1. Donald Lachlan Pyke was born on 5 December 1968 and is a former Australian rules footballer who is the CEO of the West Coast Eagles having previously been an assistant coach at the Sydney Swans.
27 Facts About Don Pyke
1. 2.
Don Pyke was formerly the senior coach of the Adelaide Football Club in the Australian Football League.
3.
Don Pyke played for the West Coast Eagles from 1989 to 1996.
4.
Don Pyke was recruited by the Claremont Football Club for the 1987 WAFL season, playing in a premiership in his first season and winning the club's best and fairest award in his second season.
5.
Don Pyke spent eight seasons at the club, playing in premiership sides in both 1992 and 1994, and sharing the Club Champion Award with Glen Jakovich in 1993.
6.
Don Pyke became served as an assistant coach at Adelaide in 2005 and 2006, and later rejoined West Coast as a strategy coach at the end of the 2013 AFL season, under Adam Simpson.
7.
Don Pyke was appointed senior coach of Adelaide in October 2015, replacing Phil Walsh.
8.
Don Pyke coached the team to the 2017 AFL Grand Final, in which they were defeated by Richmond.
9.
Don Pyke was born to Frank Don Pyke and his wife, Janet, on 5 December 1968, in Bloomington, Illinois.
10.
Don Pyke's other brothers, Stephen and James Don Pyke, who later played cricket for South Australia, had been born in Australia.
11.
Don Pyke excelled at junior level at both football and cricket, playing for the Belconnen Football Club and representing the ACT cricket team at under-16 and under-19 level.
12.
Don Pyke was recruited by Claremont for the 1987 season, and played in the club's premiership win over Subiaco.
13.
Don Pyke was recruited by West Coast Eagles with a pre-draft selection in the 1988 VFL Draft.
14.
Don Pyke was one of five pre-draft selections, with the others including future premiership players Peter Sumich, Craig Turley and Scott Watters.
15.
Don Pyke was later developed into a player more renowned for his defensive skills.
16.
Don Pyke was a member of the Eagles' Grand Final-losing side and played in both the 1992 and 1994 premiership sides.
17.
Don Pyke was knocked out by Gary Ablett in the early stages of the 1992 grand final, but returned to play an important role in the win.
18.
Don Pyke played for West Coast Eagles from 1989 until 1996 for a total of 132 games and kicked a total of 70 goals.
19.
Don Pyke was a member of the 1992 and 1994 premiership sides.
20.
In 1999, Don Pyke became the senior coach of Claremont until his resignation in 2000.
21.
Don Pyke became an assistant coach under senior coach Neil Craig at Adelaide, whom he had previously interviewed for the Eagles' job.
22.
In late 2006, Don Pyke resigned as Adelaide's assistant coach after two seasons to return to Western Australia, and concentrate on his business.
23.
On 9 October 2015, Don Pyke was appointed as the senior coach of the Adelaide Football Club, succeeding caretaker senior coach Scott Camporeale who succeeded the late Phil Walsh who was murdered midway through the 2015 AFL season.
24.
In 2017 Don Pyke coached the Crows to their second McClelland Trophy and led them to their first AFL Grand Final since 1998, where they were defeated by Richmond by 48 points.
25.
On 12 September 2019, Don Pyke resigned as senior coach of the Adelaide Crows.
26.
Don Pyke was then replaced by Matthew Nicks as senior coach of the Adelaide Football Club.
27.
In October 2020, it was announced that Don Pyke would join the Sydney Swans as an assistant coach under senior coach John Longmire from the 2021 season.