Hawthorn In November 2010, it was reported that Bruce had been training with the Hawthorn Football Club, after being given permission by the AFL. Bruce was subsequently drafted by the Hawks with the fifth selection in the pre-season draft. A few hours after he had been drafted by the Hawks, Bruce had revealed on SEN, a Melbourne-based sports-talkback radio station, that he had already been handed the number 17 guernsey, made famous by Hawthorn legend, Michael Tuck. Midway through the 2012 season, Bruce announced his retirement from football, citing a persistent back injury as the cause. He retired having played 234 AFL games, including 10 with the Hawks, and kicked 211 goals. Coaching career Hawthorn Football Club Bruce was appointed as an assistant coach in the role of development coach with the Hawthorn Football Club in 2013 under senior coach Alastair Clarkson. After impressing in his role as a development coach, he was promoted to a senior assistant coach with the Hawks in late 2013. On 22 August 2017, it was announced that Bruce would leave Hawthorn at the end of the 2017 season to become a senior assistant coach at Carlton. Carlton Football Club At the end of the 2017 season, Bruce joined the Carlton Football Club as senior assistant coach under senior coach Brendon Bolton. At the end of the 2021 season, Bruce left the Carlton Football Club due to a clean-out at the club, after an extensive review of the club's football operations. Brisbane Lions On 20 September 2021, it was announced that Bruce had joined Brisbane Lions as an assistant coach in the position of midfield coach under senior coach Chris Fagan. Statistics |- style=background:#EAEAEA | 2000 || || 32 | 19 || 22 || 13 || 110 || 78 || 188 || 54 || 14 || 1.2 || 0.7 || 5.8 || 4.1 || 9.9 || 2.8 || 0.7 || 0 |- | 2001 || || 32 | 22 || 31 || 18 || 148 || 105 || 253 || 81 || 34 || 1.4 || 0.8 || 6.7 || 4.8 || 11.5 || 3.7 || 1.5 || 0 |- style=background:#EAEAEA | 2002 || || 32 | 24 || 20 || 11 || 216 || 152 || 368 || 121 || 47 || 0.8 || 0.5 || 9.0 || 6.3 || 15.3 || 5.0 || 2.0 || 0 |- | 2003 || || 32 |