Warwick Capper

Warwick Capper

Capper at the premier of Horrible Bosses, 2011
Personal information
Full name Warwick Capper
Date of birth (1963-06-12) 12 June 1963
Place of birth Victoria
Original team(s) Oakleigh District
Height / weight 190cm / 93kg
Position(s) Forward
Playing career1
Years Club Games (Goals)
1983–1987, 1991
1988–1990
Total		 Sydney Swans
Brisbane Bears		 090 (317)
034 0(71)
124 (388)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 1991.
Career highlights

Warwick Capper (born 12 June 1963) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Sydney Swans and the Brisbane Bears in the Victorian Football League/Australian Football League. An accomplished full-forward, Capper kicked 388 goals over a 124-game career, finishing runner-up twice in the Coleman Medal stakes with a peak of 103 goals in 1987. He was also famous for his high-flying spectacular marks which earned him a Mark of the Year award in 1987.

Known for his colourful personality and flashy looks, Capper was used as a marketing tool amid VFL expansion north of the Barassi Line, and for a time was one of few Australian rules footballers with a high profile in New South Wales and Queensland. He became the VFL's highest-paid player in the mid-80s, and his blonde mullet, white or pink boots, and tight shorts helped make him one of the game's most reconigsable figures. Off the field, he was known for his association with flamboyant Swans owner Geoffrey Edelsten, as well as his foray into pop music with the 1985 single "I Only Take What's Mine", the music video of which features Capper's pink Lamborghini and Edelsten's pink helicopter.

His post-football career has included various media appearances, comedy tours, a self-released sex tape, a failed run for Queensland state politics, and work as a stripper, male escort and Surfers Paradise Meter Maid.

Early life

Capper was born in Victoria and grew up in the Melbourne suburb of Huntingdale.

Early career

Capper began playing junior football for the Oakleigh District Football Club in Oakleigh East. Capper and David Rhys-Jones played for the club during the same time. Capper won the under-11 best and fairest in 1974 and the under-16 best and fairest in 1979 which was his last season with the club's juniors. He was recruited by VFL club South Melbourne and played in the under-19s for two years 1980 and 1981. Capper returned to Oakleigh Districts in 1982 to play senior football with bigger bodies and to enhance his chances of playing senior football with the Swans. After an outstanding season with the club and winning the Best and Fairest in the competition, Capper was given the opportunity to play for the Swans at senior level in 1983 and subsequently moved to Sydney for the club's second year in the city.[1]

VFL/AFL career

Capper was noted for his marking ability rather than his kicking accuracy. With several spectacular high marks in his career, he was nominated for Mark of the Year on several occasions and won in 1987, with a mark that is captured in Jamie Cooper's painting the Game That Made Australia, commissioned by the AFL in 2008 to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the sport.[2]

Although Capper was more famous for his marking, in 1987 he managed 103 goals at an average of 4.48 per game. He finished runner up in the Coleman Medal in both 1986 (to Brian Taylor) and 1987 (to Tony Lockett).

He was also well known for his looks, his long blonde locks of hair, deeply tanned skin, white boots and extremely tight shorts.[3] This formed part of the flamboyant image of the Swans club during the years in which it was owned by Geoffrey Edelsten. Adding to their already extravagant personas, Capper would fly around in Edelsten's pink helicopters. Moreover, he had a bright pair of newcomers called 'Bros' and according to Capper, "had the world at his feet".

When Capper moved to the Brisbane Bears at the end of the 1987 season with a $350,000 three-year contract, he became the highest paid player in the VFL. Capper did not do well in Queensland and returned to Sydney after having kicked only 71 goals in 34 games.

At the end of his VFL career, he returned to Queensland in 1992 to play semi-professionally with the Southport Sharks.

Off-field notoriety

In 1985 Capper released a single "I Only Take What's Mine",[4] referred to as "wonderfully woeful".[5] In 1986 made a guest appearance on Australian soap opera Neighbours[6] and has also starred in a pornographic movie.[7]

Since retiring from football, Capper has juggled media appearances and various jobs including council roadworker. In 1993, Capper posed in an explicit pictorial with his then-wife, Joanne Capper, for the August issue of Australian Penthouse magazine. He also announced that he was to become a male stripper.[8]

He has had continued participation in football only through charity AFL Legends Match. In 2002, he had a brief stint as skills coach for former club Southport.[9]

Capper makes regular appearances on television as a guest on shows such as The AFL Footy Show. He appeared briefly on the reality television show Celebrity Big Brother, but he was ejected from the series by the show's producer for exposing his penis to fellow housemate Kimberley Cooper during an argument.[10]

In 2003, Capper guest starred as AFL footballer "Dwayne Carey" (a play on Wayne Carey) in season 3 of the television series Pizza.

