William Gerald Minson (born 11 April 1985) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Western Bulldogs in the Australian Football League (AFL).
| Will Minson | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Minson in 2008 | |||
| Personal information | |||
| Full name | William Gerald Minson | ||
| Date of birth | 11 April 1985 | ||
| Original team(s) | Norwood (SANFL) | ||
| Draft | No. 20, 2002 National Draft, Western Bulldogs | ||
| Height | 199 cm (6 ft 6 in) | ||
| Weight | 106 kg (234 lb) | ||
| Position(s) | Ruckman | ||
| Playing career1 | |||
| Years | Club | Games (Goals) | |
| 2004–2016 | Western Bulldogs | 191 (81) | |
|
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 2016. | |||
| Career highlights | |||
| |||
| Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com | |||
Early life
editMinson grew up in Norwood, South Australia and played football with the Norwood Football Club up until the under 18's.
He was a student at St Peter's College, Adelaide, where he played the majority of his junior football, while also playing as a junior footballer at Walkerville FC.
AFL career
editThe Western Bulldogs recruited Minson in the 2002 AFL Draft at pick number 20. He made his debut with the club in 2004.
He was known for his physical presence, being suspended for striking Geelong star Cameron Ling in just his second game.
Minson went on to play 191 games for the Bulldogs having a standout season in 2013 when he led the league for hit outs and made the All Australian team.
In October 2016, Minson announced he would no longer be playing for the Western Bulldogs and he would explore his options during the free-agency period.[1] After failing to find a new club during the free-agency period, he was subsequently delisted by the Western Bulldogs.[2]
Statistics
edit G
|
Goals | K
|
Kicks | D
|
Disposals | T
|
Tackles |
B
|
Behinds | H
|
Handballs | M
|
Marks | H/O
|
Hit-outs |
| Led the league for the season only | |
| Led the league after season and finals |
| Season | Team | No. | Games | Totals | Averages (per game) | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | B | K | H | D | M | T | H/O | G | B | K | H | D | M | T | H/O | ||||
| 2004 | Western Bulldogs | 27 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 10 | 7 | 17 | 4 | 4 | 37 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 2.0 | 1.4 | 3.4 | 0.8 | 0.8 | 7.4 |
| 2005 | Western Bulldogs | 27 | 17 | 4 | 4 | 86 | 64 | 150 | 33 | 52 | 207 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 5.1 | 3.8 | 8.8 | 8.8 | 1.9 | 12.2 |
| 2006 | Western Bulldogs | 27 | 13 | 8 | 4 | 58 | 46 | 104 | 25 | 24 | 131 | 0.6 | 0.3 | 4.5 | 3.5 | 8.0 | 1.9 | 1.8 | 10.1 |
| 2007 | Western Bulldogs | 27 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 26 | 22 | 48 | 8 | 13 | 73 | 0.0 | 0.2 | 4.3 | 3.7 | 8.0 | 1.3 | 2.2 | 12.2 |
| 2008 | Western Bulldogs | 27 | 25 | 19 | 11 | 175 | 91 | 266 | 88 | 58 | 313 | 0.8 | 0.4 | 7.0 | 3.6 | 10.6 | 3.5 | 2.3 | 12.5 |
| 2009 | Western Bulldogs | 27 | 25 | 16 | 4 | 143 | 165 | 308 | 89 | 70 | 365 | 0.6 | 0.2 | 5.7 | 6.6 | 12.3 | 3.6 | 2.8 | 14.6 |
| 2010 | Western Bulldogs | 27 | 15 | 8 | 7 | 88 | 75 | 163 | 48 | 32 | 197 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 5.9 | 5.0 | 10.9 | 3.2 | 2.1 | 13.1 |
| 2011 | Western Bulldogs | 27 | 9 | 6 | 2 | 62 | 49 | 111 | 32 | 23 | 167 | 0.7 | 0.2 | 6.9 | 5.4 | 12.3 | 3.6 | 2.6 | 18.6 |
| 2012 | Western Bulldogs | 27 | 21 | 4 | 6 | 138 | 154 | 292 | 57 | 67 | 667 | 0.2 | 0.3 | 6.6 | 7.3 | 13.9 | 2.7 | 3.2 | 31.8 |
| 2013 | Western Bulldogs | 27 | 22 | 7 | 5 | 152 | 168 | 320 | 40 | 81 | 860 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 6.9 | 7.6 | 14.5 | 1.8 | 3.7 | 39.1 |
| 2014 | Western Bulldogs | 27 | 21 | 4 | 6 | 144 | 108 | 252 | 33 | 81 | 757 | 0.2 | 0.3 | 6.9 | 5.1 | 12.0 | 1.6 | 3.9 | 36.0 |
| 2015 | Western Bulldogs | 27 | 10 | 3 | 3 | 62 | 40 | 102 | 17 | 41 | 265 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 6.2 | 4.0 | 10.2 | 1.7 | 4.1 | 26.5 |
| 2016 | Western Bulldogs | 27 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 5 | 14 | 1 | 6 | 32 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 4.5 | 2.5 | 7.0 | 0.5 | 3.0 | 16.0 |
| Career | 191 | 81 | 54 | 1153 | 994 | 2147 | 475 | 552 | 4071 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 6.0 | 5.2 | 11.2 | 2.5 | 2.9 | 21.3 | ||
Personal life
editMinson has a younger brother, Hugh, who formerly played in the Australian Football League with Port Adelaide before being forced to retire through injury.[4]
Off the field, Minson is known for his multi-faceted abilities - he plays saxophone, speaks fluent German and studied civil engineering at the University of Melbourne.[5] He is also heavily involved with the charity Red Dust, which operates sporting and lifestyle clinics in remote aboriginal communities and, more recently, in very poor areas of India.[6]
Minson is also a leading player in the Blues Volleyball team playing alongside fellow All Australian VFL/AFL player Kevin Walsh and Richmond Under 19 Premiership captain Darrel Gust.
References
edit- ^ "Will Minson's Kennel career comes to an end". WesternBulldogs.com.au. Bigpond. 5 October 2016. Retrieved 5 October 2016.
- ^ Schmook, Nathan (28 October 2016). "Dogs promise rookie spot for delisted knee victim Josh Prudden". AFL.com.au. BigPond. Retrieved 29 October 2016.
- ^ "Will Minson". AFL Tables. Retrieved 17 September 2014.
- ^ Young Port ruckman Hugh Minson retires
- ^ "Football is not the limit of player skills". The Age. 6 April 2010. Archived from the original on 13 April 2017.
- ^ Devlin, Rebekah (19 June 2012). "The dumbest smart bloke in the AFL".
External links
edit
- Will Minson's profile on the official website of the Western Bulldogs
- Will Minson's playing statistics from AFL Tables
- Will Minson at AustralianFootball.com