BIO

Daniel  Gorringe was an athletic  200cm ruckman who played  finals football with Norwood in 2010 before embarking on an injury-riddled AFL career with Gold Coast and Carlton.

Born in Adelaide on 2 June 1992, Daniel attended Torrens Valley Christian School and began his football with Tea Tree Gully at the age of 13. He played senior football  for Norwood for most of the 2010 season, including the qualifying final and second semi-final but not the preliminary final or the grand final won by Central District.   He averaged 21 hit-outs a game for South Australia in the AFL Under 18 Championships and was named starting ruckman in the 2010 Under 18 All-Australian team.

Ranked first in physical testing among ruck prospects in his age group, he joined Gold Coast as pick 10 in the 2010 national draft.  He kicked seven goals in his 22 games with Gold Coast from 2011 to 2015.  He kicked a goal in his AFL debut against the Western Bulldogs at Etihad Stadium in Round 3 of 2011 and two weeks later contributed to Gold Coast’s historic first AFL win, by three points against Port Adelaide at AAMI Stadium. 

Injuries hampered Daniel  throughout  his AFL career.  Ankle and hamstring injuries restricted him to seven games in 2011.  An Achilles tendon injury kept him out for most of the 2012 season.   He managed nine games in 2013 but more Achilles trouble limited him to three games in 2014 before a knee injury   ended his season prematurely.  Expecting to be traded to Port Adelaide, Daniel decided to give everyone at the Suns “an absolute serve on the way out”, but then had to apologise when the trade fell through.   Because of injuries and poor form, he played only two senior games for Gold Coast in 2015 and he was delisted in October that year.

He was recruited by Carlton, where he played four games and kicked four goals in 2016.  His first opportunity came when Carlton’s primary ruckman Matthew Kreuzer was injured.  Daniel was completely overshadowed by North Melbourne ruckman Todd Goldstein and Carlton won by 67 points.  Daniel played three more AFL games before a hip injury ended his season.  He again injured his Achilles in the 2017 pre-season and at the end of that season decided to retire from football, having played just 26 AFL games across seven seasons.

Daniel married Ana Cannon in December 2023.

Main reference:  Wikipedia.

P. Robins, D. Cox, G. Adams April 2024