Gemma Houghton (born 31 December 1993) is an Australian rules footballer playing for the Port Adelaide Football Club in the AFL Women's competition. Houghton was recruited by Fremantle as a free agent in October 2016.[2] She had never played AFL before, having been found through a talent search open to all athletes. She previously played high level basketball.[3]
| Gemma Houghton | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Houghton playing for Port Adelaide in 2022 | |||
| Personal information | |||
| Date of birth | 31 December 1993 | ||
| Place of birth | Western Australia[1] | ||
| Draft | 2016 free agent: Fremantle | ||
| Debut | Round 1, 2017, Fremantle vs. Western Bulldogs, at VU Whitten Oval | ||
| Height | 179 cm (5 ft 10 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Forward | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | Port Adelaide | ||
| Number | 27 | ||
| Playing career1 | |||
| Years | Club | Games (Goals) | |
| 2017–2022 (S6) | Fremantle | 46 (40) | |
| 2022 (S7)– | Port Adelaide | 14 (20) | |
| Total | 60 (60) | ||
|
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of the 2023 season. | |||
| Career highlights | |||
| |||
| Source: AustralianFootball.com | |||
AFL Women's career
editHoughton made her debut in the thirty-two point loss to the Western Bulldogs at VU Whitten Oval in the opening round of the 2017 season.[4] She played every match in her debut season to finish with seven matches.[5]
Playing for the Swan Districts Football Club in the 2018 WAFL Women's competition, Houghton won the Mandy McSherry Medal, the teams best and fairest award.[6]
After only playing two games in 2018, Houghton played in all eight of Fremantle's games in 2019, kicking 9 goals to be the club's leading goalkicker. Her athleticism and strong marking was recognised with selection in the 2019[7] and 2020 AFL Women's All-Australian teams.[8] The 2020 AFL Women's season saw Houghton obtain her second AFL Women's All-Australian team selection, named in the half forward position.[9][10]
Her brother Joel Houghton was drafted by Fremantle in the 2009 AFL draft, but did not play an AFL game. He played for Perth, Swan Districts and East Perth in the West Australian Football League (WAFL).
On 10 May 2022, Houghton signed with expansion club Port Adelaide for 2022 AFL Women's season 7[11] and scored their inaugural goal in Round 1. She has been the leading goalkicker in each of Port's first two seasons.
Statistics
editStatistics are correct to the end of the 2021 season.[5]
G
|
Goals | K
|
Kicks | D
|
Disposals | T
|
Tackles |
B
|
Behinds | H
|
Handballs | M
|
Marks |
| Season | Team | No. | Games | Totals | Averages (per game) | Votes | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | B | K | H | D | M | T | G | B | K | H | D | M | T | |||||
| 2017 | Fremantle | 27 | 7 | 3 | 5 | 36 | 26 | 62 | 11 | 28 | 0.4 | 0.7 | 5.1 | 3.7 | 8.9 | 1.6 | 4.0 | 0 |
| 2018 | Fremantle | 27 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 2.0 | 0.0 | 2.0 | 1.5 | 2.0 | 0 |
| 2019 | Fremantle | 27 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 51 | 22 | 73 | 25 | 35 | 1.1 | 1.0 | 6.4 | 2.8 | 9.1 | 3.1 | 4.4 | 3 |
| 2020 | Fremantle | 27 | 7 | 4 | 10 | 54 | 24 | 78 | 26 | 20 | 0.6 | 1.4 | 7.7 | 3.4 | 11.1 | 3.7 | 2.9 | 2 |
| 2021 | Fremantle | 27 | 10 | 15 | 8 | 73 | 35 | 108 | 27 | 26 | 1.5 | 0.8 | 7.3 | 3.5 | 10.8 | 2.7 | 2.6 | 8 |
| Career | 34 | 31 | 31 | 218 | 107 | 325 | 92 | 113 | 0.9 | 0.9 | 6.4 | 3.1 | 9.6 | 2.7 | 3.3 | 13 | ||
References
edit- ^ Port Adelaide Player Profile - Gemma Houghton
- ^ "AFLW: Freo finalise list". Fremantle FC. Bigpond. 31 October 2016. Retrieved 2 September 2017.
- ^ "How Gemma Houghton found her way to Freo". Fremantle FC. Fox Footy. 14 March 2022. Retrieved 9 May 2022.
- ^ "AFLW Teams Round 1: Full sides named for inaugural round of AFL Women's competition". Fox Sports (Australia). News Corp Australia. 3 February 2017. Retrieved 2 September 2017.
- ^ a b "Gemma Houghton". AustralianFootball.com. Retrieved 2 September 2017.
- ^ "Swans appoints Aboriginal and Multicultural Development Officer". Swan Districts Football Club. Retrieved 28 September 2021.
- ^ Cherny, Daniel (2 April 2019). "Phillips named AFLW's best but future up in the air". The Age. Retrieved 2 April 2019.
- ^ Laughton, Max (27 April 2020). "AFL Women's 2020: AFLW All-Australian team 2020, nominees, 40-woman squad, club-by-club representatives". Fox Sports. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
- ^ McGowan, Marc (27 April 2020). "AFLW All-Australian team revealed, new wave dominates". womens.afl. Retrieved 19 June 2021.
- ^ "AFLW All-Australian team for 2020 revealed: 12 clubs represented as two stars make history". Fox Sports. 27 April 2020. Retrieved 19 June 2021.
- ^ Anderson, Jamie (10 May 2022). "Star forward Houghton commits to Port Adelaide". Port Adelaide. Telstra Media.
External links
edit
- Gemma Houghton's profile on the official website of the Fremantle Football Club
- Gemma Houghton at AustralianFootball.com
- Gemma Houghton on Instagram