Paul Chapman Biography

Former Geelong and Essendon star Paul Chapman has used his upcoming book to slam former teammate Brendon Goddard, labeling him "self-centred" and a "perfectionist".

"When I first joined Essendon I was excited to play with BJ (Brendon Goddard). He did a lot of talking and at first, I enjoyed listening to what he had say. He reads the game well. Unfortunately I found him to be too self-centred," Chapman wrote.

The dual All Australian forward recalled an incident from a game in which Goddard's emotions boiled over and it caused a heated altercation between the pair.

"When we played Geelong in Round 15, 2014, it was naturally a game I wanted to play really well in. Unfortunately I didn’t. We were getting flogged in the first half and Brendon was getting very frustrated, as were we all," Chapman wrote.

"There were Geelong blokes everywhere when BJ (Goddard) screamed at me, 'Where's your man?' I said, 'Right there, where the [expletive] is your man?'

"Then his eyes seemed to glaze over and he lost his cool.

"His reaction was completely futile. I was frustrated because we weren’t playing well and I had seen him react like this in the past. Someone had to put a stop to it but I let it slide.

"I remember thinking how bad it would look if we were at each other in the middle of play. Plus, his whole tirade was nonsense to me and frankly, I couldn’t be bothered.

"I told him after the game that he shouldn’t speak to our young players like that. I could handle it because I never really took anything personally anyway. And what I really saw was a bloke cracking under pressure.

"It was something I had never witnessed before from a leader and a player of his calibre. Even my ex-teammates looked at him in disbelief."

Paul Chapman will play his last AFL game this Saturday night against Richmond after confirming his retirement.

The Essendon forward and former Geelong star has battled injury in his second season with the Bombers, managing just eight games so far.

"I know what I'm leaving behind and not being able to come in here and see these guys, 40 of your mates, it's tough," Chapman said.

"I've got one more game to go out and have some fun and hopefully have a win with these guys."

The Bombers recruited him at the end of 2013, when his contract was not renewed by the Cats, and he kicked 22 goals in 20 games with the club last year.

He has spent some time at VFL level this season and had injury concerns, and feels ready to step away from the game.

"It's been heaps of fun over 16 years, it's been hard work but it's time to move on," Chapman said.

"Maybe coaching or something like that might be in the works.

"I'm not really sure as yet. If I could stay in footy in some capacity that would be great."

Paul Chapman could miss a fortnight with the groin injury he sustained in Essendon's Anzac Day loss to Collingwood.

Chris Yarran has been sent directly to the AFL Tribunal after being charged with striking Essendon veteran Paul Chapman during the first quarter of the Blues' 21-point loss at the MCG.

Chris Yarran has been suspended for three matches after he was found guilty of intentionally striking Essendon's Paul Chapman in the first Tribunal hearing for the 2015 season.

Yarran's case was sent straight to the Tribunal by the Match Review Panel after being graded intentional conduct, high impact and high contact.

The Blues' half-back pleaded guilty at the start of the hearing at AFL House and received a one-match discount as a result from the jury.

Yarran claimed there were exceptional and compelling circumstances, arguing Chapman had motioned to headbutt him and elbowed him in the ribs.

"It wasn't my intention to hurt Paul, who I respect enormously, and I'm very sorry for it," Yarran said.

"I'd like to apologise to the Carlton supporters and I look forward to getting out in three weeks' time with my teammates and hopefully getting a few wins on the board."

Chapman was called to give evidence via phone link in response to Yarran's claims of provocation, but the veteran Bomber said he didn't recall head-butting his opponent.

"There was no headbutt thrown by me, if there was head contact it wasn't intentional," Chapman said.

"I've just watched the video and I saw nothing that was even close to head contact.

"You don't expect to cop a punch in the head like that."

Chris Yarran can't explain why he 'uncharacteristically' lashed out and punched Essendon opponent Paul Chapman during Saturday's 21-point defeat, Carlton coach Mick Malthouse says.

Meanwhile, Chapman has refuted any suggestions he provoked the first-quarter stoush with a racial slur.

