Roger Gordon Luders is a retired Australian Rules Football player who played his entire league career with the West Adelaide Football Club in the South Australian National Football League from 1978 until his retirement in 1987.
12 Facts About Roger Luders
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Roger Luders, who played at full forward, quickly became known as one of the best 'high fliers' in South Australian football.
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Long time SANFL television commentator Ian Day stated during the telecast of West's last minor round game for 1983 against West Torrens at Football Park, after he had taken one of his signature high marks, that Roger Luders would be worth his place in the West Adelaide side just for his spectacular high marking ability.
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Roger Luders was The Bloods' leading goalkicker from 1979 until 1984 with his supreme year coming in 1983 when he became the first West Adelaide player to ever kick over 100 goals in a season.
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Roger Luders kicked 94 in 22 regular season games, and with his sixth goal in the Second Semi-final at Football Park, kicked his historic 100th for the season in a 74 point win over reigning premiers Norwood.
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Two weeks later, Roger Luders kicked four goals in West Adelaide's 21.16 to 16.12 win over Sturt in the SANFL Grand Final to finish with 105 for the season, still the club record as of 2022.
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In Round 17 of the 1985 season in a game at Wests home ground of Richmond Oval, Roger Luders had his jaw broken in two places after a clash with North Adelaide's Stephen Riley; Roger Luders had taken a mark about 30 metres out from goal at the ground's southern end when Riley jumped at him late with a raised elbow.
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Roger Luders, who had kicked 52 goals for the season until that point, would spend 48 hours in hospital in intensive care and was forced to miss the rest of the season including West's return to the finals where they eventually finished third.
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Roger Luders returned to league football in 1986, but fans and media commentators noted that he was not the same player after returning from his broken jaw, and Roger Luders retired from SANFL football at the end of the year having played 144 premiership games for West Adelaide over 10 seasons.
10.
Roger Luders was awarded Player Life Membership with West Adelaide in 1984 after playing his 100th game for the club in Wests' 34.17 to 19.14 win over Woodville at Football Park in Round 20 of the 1983 season.
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In 2005 Roger Luders was an inaugural inductee into the West Adelaide Football Club Hall of Fame.
12.
Roger Luders became an assistant coach of West Adelaide in 2009 and is the father of West Adelaide player Scott Roger Luders.