Chris Schmidt (footballer)

Chris Schmidt (born 20 March 1989) is an Australian rules footballer. He formerly played in the AFL, for the and. He now plays for SANFL club West Adelaide, the club he was originally drafted from. Schmidt holds the SANFL record for lowest goals to games ratio.

Brisbane Lions career
He was drafted by with the 34th selection in the 2006 AFL Draft from West Adelaide in the SANFL. Debuting for Brisbane in Round 10, 2007 as an 18-year-old against, Schmidt struggled with just 1 kick and 5 handballs. The match ended in a draw. Schmidt played only one more game for the club, the following round against the, and only managed 3 disposals. His Lions career was riddled with injuries, including osteitis pubis and a persistent shoulder problem. Schmidt played most of his footy with the Suncoast Lions during this period. He was delisted at the end of the 2008 season.

Adelaide career
Schmidt returned to South Australia when he was drafted at number 26 in the 2009 Rookie Draft by. He played senior football for his previous club, West Adelaide, before being elevated from the Crows rookie list due to a Brodie Martin long term injury.

He made his Adelaide debut in the Round 3 loss to, and picked up 20 disposals, showing his improvement from his Lions days.

Schmidt was delisted by at the end of the 2011 AFL season.

West Adelaide career
He returned to the SANFL in 2012, again playing for West Adelaide.

In the 2013 Foxtel Cup Grand Final, Schmidt collected 26 disposals and nine clearances, at 81 per cent disposal efficiency. He was awarded the Coles Medal, as the player best on ground.

New West Adelaide senior coach Mark Mickan, himself a former player for both the Crows and West Adelaide where he is part of the Bloods Hall of Fame, appointed Schmidt as West Adelaide's new club captain for 2014 following the retirement of Ryan Ferguson.

After a disappointing 2014 SANFL season in which The Bloods slumped to 9th place (second last) on the ladder, Westies bounced back in 2015 to finish the minor round in 3rd place. Schmidt then led the club to its first SANFL premiership since 1983 with a dominant display in the 2015 SANFL Grand Final, amassing 44 disposals for the game (the most be any SANFL player in 2015) and winning the Jack Oatey Medal as the best player in the Grand Final as Westies defeated minor premiers by 30 points at the Adelaide Oval. Schmidt joins Bernie Leahy (1908, 1909), Jos Dailey (1911, 1912), Bruce McGregor (1927), Johnny Taylor (1947), Neil Kerley (1961) and Ian Borchard (1983) as a West Adelaide premiership winning captains.