Daniel Kerr (born May 16, 1983) is an Australian rules footballer.

Kerr was recruited from East Fremantle Football Club and made his AFL debut in 2001 with the West Coast Eagles. He is a hard-running midfielder that is a vital part of the powerful midfield brigade at the Eagles, including Dean Cox, Chad Fletcher, Michael Braun, Ben Cousins and Chris Judd.

Kerr, unbeknownst to many, is of Sri Lankan Heritage, and his father played for East Fremantle in the WAFL. He is currently dating Melanie Cousins, the sister of Ben Cousins.

Like fellow footballer Quinten Lynch, Daniel Kerr also attended Aquinas College, Perth.

Football career

Kerr is widely known as one of the toughest players in the AFL. In August 2006, the much bigger Fraser Gehrig, considered one of the strongest players in the AFL^{[citation needed]}, tried to palm off a tackle by Kerr, only to have Kerr resist and re-tackle Gehrig, with the result being the umpire rewarding Kerr with a "holding-the-ball" decision. It is play like this, along with the ability to rip balls out of seemingly impossibly congested packs that have earned Kerr an enormous esteem with West Coast fans, and fans of the game in general. Some commentators of the game such as former Melbourne captain Gary Lyon have agreed that Kerr is an underrated player and is of similar importance to West Coast as their better known superstars such as Chris Judd and Ben Cousins^{[citation needed]}, who together are known as 'The Three Musketeers'^{[citation needed]}.

One of the main criticisms by both fans and commentators of Kerr as a player is that he is often prone to actions that get him reported and suspended by the AFL tribunal. Some have also noted Kerr's poor kicking when on his non-preferred left foot^{[citation needed]}, however, Kerr can sometimes compensate for this with his very good (inside-out) checkside kicking on his right foot.^{[citation needed]}

In 2003, Kerr won the AFL Goal of the Year and was runner up to team-mate Ben Cousins in the AFL's most prestigious award the Brownlow Medal in 2005.^{[citation needed]}

In 2005 Kerr nearly provided one of the biggest upsets in Brownlow Medal history, leading the count towards the later rounds and finishing second to favourite, fellow teammate Ben Cousins. In the following year, he came third in the Brownlow Medal count with 22 votes, however, was ineligible due to a striking charge against Hawthorn's Sam Mitchell in Round 14.

However, Kerr claims that Brownlow night 2006 was something of an epiphany for him, and he realised the folly of his on-field indiscretions^[1].

Kerr has recently been nicknamed "The People's Champion" as used by Chris Judd in an interview with Dennis Cometti on Perth's Channel Nine news on 18/9/06. The nickname may have been adapted to Kerr due to his omission from the official 2006 AFL All-Australian team, despite having another stellar season.

In 2006, Kerr was part of the Eagles' 2006 premiership side. He played with broken bones in his foot. ^[2]

Off-field controversies

In 2002 Kerr was involved in a brawl with team mate Ben Cousins outside a Perth nightclub, in which Cousins broke his arm during post-season celebrations.[3]

In 2004 Kerr was charged with forging and uttering a prescription. Kerr was given the blank prescription by a person at a party and went to a 24-hour chemist to buy 50 valium tablets. The court fined him a total of $400 and made a spent conviction order. He was also fined $5,000 by the club and was be required to complete community service throughout the football season.[4]

In January 2007 Kerr and his father were charged with assault following a party in Perth. Kerr is understood to have been at a farewell party for his sister's friend in Attadale before trouble erupted shortly after midnight. It was understood that Kerr's sister complained about being touched inappropriately by another partygoer and a fight erupted soon after on the street. An 18-year-old man suffered a broken nose and broken tooth and was taken to Fremantle Hospital by a friend for treatment.[5] Kerr was charged with two counts of assault occasioning bodily harm. A tentative date of August 13 was set for the pair's expected four-day trial.[6]

On 25 February, 2007 Kerr was arrested after an altercation with a taxi driver. Kerr was later charged with assault and criminal damage. Police prosecutor Gary Flynn told the court Kerr saw the taxi and jumped screaming and shouting onto the boot. The taxi driver got out of his car and was attacked by Kerr, Sgt Flynn said. Kerr's lawyer John Prior said his client had gone out to dinner and "consumed too much alcohol" and "made a crucial bad judgement call". Kerr pled guilty to the charges and was fined. [7]