| John Barnes | |
| Fullname: | John Barnes |
| Birth Date: | 1 June 1969 |
| Originalteam: | Cobram (MFL) |
| Height: | 193 cm |
| Weight: | 95 kg |
| Statsend: | 2001 |
| Years1: | 1987 - 1990 |
| Club1: | Essendon |
| Games Goals1: | 12 (12) |
| Years2: | 1992 - 1999 |
| Club2: | Geelong |
| Games Goals2: | 144 (65) |
| Years3: | 2000 - 2001 |
| Club3: | Essendon |
| Games Goals3: | 46 (13) |
| Games Goalstotal: | 202 (90) |
| Careerhighlights: |
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John Barnes (born 1 June 1969) is a retired Australian rules footballer in the Australian Football League.
Barnes' VFL/AFL career included two State of Origin games for Victoria.
The young Barnes was a ruckman/forward recruited by Essendon in 1986 from Cobram, Victoria. He was traded after five seasons with Windy Hill to the Geelong Football Club for Sean Denham.[1] Under the coaching of Malcolm Blight and later Gary Ayres he would go on to feature prominently in the losing 1994 and 1995 Grand Final sides. During a Round 5 encounter at Princes Park against Carlton in 1997, after a marking duel, Barnes landed awkwardly on his left elbow, dislocating it and sidelining him for ten weeks. Barnes was delisted by the club in 1999. He had played a total of 144 games with 65 goals with the Cats.[2]
It was Essendon coach Kevin Sheedy, however, who tempted Barnes back to Windy Hill, and he was selected at number #59 in the 1999 AFL Draft. A shortage of ruckmen at the club led Sheedy to reacquaint Barnes with his former club. A season later, after a defeat to Brisbane in the 2001 Grand Final, Barnes retired. He had totalled 58 games and 25 goals with the Bombers during his original tenure and return to the club.
[3] |- style="background-color: #EAEAEA"! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | 1987|| 20 || 6 || 9 || 4 || 21 || 8 || 29 || 14 || 6 || 2 || 1.5 || 0.7 || 3.5 || 1.3 || 4.8 || 2.3 || 1.0 || 0.3|-! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | 1988|| 20 || 2 || 0 || 1 || 12 || 6 || 18 || 8 || 1 || 1 || 0.0 || 0.5 || 6.0 || 3.0 || 9.0 || 4.0 || 0.5 || 0.5|- style="background-color: #EAEAEA"! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | 1989|| 20 || 2 || 1 || 1 || 10 || 8 || 18 || 8 || 2 || 5 || 0.5 || 0.5 || 5.0 || 4.0 || 9.0 || 4.0 || 1.0 || 2.5|-! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | 1990|| 20 || 2 || 2 || 1 || 9 || 8 || 17 || 6 || 1 || 7 || 1.0 || 0.5 || 4.5 || 4.0 || 8.5 || 3.0 || 0.5 || 3.5|- style="background-color: #EAEAEA"! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | 1991|| 20 || 0 || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || —|-! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | 1992|| 6 || 13 || 5 || 0 || 106 || 73 || 179 || 74 || 7 || 165 || 0.4 || 0.0 || 8.2 || 5.6 || 13.8 || 5.7 || 0.5 || 12.7|- style="background-color: #EAEAEA"! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | 1993|| 6 || 18 || 4 || 1 || 149 || 130 || 279 || 116 || 10 || 265 || 0.2 || 0.1 || 8.3 || 7.2 || 15.5 || 6.4 || 0.6 || 14.7|-! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | 1994|| 6 || 24 || 1 || 1 || 184 || 181 || 365 || 132 || 16 || 389 || 0.0 || 0.0 || 7.7 || 7.5 || 15.2 || 5.5 || 0.7 || 16.2|- style="background-color: #EAEAEA"! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | 1995|| 6 || 25 || 9 || 7 || 183 || 218 || 401 || 185 || 22 || 285 || 0.4 || 0.3 || 7.3 || 8.7 || 16.0 || 7.4 || 0.9 || 11.4|-! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | 1996|| 6 || 19 || 16 || 6 || 151 || 122 || 273 || 114 || 9 || 225 || 0.8 || 0.3 || 7.9 || 6.4 || 14.4 || 6.0 || 0.5 || 11.8|- style="background-color: #EAEAEA"! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | 1997|| 6 || 15 || 12 || 13 || 118 || 71 || 189 || 82 || 6 || 104 || 0.8 || 0.9 || 7.9 || 4.7 || 12.6 || 5.5 || 0.4 || 6.9|-! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | 1998|| 6 || 15 || 9 || 4 || 114 || 83 || 197 || 69 || 15 || 173 || 0.6 || 0.3 || 7.6 || 5.5 || 13.1 || 4.6 || 1.0 || 11.5|- style="background-color: #EAEAEA"! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | 1999|| 6 || 15 || 9 || 1 || 126 || 81 || 207 || 77 || 8 || 216 || 0.6 || 0.1 || 8.4 || 5.4 || 13.8 || 5.1 || 0.5 || 14.4|-! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | 2000|| 22 || 24 || 10 || 2 || 188 || 123 || 311 || 115 || 26 || 400 || 0.4 || 0.1 || 7.8 || 5.1 || 13.0 || 4.8 || 1.1 || 16.7|- style="background-color: #EAEAEA"! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | 2001|| 22 || 22 || 3 || 1 || 133 || 100 || 233 || 78 || 23 || 218 || 0.1 || 0.0 || 6.0 || 4.5 || 10.6 || 3.5 || 1.0 || 9.9|- class="sortbottom"! colspan=3| Career! 202! 90! 43! 1504! 1212! 2716! 1078! 152! 2455! 0.4! 0.2! 7.4! 6.0! 13.4! 5.3! 0.8! 12.2|}
Barnes was a runner for Essendon and was fined by the AFL for spending too long on the ground,[4] before he was controversially suspended for two matches by the AFL for interfering with play during the 2005 season.[5]
In 2004, he played for the East Keilor Football Club in the Essendon District Football League.[6] He participated in the 2006 AFL Legends Match, playing for Victoria. Barnes became the ruck coach for the Western Bulldogs in the 2008 season.[7]
In 2009, he was appointed as coach of the Doutta Stars Football Club in the Essendon District Football League.
He also had a stint as the ruck coach for the Collingwood Football Club, but left that role and 'got completely out of footy' to become, as of 2015, a garbage collector in suburban Melbourne.[8]