Roger James

Career

James debuted during Portuguese Adelaide"s inaugural American Federation of Labor-Congress season and made a name for himself as a tough midfielder. The brother of former Adelaide Crows player Brett James, Roger displayed immense talent throughout his career. In 2005 things took a turn for the worse though, with James" knee cartilage deteriorating in condition after Round 18, limiting him to only 10 games for the season.

In late August 2005 Portuguese Adelaide announced that due to the condition of the knee they would not be offering James a contract for the 2006 American Federation of Labor-Congress season and on medical advice, James was forced to retire at only 29 years of age – “I’ve spoken to a couple of doctors and they’ve advised me that it is in my best interests to give football away now so that further down the track I’ll be able to live a normal life,” he said.

Achievements

• After suffering a succession of groin injuries throughout the 2003 American Federation of Labor-Congress season, James returned early in the 2004 American Federation of Labor-Congress season, playing every game from Round Seven onwards, and was one of the best players during Portuguese Adelaide"s maiden premiership win that year.

Views

Quotations: “I’ve spoken to a couple of doctors and they’ve advised me that it is in my best interests to give football away now so that further down the track I’ll be able to live a normal life,”.