Travis Tuck


Travis Tuck is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Hawthorn Hawks in the Australian Football League. Tuck was selected with a Father-Son selection in the 2005 AFL Draft.

Background

The son of Hawthorn legend and former VFL/AFL games record holder Michael Tuck, brother of Richmond midfielder Shane Tuck, nephew of Geelong superstar Gary Ablett Sr and cousin of Gold Coast captain Gary Ablett Jr, Tuck possesses a remarkable football pedigree.

Career

Tuck debuted in round 17 of 2007 against North Melbourne and despite a serviceable performance on the day, he made way for a number of returning senior players the following week. This proved to be Tuck's only game for the season.
During the first month of 2008, Tuck enjoyed a breakout year. After a string of strong pre-season performances, Tuck was selected in the senior side for Round 1 and remained there in the month that followed. A highlight was a 25 possession Round 2 against Fremantle, where Tuck was named in Hawthorn's best. Injury struck in Round 4, however and it proved to be 9 weeks until he was able to reclaim a place in the Hawks lineup. Tuck played Rounds 13 to 17, before again making way for other players. Tuck was listed as an emergency for the successful 2008 Grand Final side.
Tuck failed to play a match for Hawthorn's senior side in 2010 and on 27 August, Tuck was found unconscious in a car by police and was treated for an alleged drug overdose. Tuck then became the first player to receive a third strike under the AFL's illicit drugs policy. The operations manager for the AFL, Adrian Anderson, stated that Tuck's drug use was "not recreational" and was the result of clinical depression. On 31 August, the AFL Tribunal suspended Tuck for 12 matches and fined him A$5000. Tuck continued to train with Hawthorn during the summer of 2010–11 in the hope of gaining a place on the club's Rookie List for the 2011 season, however he was advised in March 2011 that he had been overlooked in favour of former West Coast and Melbourne player, Paul Johnson.
Tuck played for Werribee in the VFL in 2011 and 2012.
From 2013 until he retired at the end of 2016, he played for West Adelaide in the SANFL.
He played 70 games with the club and kicked 54 goals. He was named one of the best in the SANFL 2015 Grand Final.