Nigel Smart


Nigel James Smart is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Adelaide Football Club in the Australian Football League. Smart played most of his career in defence and became a crowd favourite, easily identifiable with his bald head and goatee.

Career

Smart made his senior debut in 1988 in the SANFL with South Adelaide Football Club while studying geography and politics at Flinders University. He was also a member of the Adelaide Crows squad for their inaugural season in 1991. Smart was named at full-back for Adelaide's Round One match against, going up against superstar full-forward Jason Dunstall. On his AFL debut, Smart collected six kicks, nine handballs and grabbed six marks.
At the end of the 1991 season, Smart would become Adelaide's first ever All-Australian, selected in the Back pocket.
One of the most famous incidents attributed to Smart's career was during the 1992 pre-season, when the Crows organised a session to walk over hot coals. Smart suffered severe burns to his feet but returned to play football soon after.
Smart was one of the key players in Adelaide's resurgence under Malcolm Blight, and in the 1997 AFL Grand Final against St Kilda, he had the honour of kicking the final goal of the match as Adelaide won their first AFL premiership. He was also a member of the Crows team which won the 1998 AFL Grand Final; the Crows becoming the first team since Hawthorn in 1988 and 1989 to win back-to-back premierships.

Statistics

! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | 1991
! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | 1992
! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | 1993
! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | 1994
! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | 1995
! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | 1996
! scope="row" style="text-align:center;" | 1997
! scope="row" style="text-align:center;" | 1998
! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | 1999
! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | 2000
! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | 2001
! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | 2002
! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | 2003
! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | 2004
! colspan=3| Career
! 278
! 0.4
! 0.4
! 2503
! 1553
! 4056
! 844
! 544
! 131
! 116
! 9.0
! 5.6
! 14.6
! 3.0
! 2.0

Post career

After his retirement from football, Smart was an unsuccessful candidate for the Liberal Party for the electoral district of Norwood in the 2006 South Australian state election. He also lived briefly in Canada and France with family, then completed an MBA at the University of Adelaide.
Smart has been a member of the Crows' board since 2005, and assumed the role of Deputy Chairman for the 2009. On 1 March 2013, Smart became the Chief Operating Officer of the Adelaide Football Club.