In a behind-the-play incident, the pair pushed and shoved on the southern wing at the MCG before Yarran threw a left hook, which missed, before he landed with a second shot above Chapman's right eye.

Blood streamed from the veteran Don's face as he ran from the field, and Chapman later had to be substituted out of the match for 20 minutes while he had a concussion test.

In his post-match media conference, Malthouse said Yarran was at a loss to explain the fiery clash.

"It's quite uncharacteristic. He just said things happen. He said he didn't know why, how and that's the way it is," Malthouse said.

"He said 'I can't believe I would have even …'. That's how it's panned out but it certainly wasn't preconceived.

"At the end of it he was really still staggered how things happened."

Chapman, who had stitches above his right eye after the game, defended his reputation when speaking to Triple M post-match.

"It was just one of those things on the field - a bit of push and and shove and (it) got a little bit angry," he said.

"I don't know how (he) got me or whether he threw one, but I just felt one on the head.

"I've heard a little rumour that I've been saying things about people's race or colour or whatever.

"That's ludicrous - I wouldn't mind knowing who's brought that out and saying that stuff, because that's just not right and not the sort of person I am.

"It's a little bit disappointing ... what happened, happened."

David Zaharakis has returned to Essendon's leadership group, in one of three additions to the squad for this season.

The midfielder was left out of last year's group but has been voted back in after working hard during the season to improve his leadership.

All Australian defender Cale Hooker and veteran forward Paul Chapman have been included in the Bombers' group for the first time, joining Zaharakis as the new faces.

Captain Jobe Watson, Brendon Goddard, Brent Stanton, David Myers and Dyson Heppell make up the eight-man team.

"All three players really proved themselves as leaders around the club over the past 12 months, and to be voted in by your peers is a huge show of confidence in their leadership," Watson said.

"'Hooksy', 'Chappy' and 'Zacka' will all bring a unique and versatile skill set to the leadership group; while as a collective, we will continue to drive the standards we expect of our teammates."

Paul Chapman will play for Essendon in 2015 after agreeing to a one-year deal.

"I'm really excited to be playing on for another year with the Bombers," Chapman said.

"After playing 20 games this year, my body and mind still feel really good. I felt I had a really productive first year at the club and hopefully the coaches felt that I played the role they needed me to.

"I'm looking forward to going around again with the boys and getting stuck in to the pre-season."

Essendon has moved quickly to quash a report that suggested contract talks with veteran Paul Chapman have broken down over money.

An article in the Herald Sun over the weekend said the recruitment of Brownlow medallist Adam Cooney had thrown talks about Chapman's future up in the air.

"Adrian Dodoro in his role as list manager has been negotiating with Paul's agent Liam Pickering on a new agreement," football operations manager Rob Kerr said.

"Those negotiations were continuing last week and we believe are headed in a positive direction with what we considered a fair and reasonable approach."

Paul Chapman says he will play on in 2015 if the Bombers are willing to let him.

"Obviously I want to play on, the body and the mind feel really good," Chapman told Channel Seven's Saturday Night Footy.

"I'd really like to talk to 'Hirdy' and see where Hirdy sees me fitting into next year. I'll definitely play unless Hirdy comes and says he doesn't see a spot there for me or I won't be there to help the side."

Paul Chapman says he has no axe to grind against Cats after being traded last year.

Chapman will face his old team Geelong for the first time this week on Friday night as a Bomber.

"I just want to be the best player and team player I can be, so while it's good for the hype that I got dumped last year and there might be vengeance and stuff like that, there's no ill-feelings from me," Chapman said.

"I just want to be the best Essendon player I can be."

Paul Chapman stars in his first match as a Bomber, collecting 21 disposals and kicking 4 goals.

"You're only as good as your teammates let you be. It was my turn tonight to kick the goals," Chapman said.

"I thought Patty Ambrose was amazing in his first game. He took a lot of hits, did the hard stuff, set up a couple of goals.

"I was lucky to get on the end of a few and hopefully it will be his turn next week, and that's the way footy works."

