Daniel Cross

Daniel Cross (born 30 March 1983) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the and Melbourne Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL).

A Charles Sutton Medallist with the Western Bulldogs, he finished his 249-game career with 210 games at the Western Bulldogs and 39 with Melbourne.

Cross was recruited by the Western Bulldogs with the 56th overall selection in the 2000 national draft.

He made his AFL debut in a 19-point victory against in round 10, 2002.

Despite the Bulldogs winning the match, he managed only two disposals.

He played a further three games for 2002.

He played his first match for 2003 in round 4 against, but struggled to make a big impact.

He was dropped after round 6 to the VFL to play with Weribee.

After impressive performances with Werribee, Cross was recalled to the Bulldogs side.

His return to the Bulldogs side was good enough for him to keep his place in the side the following week, but after a disappointing performance against Richmond in round 17, he was again dropped.

He was promoted to the AFL side in round 22, and managed 18 disposals, in what was an otherwise disappointing game for the Bulldogs due to losing by 84 points to the.

He made the decision to stay with the Western Bulldogs for the 2004 season, despite only managing to play a total of ten games in his first three seasons.

After playing just two games in the first ten weeks of the 2004 season, Cross was able to play the remaining twelve matches of the season and was named the round 19 nominee for the Rising Star after recording 28 disposals against at the Docklands Stadium.

The Western Bulldogs made an impressive start to the 2005 campaign under new coach Rodney Eade.

The Bulldogs opened the season with a 32-point victory over, and he was vital in the win, collecting 24 possessions.

He received his first ever Brownlow vote for his round 7 performance against Brisbane, where he recorded 29 possessions in the 23-point win.

He finished the season with 563 disposals, and finished with the most handballs in the league with 384.

Cross reached his 50-game milestone in round 4 2006, against where he collected 20 disposals in a 1-point victory over the Cats.

He played his first finals match against Collingwood in the elimination final where he registered 32 disposals in a 41-point victory, however the Bulldogs lost the next week to.

His season comprised many high-disposal matches and he finished the season third overall for disposals and second overall for handballs in the league.

He suffered a serious injury against in round 11 2007 and missed the following six games.

In his return match against, he collected 30 disposals.

2008 saw Cross play a more integral role in the midfield, with Scott West suffering a long term injury.

He was one of the three Bulldogs players nominated for the 2008 MVP award, eventually won by Gary Ablett.

The Bulldogs made it to the preliminary final, in what was the best on-field season for the team to that point in Cross' career, they lost the preliminary final to eventual runners up, Geelong, by 29 points.

His season was rewarded with the Charles Sutton Medal as the club best-and-fairest, finishing 24 points ahead of Brownlow Medallist, Adam Cooney.

He also received the inaugural Scott West award for the most courageous player and the Bruce Wilkinson award for the best player as voted by the trainers.

In October 2008, he married long-time girlfriend Samantha Mallia.

Cross played every match of the 2009 season, where he accumulated a total of 581 disposals.

The Western Bulldogs again made the preliminary final, but lost the match to by 7 points.

He underwent a double ankle reconstruction in the off-season of 2009, but managed to return during the 2010 NAB Cup, where the Bulldogs were the eventual winners.

He played every match of the season which saw the Bulldogs reach a third consecutive preliminary final, but ultimately lost to St Kilda by 24-points.

He was the runner up in the best-and-fairest, finishing nine votes behind Ryan Griffen.

He played his 100th AFL game in round 15 against Melbourne, where he registered 25 disposals in a 31-point victory.

He also played in the 2010 International Rules Series against Ireland.

He continued his consistent performances in 2011 where he averaged over 24 possessions per game for the seventh season in a row.

He received the Scott West award and was ranked first at the club for tackles (125, averaging 5.7), handballs (323, averaging 14.7) and marks (125, averaging 5.7).

He was nominated for the most courageous player at the AFL Players Association awards, which was eventually won by captain, Jonathan Brown.

During 2012, he shifted between the midfield and defence.

He has served as the development and rehabilitation coach of the Melbourne Football Club since October 2015.