Andrew McGrath
Andrew McGrath (born June 2, 1998) is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL).[2] He was recruited by the Essendon Football Club with the first overall selection in the 2016 national draft.
| Andrew McGrath | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| McGrath playing for Essendon in April 2018 | |||
| Personal information | |||
| Full name | Andrew McGrath | ||
| Date of birth | June 2, 1998 | ||
| Place of birth | Mississauga, Ontario, Canada[1] | ||
| Original team(s) | Sandringham Dragons (TAC Cup) | ||
| Draft | No. 1, 2016 national draft | ||
| Height | 180 cm (5 ft 11 in) | ||
| Weight | 83 kg (183 lb) | ||
| Position(s) | Midfielder/Defender | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | Essendon | ||
| Number | 1 | ||
| Playing career1 | |||
| Years | Club | Games (Goals) | |
| 2017– | Essendon | 111 (19) | |
| 1 Playing statistics correct to the end of the 2022 season. | |||
| Career highlights | |||
| |||
| Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com | |||
Early life
McGrath was born in Mississauga, Ontario and moved to Melbourne, Australia at age 5.[3][4] McGrath participated in the Auskick program at Whyte Street in Brighton, Victoria[5] and played junior football with the East Brighton Football Club in the South Metro Junior Football League.[6] He was a talented junior track and field athlete winning the Australian national under-14 high jump competition in 2011,[7] the Victorian state heptathlon[8] and national 200m hurdles events at under-15 level in 2012[9] and the under-17 400m hurdles in 2014.[10] He was named All-Australian and co-captain of the 2016 AFL Under 18 Championships playing for Vic Metro,[11] and was also the captain of Brighton Grammar School, where he was part of three consecutive APS Football premierships.[citation needed]
AFL career
McGrath was recruited by the Essendon Football Club with the number one draft pick in the 2016 national draft. He made his debut in the 25 point win against Hawthorn in the opening round of the 2017 season at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, recording 22 disposals.[12] He received an AFL Rising Star nomination for his performance in the sixty-five point loss against Adelaide at Adelaide Oval in round four, in which he garnered twenty-eight disposals and four tackles.[13] He kicked his first AFL goal against Melbourne in round 6.[14] McGrath had another notable performance against Adelaide in round 21, where he kept star forward Eddie Betts goalless and held him to only seven disposals, his lowest output of the season.[15] He capped off an outstanding first season by winning the AFL Rising Star, receiving the Ron Evans Medal with 51 votes out of a possible 55, becoming the second Essendon player to win the award, after Dyson Heppell, as well as winning the AFLPA Best First Year Player award, and was named in the 22under22 team.[16][17][18]
McGrath was named to the 22under22 team again in 2018 and 2019, and was captain of the 22under22 team in 2020. He moved into Essendon's midfield full-time in 2020, and received the club's Adam Ramanauskas Most Courageous Player award in that year.[19]
On October 11, 2020 the Essendon Football Club announced that McGrath had re-signed until 2022.[20]
For the 2021 season, the Essendon Football Club appointed McGrath a joint vice-captain alongside Michael Hurley and Zach Merrett.[21] He opened the season with 33 disposals, 11 tackles, and a goal in a one-point loss to Hawthorn in Round 1.[22] Early in the first term of the Bombers' round 12 match against Richmond on June 5, 2021, McGrath was substituted out with what proved to be a grade two posterior cruciate ligament injury, which was expected to put him out of action for eight to 12 weeks.[23] He made his return in Essendon's Round 22 match against the Gold Coast Suns, in which he had 13 disposals, three marks, and three tackles.[24]
McGrath played in his hundredth match on May 1, 2022.[25] On July 15, 2022 the Essendon Football Club announced he had signed on to remain with the club through the 2024 season.[26]
Statistics
- Statistics are correct to the end of the 2022 season[27]
| Season | Team | No. | Games | Totals | Averages (per game) | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | B | K | H | D | M | T | G | B | K | H | D | M | T | ||||
| 2017 | Essendon | 1 | 21 | 1 | 1 | 181 | 234 | 415 | 83 | 59 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 8.6 | 11.1 | 19.8 | 4.0 | 2.8 |
| 2018 | Essendon | 1 | 20 | 5 | 1 | 203 | 195 | 398 | 77 | 48 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 10.2 | 9.8 | 19.9 | 3.9 | 2.4 |
| 2019 | Essendon | 1 | 23 | 9 | 3 | 230 | 224 | 454 | 75 | 59 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 10.4 | 10.2 | 20.6 | 3.4 | 2.7 |
| 2020 | Essendon | 1 | 14 | 0 | 1 | 149 | 161 | 310 | 22 | 67 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 10.6 | 11.5 | 22.1 | 1.6 | 4.8 |
| 2021 | Essendon | 1 | 15 | 2 | 4 | 171 | 168 | 339 | 43 | 66 | 0.1 | 0.3 | 11.4 | 11.2 | 22.6 | 2.9 | 4.4 |
| 2022 | Essendon | 1 | 18 | 2 | 5 | 214 | 171 | 385 | 90 | 47 | 0.1 | 0.3 | 11.9 | 9.5 | 21.4 | 5.0 | 2.6 |
| Career | 111 | 19 | 15 | 1166 | 1165 | 2331 | 394 | 347 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 10.5 | 10.5 | 21.0 | 3.5 | 3.1 | ||
References
- ^ Twomey, Callum (June 24, 2016). "Gun athlete to draft bolter: McGrath's great leap forward". AFL.com.au. Bigpond. Retrieved November 20, 2016.
