Footyinfo

Craig Davis

Collingwood, Carlton, North Melbourne and Sydney

AFL career

163 games360 goals

Debut
R14 1973 v HAW7 July 1973
Most recent
R14 1988 v RCH1 July 1988

Stats

1988
SYD
9
5.8
1.2
7.0
3.1
0.6
0.9
0.3
1.9
1.0
41
1983
COL
8
10.4
2.9
13.3
5.8
0.8
1.8
-
2.8
1.0
-
1982
COL
20
12.6
3.4
15.9
5.4
1.2
2.1
-
1.7
1.6
-
1981
COL
23
12.3
3.1
15.3
4.5
1.4
1.5
-
2.4
1.5
-
1980
COL
25
12.4
2.8
15.2
4.4
1.6
1.7
-
2.1
1.8
-
1979
COL
26
8.5
1.8
10.3
3.3
0.8
2.1
-
3.4
1.5
-
1978
NTH
5
4.6
1.4
6.0
2.0
0.6
1.8
-
1.4
0.0
-
1977
NTH
5
8.2
2.0
10.2
3.6
0.8
1.0
-
2.6
2.6
-
1975
CAR
18
10.0
1.6
11.6
3.2
1.6
2.1
-
1.0
0.8
-
1974
CAR
19
11.0
1.4
12.4
4.8
1.9
2.2
-
2.4
0.9
-
1973
CAR
5
12.2
1.2
13.4
5.8
1.6
1.4
-
1.8
0.8
-
League
Season
RCH
SCG
R14
4
1
5
0
0
1
0
0
2.1
24
COL
VP
R13
4
0
4
4
0
1
0
0
0.2
23
FIT
PP
R7
3
1
4
1
1
1
0
0
0.0
12
GEE
KP
R6
5
0
5
2
1
0
0
1
2.1
39
MEL
SCG
R5
9
2
11
5
0
0
0
1
3.0
68
CAR
SCG
R4
8
4
12
2
1
1
0
1
2.3
55
HAW
PP
R3
8
2
10
6
1
2
0
0
3.2
61
STK
SCG
R2
3
0
3
2
0
1
0
0
1.0
18
FSC
WP
R1
8
1
9
6
1
1
0
0
4.0
66

Profile

Born
02 Oct 1954 (age 72y 23d)
Height
183 cm
Weight
81 kg

Teams

Recruited from Rossarden in Tasmania, Craig Davis was a sharp-leading forward whose VFL journey began at Carlton, where he featured in the 1973 Grand Final as a teenager. Despite this early exposure to the big stage, he struggled to cement a permanent spot at Princes Park and later found opportunities similarly restricted during a two-year stint at North Melbourne. It was his transfer to Collingwood in 1979 that defined his career; under the tutelage of Tom Hafey, Davis became the Magpies' primary avenue to goal, utilising his quick burst on the lead and clinical finishing to top the club's goalkicking four times.

He was a central figure in Collingwood's heartbreaking run of Grand Final losses in 1979, 1980, and 1981, offering a reliable target while the team ultimately fell short. After leaving the Pies in 1983, Davis spent four years out of the VFL before Hafey lured him to the Sydney Swans for a surprise comeback season in 1988. Although he finished his career without a premiership medallion across four attempts, his contribution to the game extended to the next generation, with his son Nick Davis eventually capturing a flag with the Swans in 2005.