season.

References

1. Blake, Martin (25 November 2010). "New Saints find their way home". Lakes Mail. Retrieved 8 June 2011.

External links

• Dean Polo's profile on the official website of the Richmond Football Club
• Dean Polo's statistics from AFL Tables