Callan Ward
Callan Ward | |||
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Ward playing for Greater Western Sydney in 2017 | |||
Personal information | |||
Full name | Callan Ward | ||
Date of birth | 10 April 1990 | ||
Original team(s) | Western Jets (TAC Cup) | ||
Draft | No. 19, 2007 national draft | ||
Debut |
Round 11, 2008, Western Bulldogs vs. St Kilda, at Telstra Dome | ||
Height | 187 cm (6 ft 2 in) | ||
Weight | 84 kg (185 lb) | ||
Position(s) | Midfielder | ||
Club information | |||
Current club | Greater Western Sydney | ||
Number | 8 | ||
Playing career1 | |||
Years | Club | Games (Goals) | |
2008–2011 | Western Bulldogs | 60 (33) | |
2012– | Greater Western Sydney | 156 | (74)|
Total | 216 (107) | ||
International team honours | |||
Years | Team | Games (Goals) | |
2011 | Australia | 2 (0) | |
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of the 2018 season. 2 State and international statistics correct as of 2011. | |||
Career highlights | |||
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Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com |
Callan Ward (born 10 April 1990) is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the Greater Western Sydney Giants in the Australian Football League (AFL). He previously played for the Western Bulldogs from 2008 to 2011. Ward received a nomination for the 2009 AFL Rising Star award in round 18 of the 2009 season. He has served as Greater Western Sydney Giants co-captain since the club's inaugural season in 2012, and is also the club's games record holder with 156 games, having only missed five possible games since he began playing at the expansion club and none since 2014.
Early life
Ward is the grandson of former South Melbourne captain Bill Gunn, who played 104 games for the club between 1952 and 1959. Leading into the 2007 AFL draft, five player managers vied to represent him, and a week out from the draft he decided on Paul Connors, who also represented the likes of Chris Judd. Ward was selected by the Bulldogs with their second selection (number 19 overall) after being a mere 20 days old enough to nominate for the draft.[1]
AFL career
Western Bulldogs (2008–2011)
Ward made his debut against St Kilda in round 11 of the 2008 season, collecting 12 disposals and finishing with one goal. In his debut year, he played six games while juggling full-time football and his last year of high school. Having earned a regular spot in the team in 2009, Ward went on to have a breakout season, playing 22 games and earning an AFL Rising Star nomination for his performance against Fremantle in round 18. Ward missed the first half of the 2010 season through injury, but returned to play in the second half of the season and finals series. Ward had his best season for the Bulldogs in 2011, playing in all 22 games and averaging 21 disposals, including a 29-disposal, best-on-ground performance against Adelaide in round 13.
Greater Western Sydney (2012–present)
On 5 September 2011, Ward announced that he had signed with the Greater Western Sydney Giants; he was the second player to publicly announce his commitment to the new franchise club. Ward was also announced as one of three inaugural co-captains for the club, alongside Phil Davis and Luke Power. On 24 March 2012, in the Giants' debut AFL match against Sydney, he kicked the Giants' first ever goal. [2] Ward went on to win the Giants' inaugural best-and-fairest award, named the Kevin Sheedy Medal after their coach, Kevin Sheedy.[3]
Ward enjoyed a solid season in 2013, despite the club winning only one game for the year; Ward was named best-on-ground for his 31 disposals and four goals in that game, against Melbourne. Ward followed up with another consistent season in 2014, in which he polled fifteen Brownlow Medal votes. This included four best-on-ground performances, two of which were narrow seven-point losses to St Kilda and Hawthorn.[4]
Ward had a career-best season in 2015, playing all 22 games and averaging 25 disposals, and polling a club-record nineteen Brownlow votes. Ward had another consistent season in 2016, during which the Giants made finals for the first time, securing their first finals win against Sydney, and fell six points short of making the Grand Final after losing to Ward's former club, the Western Bulldogs, at home. Ward played all 25 games the following season, averaging 27 disposals.
In 2018, Ward played his 200th game in round 8 against West Coast,[5] and played his 150th game for the Giants (becoming the first player to do so) in round 19 against St Kilda.[6]
Statistics
- Statistics are correct to the end of the 2018 season.[7]
Legend | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
G | Goals | B | Behinds | K | Kicks | H | