Wayne Francis Carey (born 27 May 1971) is a former Australian rules footballer who played with the North Melbourne Football Club and Adelaide Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL).
A dual-premiership captain at North Melbourne (1996 and 1999), four-time North Melbourne best-and-fairest (Syd Barker Medallist) and seven-time All-Australian, Carey is nicknamed "The King", or "Duck". In 2001, he was named as centre half-forward and captain of North Melbourne's Team of the Century, and in 2008 was named as Australian football's greatest ever player, as part of a list of the top 50 players of all time, published in the book The Australian Game of Football, which was released by the League to celebrate 150 years of Australian rules football.
In 2002, he left North Melbourne in disgrace after it was revealed he had been having an extramarital affair with the wife of his then-teammate Anthony Stevens. He is also known for a string of legal problems, which include domestic violence charges and assault convictions.
From 2014, Carey has worked as a Friday night football commentator and Talking Footy panelist with Channel Seven. He has also written as a columnist for The Age and is a regular fixture on Triple M's The Rush Hour segment called "The Midweek Rub", which has since been spun off as its own podcast. He had previously worked for 3AW and Channel 9 before being fired for a glassing incident in Miami.
Early life
The son of Kevin and Lynne, Carey was one of five children who grew up in Wagga Wagga, New South Wales. His mother and father separated when Carey was aged six, with his mother taking four of the children to Adelaide, living in a homeless shelter. According to Carey's autobiography, his father was a violent man who had spent time at Mannus Correctional Centre and was troubled by alcoholism. A few months later, Kevin Carey retrieved the children from his estranged wife, and they returned to Wagga Wagga.
Carey played rugby league as a junior, and began playing Australian rules football at the age of eight. At the age of thirteen, Carey returned to Adelaide, where he attended The Heights School and played junior football for North Adelaide.
Growing up, Carey's hero was fellow South Australian and 300 game hero Chris "Budgie" Eastham.
Playing career: 1987–2004
AFL
VFL debut: 1987–1989
In 1987, Carey was recruited by North Melbourne after their CEO, Greg Miller, met with the Sydney Swans' football department to discuss the transfer to North Melbourne of John Longmire, a highly regarded junior key-position player. Once that deal was concluded, Miller then inquired about Carey who, like Longmire, was zoned to the Swans due to having lived in New South Wales. He made a token offer of $10,000 as a transfer fee, to which the Swans surprisingly agreed. As a 16-year-old, Carey made the move to Melbourne and played for the North Melbourne under-19s, where he starred in their 1988 premiership side under coach Denis Pagan. Carey was promoted to the senior list prior to the 1989 season and, after recovering from dislocating his left shoulder in a practice match early in the year, made his first appearance for the seniors as an 18-year-old in round 11 of 1989 against Fitzroy.
State of Origin
Carey had a relatively short but successful State of Origin career, and what he describes as a significant period in his career. Carey first played at the game's highest level in 1990 for New South Wales, in a famous win over Victoria, in the side's only 3rd-ever win against the state; Carey scored one goal. In 1992, playing for South Australia against Victoria, Carey played an outstanding game, dominating at centre half-forward and kicking two goals, including the match-winner from 55 metres out in the dying moments. Carey had four opponents in the game, dominating them all, including Chris Langford, Danny Frawley and Garry Lyon. Carey has described this game as the moment he knew he belonged in the AFL. Saying if he could do well at State of Origin level, a higher level than the AFL, he knew he belonged at AFL level. Carey played for NSW/ACT the following year in the State of Origin Carnival scoring one goal. In the latter half of the 1990s, clubs began putting pressure on players to pull out of games due to fear of injury, and players began to stop participating, with the final State of Origin game occurring in 1999.
1989–2001
The 1990s was a decade dominated by forwards, and Wayne Carey dominated his role at centre half-forward more than perhaps any other player in his position before or since.