Reece Conca (born 12 August 1992) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Fremantle Football Club and the Richmond Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). Drafted by the Tigers with the sixth overall pick in the 2010 AFL National Draft, Conca played 104 games across eight seasons with the club before moving to Fremantle as a free agent ahead of the 2019 season.
Early life and junior football Conca was born to parents Loui and Gina, with an older brother named Luke and a twin sister named Cassie. He spent his formative years in Victoria Park, Western Australia, a suburb three kilometres south-east of Perth.
As a junior, Conca was a talented soccer player but did not start playing competitive Australian rules football with the local Victoria Park side until the age of 13. He was quick to learn however, playing above his age group within his first year of picking up the sport. By the time he turned 16 he had already twice represented his state at national level and made his debut for the local representative Perth Football Club's WAFL colts side.
He attended high school at Perth's Trinity College and graduated in 2009 after captaining the school's senior football side.
Conca then began studying a university degree in commerce and psychology while in his final year of junior football eligibility in 2010. That year he made a role change, from half-back to inside midfielder. He ceased playing for his school and local club that year, instead focusing on playing state team matches and with the Perth WAFL colts side. He was impressive throughout that year including recording multiple 30 possession games in the colts side. As a result, he earned a senior WAFL debut with Perth at age 17 where he showed off his good ball use, strong evasive skills and his ability to win high possessions numbers.
At the 2010 AFL Under 18 Championships he again represented Western Australia and was this time the team's vice captain. Through the tournament Conca average 18 disposals per game at an efficiency of 79 per cent.
During this final year of junior football he suffered a broken left fibula but managed to play a mostly full season despite it.
AFL recruitment In November 2010 Conca was predicted by the Herald Sun's Jay Clark to be selected by with the 21st overall selection in the forthcoming draft. He was at the same time compared to former player Tyson Edwards and praised for his speed, creativity and midfield versatility. Conca was also noted for his abilities as a roaming defender along with his ability to handball cleanly in congestion. In the days leading into the draft Conca and his management expected he would be selected by with the 16th pick. Meanwhile, the Herald Sun adjusted their predication and had him to be selected sixth overall by , a prediction matched by Emma Quayle of The Age. On the afternoon of the draft Richmond's club website published an article seemingly confirming they planned to draft Conca with their first selection.
AFL career Richmond (2011–2018) 2011 season Conca was drafted by with the club's first pick and the sixth selection overall in the 2010 AFL national draft.
He had a limited start to professional training, hampered by the continuing complications as a result of the broken fibula he suffered the year previous. One of six first round draft selections on the Richmond list in 2011, Conca came to the club with significant expectations despite the injury affected pre-season. He lived up to them early, making his AFL debut with a 15 disposal performance in round 1 of the 2011 season in a match against at the MCG. To mid-May Conca had played in each of Richmond's seven matches and did so to a level that club officials described as comparable to the debut season of teammate and future Brownlow Medalist Dustin Martin. In round 9 he received a nomination for the 2011 AFL Rising Star award for a "stellar performance" against in which he recorded 23 disposals and an equal game-high eight marks." To that point he carried averages of 18.9 disposals, five marks and 2.2 tackles per game. Conca remained in the side for a further four matches but saw his output reduced before being left out of the side to face Carlton in round 15. He returned after just one week however, playing in rounds 16 through 18 before missing another single match in round 19. Conca returned in round 20 to play just one more match at senior level that year. He finished 2011 having played 17 matches and held averages of 15.6 disposals, four marks and 1.8 tackles per game. Conca was awarded the Cosgrove–Jenkins Award at season's end as the club's best first year player.
2012 season A second limited pre-season awaited Conca in 2012, sidelined by groin soreness and hip arthroscopic surgery. He was fully fit for pre-season matches however, and in the NAB Cup opener, Conca was involved in a collision where he appeared to purposely block the path of unsuspecting 's defender Leigh Adams. The AFL's Match Review Panel considered the high hit unintentional despite it occurring behind the play and graded it as reckless contact with high contact and high impact. The classification drew 425 demerit points and four-match suspension though a guilty plea entered by Conca reduced this suspension to three-matches. Due to rules in force that season but removed the year after, Conca was permitted to serve that three match suspension of the remainder of the pre-season competition, leaving him free to play in round 1 of the home and away season. That he did, returning to the club's best 22 in round 1 before turning in an impressive round 2 performance with 21 disposals and his first goal of his career in his 19th match. He doubled that mark in round 3, kicking two goals and recording a career-best 29 disposals in a round 3 win over . Conca kicked goals again in rounds 6 and 7 before entering the bye in round 13 having played in all 12 of Richmond's AFL matches and holding averages of 18.5 disposals, 4.3 marks and 2.9 tackles per game. He missed his first match of the season in round 14 immediately following the bye before returning with 23 disposals against Melbourne in round 15. Two weeks later he was one of 11 Richmond players fined for participating in a melee during a tight loss to North Melbourne. Conca was impressive in round 19 when he matched his career-best 29 disposals and added seven marks, a performance that earned him his first Brownlow Medal vote of his career. He remained in the team for just one game though, fracturing the third metatarsal in his right foot while playing against the in round 20. It would prove his last match at AFL level that season, finishing the year having played 18 matches and averaging 19.4 disposals, 4.1 marks and 3.2 tackles per game. He also placed 15th in the club's best and fairest count.