- ^ Landsberger, Sam (November 18, 2016). "Pick Me: Andrew McGrath is a future AFL leader with supreme talent and in mix to be 2016's No.1 pick". Herald Sun. Retrieved November 18, 2016.
- ^ Meet the speedy Canadian-born teenager who made history today in Australian rules football Nick Faris National Post November 25, 2016
- ^ Quayle, Emma (November 21, 2016). "Could Andrew McGrath be Canada's first No.1 AFL draft pick?". The Age. Retrieved November 21, 2016.
- ^ AFL Record. Round 2, 2022. pg 60
- ^ [https://smjfl.com.au/former-east-brighton-junior-andrew-mcgrath-wins-nab-afl-rising-star/ FORMER EAST BRIGHTON JUNIOR ANDREW MCGRATH WINS NAB AFL RISING STAR 01 Sep 2017
- ^ (PDF). p. 51. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 7, 2016. Retrieved November 20, 2016.
- ^ "IGA State Multi-Event Championships 2012 - 15/12/2012 to 16/12/2012 Lakeside Stadium, Albert Park Results - Heptathlon" (PDF).
- ^ (PDF). p. 57. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 7, 2016. Retrieved November 20, 2016.
- ^ "2014 Australian Junior Championships Sydney Olympic Park Athletics Centre - 12/03/2014 to 16/03/2014 Results" (PDF).
- ^ Waterworth, Ben (June 30, 2016). "Under 18s All-Australian team announced: Including Jack Graham, Hugh McCluggage, Jack Bowes". Fox Sports (Australia). News Corp Australia. Retrieved July 31, 2016.
- ^ Harrington, Anna. "Andrew McGrath impresses, Joel Smith injured: How every AFL debutant in Round 1 fared". Fox Sports Australia. Retrieved March 27, 2017.
- ^ McGowan, Marc (April 18, 2017). "Dons' first No.1 pick gets Rising Star nod". AFL.com.au. Telstra. Retrieved April 18, 2017.
- ^ "McGrath kicks his first goal - AFL". AFL.com.au. April 29, 2017. Retrieved July 9, 2017.
- ^ . afl.com.au. Archived from the original on March 16, 2017. Retrieved September 14, 2017.
- ^ "AFL Rising Star 2017: Andrew McGrath claims award from Ryan Burton and Sam Powell-Pepper". Fox Sports Australia. September 1, 2017. Retrieved September 1, 2017.
- ^ "AFL MVP Awards, Most courageous, Best Captain, First year player, Adelaide Crows". Fox Sports. September 12, 2017. Retrieved September 14, 2017.
- ^ "22 under 22 team 2017 AFL, AFLPA, Marcus Bontempelli, Zach Merrett". Fox Sports. September 12, 2017. Retrieved September 14, 2017.
- ^ "Andrew McGrath". Essendon Football Club web site. Retrieved August 16, 2021.
- ^ "'Pidge' puts pen to paper". Essendon Football Club web site. October 11, 2020. Retrieved October 11, 2020.
- ^ "Andrew McGrath". Essendon Football Club web site. Retrieved August 16, 2021.
- ^ "Andrew McGrath". footywire.com. Retrieved August 29, 2021.
- ^ "Star Bomber's season could be over after scans confirm PCL injury". AFL web site. June 7, 2021. Retrieved June 8, 2021.
- ^ "Andrew McGrath". footywire.com. Retrieved August 16, 2021.
- ^ "Andrew McGrath". footywire.com. Retrieved May 1, 2022.
- ^ "McGrath signs on for two more years". AFL. Retrieved July 14, 2022.
- ^ "Andrew McGrath". footywire.com. Retrieved August 20, 2022.
External links
- Andrew McGrath's profile on the official website of the Essendon Football Club
- Andrew McGrath's playing statistics from AFL Tables