At the age of 32, Paul Chapman has set a target of 16 games this year as he manages his body throughout the year.

"If I can get 16 games up for the year (that) would be good," Chapman said.

"I'll definitely be rested through the year, I dare say I'll be asking for rests.

"You get to a stage in your career where you'd love to play them all, but you've just got to be smart and think of the bigger picture.

"It's taken me a little while to get that into my thinking but it's definitely there now."

Bombers coach Mark Thompson says Paul Chapman has been noticeably more vocal since moving to Essendon from Geelong.

"He never really was someone who spoke that much at Geelong, there was already enough people who did speak," Thompson said.

"Coming here I think he's really enjoyed the challenge and the inquisitive nature of some of our players and supporters about his knowledge. He's probably talked more than I've ever heard him talk in the short time he's been at the Bombers."

Paul Chapman will take on the No.3 jumper made prominent by Dick Reynolds, the three-time Brownlow medallist viewed as Essendon's greatest player.

"I didn't know of any numbers that were available [when I joined the club] so when three was handed out obviously there's been at least two greats that have worn it in the past," Chapman said.

"I'm very happy to wear number three. [It's] something different, a fresh start, new colours, new number. I'm just really looking forward to the opportunity of playing in the number three."

Paul Chapman says he will need to temper his outspoken nature after moving to Essendon.

"I'm definitely not going to go in there and throw the weight around or anything like that. First it's about getting in there and building respect. And they've got some great leaders in Jobe Watson," Chapman said.

"I'll be sitting back and obviously listening and learning, and learning the way that they play. Obviously if there's something that I see, it would be silly of me not to say that … first of all it's about building friendships and earning that trust and respect."

Paul Chapman receives a standing ovation at Geelong's best and fairest after announcing his decision to seek greater playing opportunities at another club.

"If I happened to get a contract for next year, they couldn't guarantee any more than eight games or anything like that, because they want to play young kids and get them a taste of AFL footy," Chapman said prior to the function.

"I totally understand what they're talking about, and a 10-game thing or anything like that is not something that I'm up for.

"Playing VFL footy is not how I want to end it either. I'm just looking forward and hopefully I can keep playing footy."

Paul Chapman will look for opportunities outside of Geelong as an unrestricted free agent.

"Paul's record speaks for itself, but it doesn't show the fierce competitor and the determination to succeed that he has displayed every day," Geelong coach Chris Scott said.

"His contribution is greater than the numbers and awards. You only have to watch the intensity he brings to training, to meetings and to games to know how much football means to him.

"He has decided that he would like to extend his career and we wish him well … he will always be remembered as a Geelong icon."

Following a meeting with Geelong coach Chris Scott, Paul Chapman resigns himself to most likely having played his last game for the Cats.

"They told me how they're building for the future and how they're looking to give young blokes opportunities," Chapman wrote in his weekly Geelong Advertiser column.

"From that angle, it would appear there might not be a spot for me next year - a few things would have to fall my way. But there's still hope."

Paul Chapman says he may consider extending his career with another club if he is no longer wanted by Geelong.

"To be a one-club player would be awesome," Chapman said.

"But to play for another club … I'm not saying that may not happen if things don't work out here.

"It hurts. It really does. I suppose you take it a little bit for granted.

"You just think that things will just happen and roll along and then things like this get thrown at you. It's a little challenge."

Paul Chapman will miss the Cats' preliminary final against Hawthorn after accepting a one-match ban for a high bump on Robbie Gray.

Chapman risked a two-week suspension if he took the case to the AFL Tribunal and lost, which would have ruled him out of Grand Final contention should the Cats beat Hawthorn.

"They have their rules and I suppose I broke them, but, you know, is the game getting softer?" Chapman asked after pleading guilty.

"These are the questions you sort of have to ask. It is what it is, you can't change it and we'll go in and talk about it now."

Paul Chapman looks set to miss the Cats' preliminary final against Hawthorn after being handed a one-match ban for his bump on Robbie Gray during Geelong's semi final against Port Adelaide.