2013 season
The lead up to the 2013 season was hampered by the continuing effects of the foot injury suffered the year previous, with the fracture failing to heal properly and Conca developing Achilles soreness as a result that saw him spend 10 weeks in a stabilising moon boot. He returned to fitness before the season began, and the year saw Conca make his biggest scoreboard impact of his career, a feat that started with a goal in round 1's win over Carlton. He repeated the effort in round 2, this time along with 25 disposals. After four consecutive matches at AFL level Conca suffered a stress reaction in his right foot, the recovery from which would see him miss an expected four weeks of football. While he was considered a chance to return in late May, Conca was not declared fully fit until mid-June He made his eventual return in round 12, after seven weeks on the sidelines. Following that match it was noted by a club website contributor that Conca was particularly energetic in celebrating goals with his teammates, going so far as to embrace them with a full-body hug. The celebration, coined the Conca Cuddle, soon became a signature of Conca's. He remained in the side for the following nine-weeks before playing a starring role with 21 disposals and a career-high three-goals in a round 20 win over the . Conca repeated the effort two weeks later in his 50th career match, kicking three-goals to go with 28 disposals and seven marks in a 121-point demolition of . In September Conca played in the first final of his career, and the club's first in 12 years. It was not a joyous occasion however, with Conca tearing his hamstring and being substituted from the ground within the first 12 minutes of the opening quarter while his team went on to be eliminated from the finals off the back of the 20-point loss. He underwent surgery in the days the followed and was expected to recover in time for a return to full training by mid-December. Notably Richmond's fitness staff said the injury's severity had been a surprise given Conca had never previously had hamstring troubles. At the same time he had a small bone removed from his right heel, the problematic os trigonum bone that very few people are born with. Conca finished the year having played 17 matches, kicked a career-best 12 goals and placed 17th in the club's best and fairest count. In the trade period that followed he was the target of offers from rival clubs including a lure to return home to Western Australia. Fox Footy commentator David King at this time labelled him a must-keep player for Richmond, comparing Conca's playing style to that of former Brownlow Medallist Jimmy Bartel and predicting Conca would soon be behind only captain Trent Cotchin as Richmond's best midfielder. Reports suggested had offered a four-year deal, while attempted to trump Richmond's offer with a two-year deal worth around $400,000 per season. Conca ultimately re-signed with Richmond, accepting a three-year deal and announcing it was "never in doubt" that he would opt to remain with the club.
2014 season In the early part of 2014 Conca was restricted to running drills, the result of his hamstring tear suffered in the previous year's finals series. Conca returned to full training in early February but missed the first of the club's pre-season matches two weeks later. He returned in a pre-season match later that month, playing an "outstanding" first half with 16 disposals and five clearances before being rested for the remainder of the match. That strong showing saw him make an immediate return in time for the home and away season's round 1. Conca equaled a then-career-best with eight tackles in that match before breaking it with 10 more in round 3. He went one better in round 6, laying 11 tackles in a loss to at the MCG. After seven rounds Conca led the club in pressure acts record and in total tackles (50). He played a further three matches at AFL level before missing rounds 12 and 13. From round 14 he played six consecutive matches including in a round 19 match with . There he caused significant controversy when he struck Giants midfielder Devon Smith with an unseen off-the-ball elbow to the back of the head after the pair had been engaged in a minor scuffle during the second quarter of that match. The AFL's independent Match Review Panel handed Conca a two-match ban for the act, a response that drew significant criticism including from AFL CEO Gillon McLachlan who said the case should have gone straight to the AFL Tribunal. Conca made an immediate return following the suspension, playing in the last two of nine consecutive wins to close out the season and win his side through to an elimination final match-up with . Conca kicked the side's first goal in that match and contributed a team-high inside 50s but it was not enough to avoid a 57-point eliminating loss. He finished the year having recorded a career-best 96 tackles, the most of any player at the club that season.
2015 season