Sam Butler

Australian rules footballer

Samuel Butler (born 14 January 1986) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the West Coast Eagles in the Australian Football League (AFL). A talented underage soccer player from Gawler, South Australia, who only took up football as a teenager, he was drafted by West Coast with the 20th pick at the 2003 National Draft, having played in a SANFL reserves premiership for Central District the year he was drafted. Butler debuted for West Coast during the 2004 season, and was nominated for the AFL Rising Star award. A mid sized defender and occasional midfielder, he played in West Coast's 2006 premiership team, but missed the entire next season due to injury. Butler has struggled with injury throughout his career, only playing his 100th game during the 2013 season, ten seasons after his debut.

From Gawler in country South Australia, Butler only took up football when he was a teenager, having previously played under 16 soccer for his state. He played junior football for the South Gawler Football Club (subsequently becoming the first South Gawler player in the AFL), and then for underage Central District Football Club teams. A member of the AIS/AFL Academy, Butler played for South Australia at the AFL Under 18 Championships in both 2002 and 2003, and also won a reserves SANFL premiership with Central District in the latter season. He went on to be drafted by West Coast with the 20th pick in the 2003 National Draft. 2015 was a successful year for Butler, he played a personal record of 17 games and was one of the best players for the Eagles in the 2015 Finals series. He was also in the top 5 best Eagles players in the 2015 AFL Grand final with 25 disposals. He was contracted with the Eagles till the end of 2016.