Paul Chapman tallies 20 disposals and 4 goals in an outstanding display during Geelong's semi final win over Port Adelaide but is reported for a bump on Robbie Gray.

"I'm told that there's something that will be looked at," Geelong coach Chris Scott said about the incident.

"I don't make a habit of going into detail about those sort of incidents anyway even if I had have seen it.

"Every man and his dog is going to have an opinion on it. We'll bite our tongue and do what we need to do in the next couple of days."

Geelong veteran Paul Chapman wants to play on in 2014 and says it would be 'unfair' if he was not offered another contract with the Cats.

"With what I've still got to give, it would be unfair," Chapman said.

"If I didn't believe that I still had something to offer, then I wouldn't want to continue on.

"I believe I do, and it's whether the footy club believes that what I've got to give is good enough for the footy club, and whether they want to sacrifice playing a young kid in my position."

Paul Chapman's return to football continues to be hampered with hamstring soreness after the veteran Cat is ruled out of his scheduled VFL return.

"Whilst it is obviously disappointing for the club and Paul, we have said all along we would be ultra conservative with Paul," Geelong general manager of football Neil Balme told the club's website.

"Paul's approach to his rehabilitation has been second to none and we look forward to his return to competitive football."

Paul Chapman's return continues to be delayed after the veteran suffers a setback in his recovery from a hamstring injury.

"Unfortunately he did have a little bit of a setback with his hamstring last week, so we're going to be extremely conservative with him," Geelong coach Chris Scott said.

"He'll take at least another few weeks to rehab that, and then there'll be a period where he needs to get some match fitness back."

Paul Chapman continues to be troubled by a persistent hamstring injury.

"He got through the next week fine, got to the last session and just had a little bit of an awareness again, and the same thing happened last week," Geelong coach Chris Scott said.

"So clearly we're not just going to roll through the same process and keep hoping for the best. There needs to be another intervention."

While Geelong has won nine straight matches against the Hawks since the 2008 Grand Final, Paul Chapman says he would trade all nine wins for the 2008 flag.

"I still believe they've got the last laugh," Chapman said.

"They're still laughing loudest. That '08 premiership means more than anything we've done since.

"But we just need to keep beating them. That's all we can do. And beating them is great fun."

Cat veteran Paul Chapman says having fun with his footy in 2013 will bring the best out of himself.

"I'm just enjoying the year, I'm having fun, and who knows if it's going to be my last year or not," Chapman said.

"I think you can put too much pressure on yourself, and I think that once upon a time I may have been that person.

"But what fun is that? I think if I have fun it will bring the best out in me anyway, and the rest will take care of itself."

Geelong has offered one-year deals to premiership players Paul Chapman, Josh Hunt and Corey Enright, all of whom will play on in 2013.

Geelong football manager Neil Balme criticises the Match Review Panel after sanctions to Steve Johnson and Paul Chapman on the eve of the finals.

"In my view, those sorts of things are either obvious or they're not," Balme said.

"If someone intentionally whacks someone, well, I think we're all happy with him getting weeks.

"But when we've got to look through it and say 'Maybe this happened and maybe it didn't', it's very hard on the players."

Geelong veteran Paul Chapman is set to accept a one-year contract despite initially chasing a two-year deal.

"He'd like to play for a little bit longer than one year, and we'd like him to as well," Geelong coach Chris Scott said.

"We'll just do it in one-year contracts."

Geelong coach Chris Scott believes Paul Chapman's best football is not far away after his quiet start to the year.

"We thought he was pretty good in the first game, but he's not up to his usual lofty standards," Scott said.

"He had a really good pre-season, he played some good footy through the pre-season competition, and we're expecting him to get back to his best really quickly."

Geelong champion Paul Chapman says he played through the whole of 2011 with injuries and was carried to the flag by his teammates.

"I look back and I was, I wouldn't say embarrassed, but it was one of my worst years at league level," Chapman said.

"I did bugger-all really, and was behind the eight-ball from the start and struggled to catch up. Then to play for the whole year and ... want to do things but the body just couldn't do it. The groins meant I had no power, couldn't jump, couldn't run, couldn't tackle."

