Ashley Vernon McGrath (born 20 May 1983) is a retired Indigenous Australian rules footballer who played for the Brisbane Lions in the Australian Football League.
Ashley McGrath | |||
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![]() McGrath with the Brisbane Lions in 2008 | |||
Personal information | |||
Full name | Ashley Vernon McGrath | ||
Nickname(s) | Ash, Boonj | ||
Date of birth | 20 May 1983 | ||
Place of birth | Northam, Western Australia, Australia | ||
Original team(s) | South Fremantle (WAFL) | ||
Draft | #13, 2000 National Draft, Brisbane Lions | ||
Height | 183 cm (6 ft 0 in) | ||
Weight | 82 kg (181 lb) | ||
Position(s) | Forward | ||
Playing career1 | |||
Years | Club | Games (Goals) | |
2001–2014 | Brisbane Lions | 214 (170) | |
Representative team honours | |||
Years | Team | Games (Goals) | |
2009 | Indigenous All-Stars | 1 (0) | |
2013 | Australia | 2 (0) | |
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of Round 22, 2014. 2 State and international statistics correct as of 2013. | |||
Career highlights | |||
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Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com |
Selected in the 2000 AFL Draft with the thirteenth pick overall, the Brisbane Lions recruited the talented forward, where he made his AFL debut late in 2001. He continued to establish himself in the side and by 2003, was a regular member, being part of the Lions' third straight AFL premiership.
In 2005 he found more opportunities up forward with the retirement of other forwards Craig McRae and Alastair Lynch.
McGrath has two brothers who were also listed at AFL clubs, Toby and Cory.
During periods of the 2008 season, McGrath was trialed as a rebounding half back flanker with varying degrees of success.
McGrath's 2009 season was of two halves. His first half of the season was smeared with poor performances and ineffective disposals. But after the mid-season break, McGrath had a career-best game where he had 30 disposals against Geelong in Round 15. He then went on to play the remainder of the season averaging more than 20 disposals a game.
![](http://up.wiki.x.io/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1d/Ashley_McGrath_%28Round_4%2C_2009-_Brisbane_v_Collingwood%29.jpg/120px-Ashley_McGrath_%28Round_4%2C_2009-_Brisbane_v_Collingwood%29.jpg)
McGrath is also a cousin with former AFL player Dion Woods.
In round 13, 2013, McGrath, playing his 200th AFL game, kicked a goal after the siren to win the Lions the game against Geelong, becoming only the 36th AFL player to do so. This match became known as the "Miracle on Grass".[1]
McGrath was selected as the Australia international rules football team's goalkeeper for the 2013 International Rules Series in Ireland. Australia lost the series 2-0, with a 173-72 aggregate score. McGrath was the only Brisbane Lions player selected for the team.
McGrath announced his retirement on 21 August 2014; he retired as the last remaining player from any of the Brisbane Lions' triple premiership-winning sides.[2]
Statistics
edit G
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Goals | K
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Kicks | D
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Disposals | T
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Tackles |
B
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Behinds | H
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Handballs | M
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Marks |
Season | Team | No. | Games | Totals | Averages (per game) | ||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
G | B | K | H | D | M | T | G | B | K | H | D | M | T | ||||
2001 | Brisbane Lions | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
2002 | Brisbane Lions | 9 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 41 | 12 | 53 | 17 | 18 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 4.6 | 1.3 | 5.9 | 1.9 | 2.0 |
2003 | Brisbane Lions | 9 | 22 | 13 | 9 | 150 | 51 | 201 | 62 | 39 | 0.6 | 0.4 | 6.8 | 2.3 | 9.1 | 2.8 | 1.8 |
2004 | Brisbane Lions | 9 | 19 | 12 | 14 | 130 | 50 | 180 | 50 | 46 | 0.6 | 0.7 | 6.8 | 2.6 | 9.5 | 2.6 | 2.4 |
2005 | Brisbane Lions | 9 | 21 | 35 | 15 | 123 | 58 | 181 | 43 | 48 | 1.7 | 0.7 | 5.9 | 2.8 | 8.6 | 2.0 | 2.3 |
2006 | Brisbane Lions | 9 | 11 | 14 | 9 | 64 | 27 | 91 | 23 | 24 | 1.3 | 0.8 | 5.8 | 2.5 | 8.3 | 2.1 | 2.2 |
2007 | Brisbane Lions | 9 | 15 | 22 | 17 | 83 | 41 | 124 | 36 | 23 | 1.5 | 1.1 | 5.5 | 2.7 | 8.3 | 2.4 | 1.5 |
2008 | Brisbane Lions | 9 | 15 | 3 | 6 | 104 | 78 | 182 | 45 | 35 | 0.2 | 0.4 | 6.9 | 5.2 | 12.1 | 3.0 | 2.3 |
2009 | Brisbane Lions | 9 | 24 | 7 | 5 | 255 | 148 | 403 | 140 | 53 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 10.6 | 6.2 | 16.8 | 5.8 | 2.2 |
2010 | Brisbane Lions | 9 | 18 | 3 | 4 | 192 | 111 | 303 | 86 | 52 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 10.7 | 6.2 | 16.8 | 4.8 | 2.9 |
2011 | Brisbane Lions | 9 | 21 | 26 | 12 | 188 | 91 | 279 | 69 | 75 | 1.2 | 0.6 | 9.0 | 4.3 | 13.3 | 3.3 | 3.6 |
2012 | Brisbane Lions | 9 | 12 | 11 | 8 | 113 | 69 | 182 | 49 | 32 | 0.9 | 0.7 | 9.4 | 5.8 | 15.2 | 4.1 | 2.7 |
2013 | Brisbane Lions | 9 | 20 | 19 | 11 | 129 | 65 | 194 | 44 | 45 | 1.0 | 0.6 | 6.5 | 3.3 | 9.7 | 2.2 | 2.3 |
2014 | Brisbane Lions | 9 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 21 | 9 | 30 | 10 | 10 | 0.8 | 1.0 | 4.2 | 1.8 | 6.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
Career | 213 | 169 | 115 | 1594 | 810 | 2404 | 674 | 500 | 0.8 | 0.5 | 7.5 | 3.8 | 11.3 | 3.2 | 2.3 |
References
edit- ^ Davis, Greg (23 June 2013). "Ash McGrath kicked the winner after the siren as Brisbane Lions stunned Geelong". Herald Sun. Retrieved 13 August 2019.
- ^ Brisbane Lions' Ash McGrath Retiring From AFL Archived 4 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine, Triple M Melbourne, 21 August 2014
- ^ Ashley McGrath's player profile at AFL Tables
External links
edit- Ashley McGrath's profile on the official website of the Brisbane Lions
- Ashley McGrath's playing statistics from AFL Tables