In 2005, Capper released an autobiography called Fool Forward in which he openly admitted to using illegal drugs (amphetamines) during his VFL/AFL career.[11] This caused controversy since such use would not be sanctioned under the current AFL anti-doping policy.

Shortly after the Sydney Swans won the 2005 AFL Grand Final, Capper again made tabloid news due to his split with longtime wife Joanne.

In 2006, Capper again made the news after an incident with film director Kayran Noskca, leading to a broken nose.[12]

In 2008, Capper again made news headlines when he had cosmetic surgery involving botox and liposuction.[13] He also challenged former professional boxer Jeff Fenech to a fight.[14] In 2009, he did box in a promotional charity match, losing a match against Wendell Sailor, whom Capper had previously criticised.[15]

In 2009, Capper appeared in a national campaign for Nandos Chicken, created by The Sphere Agency in Melbourne, promoting their Tropico burger with the headline " The sun shines through our buns Warwick, not yours". He appeared across all promotion elements including TV, Radio, print, and digital.

In late 2010 he once again put himself back in the spotlight by becoming the face of a major promotional campaign for Quickbeds.com a discount accommodation website. He appears in online and off-line promotional material and across the accommodation website promoting the website as 'cheap and easy – just like me'.[16]

In 2011, Capper made a cameo appearance in the premiere episode of the television program The Joy of Sets,[17] recommencing his short-lived alliance with the former hosts of Get This. Capper continued to make unlikely cameo appearances during re-enactments in subsequent episodes, dressed in nothing but gold hotpants.[18]

Capper was a participant on The Celebrity Apprentice Australia, where he was the first contestant to be fired.[19]

Currently Capper has been doing comedy and life stories with player agent Ricky Nixon, currently they are on tour with player agent Harley Wood.

2009 Queensland state election

Capper intended to contest the 2009 Queensland state election in the electoral district of Beaudesert as an independent. Capper announced he would run after Pauline Hanson announced officially that she is to be a candidate in the seat.[20] Capper's political endeavour collapsed a few days later when he was advised that he had missed the midday deadline on 3 March to register with the Electoral Commission Queensland.[21] When asked if Capper's running in the election was a joke, his campaign manager, Mark Jackson, replied that politics was a joke.[22]

Lads' magazine Zoo Weekly bankrolled his short-lived campaign, but denied it was responsible for not lodging his registration, blaming Capper's campaign manager.[22]

References

  1. ↑ Warrick Capper - Open Mike
  2. ↑ Australian Football League, The Game That Made Australia, Retrieved 19 September 2010
  3. ↑ "I took drugs before playing, says Capper". 29 April 2005.
  4. ↑ I Only Take What's Mine @ YouTube
  5. ↑ Warhurst, Myf. "Myf's Bottom 10 Songs Of All Time". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 30 July 2013.
  6. ↑ Warwick Capper @ imdb.com
  7. ↑ Warwick Capper stars in porn movie
  8. ↑ Cappers new career as a stripper
  9. ↑ "Capper could be banned from kids footy". The Sydney Morning Herald. 15 April 2002. Retrieved 22 July 2006.
  10. ↑ Capper evicted for flashing in Celebrity Big Brother
  11. ↑ "Capper admits pre-game drug use". Melbourne: The Age. 29 April 2005. Archived from the original on 7 May 2005. Retrieved 22 July 2006.
  12. ↑ "Ex-AFL star cops broken nose". The Sunday Telegraph. 16 June 2006. Archived from the original on 21 July 2006. Retrieved 22 July 2006.
  13. ↑ http://womansday.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=658382
  14. ↑ "'Me punching Fenech's head in would pull a crowd': Warwick Capper". Archived from the original on 4 August 2008.
  15. ↑ Wendell Sailor smashes Warwick Capper in charity boxing match
  16. ↑ Quickbeds uses 'cheap and easy' Capper
  17. ↑ Murfett, Andrew (15 September 2011). "A medium well done". The Age. Fairfax Media. Retrieved 21 September 2011.
  18. ↑ "Joy of Sets". Fixplay. ninemsn. Retrieved 21 September 2011.
  19. ↑ Warwick Capper first to be fired from the Celebrity Apprentice
  20. ↑ "Hanson and Capper face off in Qld poll". ABC News. 2 March 2009. Retrieved 4 March 2009.
  21. ↑ Hurst, Daniel (4 March 2009). "What a joke: Capper fails to register". Brisbanetimes.com.au. Retrieved 4 March 2009.
  22. 1 2 Barbeler, David (3 March 2009). "Capper fails to register as candidate". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 4 March 2009.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 12/2/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.