Paul Chapman could be investigated by police after being allegedly involved in an early-morning fraca.

Police arrived at the corner of Moorabool and Little Malop streets at 4.55am but arrived after the fight was over and most of those involved had already left.

Geelong's Paul Chapman says new physiotherapist Mike Snelling has cured his groin and hamstring problems.

"He has been fantastic for me. He really knows his stuff, especially regarding hamstrings. It was great to have a different way of looking at things," Chapman said of Snelling.

"There is a lot of sports science in it. He put on a strong program for me over pre-season [and] he is forever on to me... to do those extra things. So I have done a lot more work on (the hamstrings) this year, hopefully this year can be the one when I can get over it."

Norm Smith medallist Paul Chapman, who defied medical logic by playing on in the 2009 grand final despite a hamstring strain, is declared a ''freak'' by Geelong's head fitness coach.

''It's amazing. He's not normal,'' Geelong's head fitness coach Paul Haines told The Sunday Age.

''A normal soft-tissue injury, like a normal hammy, nine players out of 10 would have come off and not come back on again.

''He's a freak. He's very strong. Mentally and physically he's a very, very strong athlete."

Geelong forward Paul Chapman has won the Norm Smith Medal for best-afield in the grand final despite playing with a strained hamstring for almost three quarters.

Chapman gathered 26 possessions and kicked three goals, including the game-breaker in the last quarter which gave the Cats the lead.

"It happened right on the quarter-time siren. I got a cork in it and felt it spasm up a little bit and then early in the second quarter I got a tackle and felt it go a little bit," Chapman said about his hamstring strain.

"But it was a grand final and you've got nothing to lose so we just strapped it up and went out there.

"I tried as best I could to play deep but sometimes got sucked up the ground."

Paul Chapman's troublesome hamstring is injected with his own blood to speed his recovery.

Geelong forward Paul Chapman is set to miss two weeks with a hamstring complaint.

Chapman hurt his leg in the first quarter against Adelaide but played on to kick a career-high six goals against the Crows.

However, Cats coach Mark Thompson said the club would take a cautious approach towards the injury.

Paul Chapman will have to break through the pain barrier knowing each possession he gathers against West Coast on Sunday will probably hurt.

Chapman suffered a compound dislocation of his left ring finger a fortnight ago and has been cleared to return, if he can cope with the pain.

"Paul Chapman needs to catch the ball. I think he has been given approval to play -- as long as he's happy to play and can tolerate the pain," Geelong coach Mark Thompson said.

"We'll find out tonight with the wet balls and see whether he can get through.

"It's just whether he can put up with the pain and I'm pretty sure Gary would be right, he's a 95 per cent chance to play."

Nathan Djerrkura is in line to make his AFL debut against Essendon on Sunday with forwards Paul Chapman injured and Matthew Stokes suspended.

"We would love to give Nathan the opportunity to play, his last three weeks in the VFL he's performed really well and he's looked like a league player, so this could be a great opportunity to play him,'' Geelong coach Mark Thompson said.

Geelong's Travis Varcoe is looking to graduate to the midfield in a similar manner to teammate Paul Chapman.

"I got drafted as a midfielder and that's where I'm aiming to go, so hopefully I can follow the path of Chappy," Varcoe said.

"(Chapman) started in the forward line and worked his way up into the midfield, but with the midfield we've got I might have to wait my turn!

"I'm happy at the moment, if I can give somebody a bit of a spell and I can get a bit of a burst myself then I'll be rapt with that."

Paul Chapman is heard calling umpire Michael Vozzo a cheat after a free kick was awarded to Bulldog Farren Ray.

As a result of his actions, a 50m penalty was awarded to Ray in addition to a 50m penalty that had already been awarded earlier against Matthew Stokes for abusive language towards Vozzo.

"We know bad language has been there through the ages, but the umpires are obviously very sensitive being called a cheat. It gets right to the heart of the integrity of what they're on about," AFL umpires' director Jeff Gieschen said.

Vozzo will not seek an apology or attempt to take the matter any further.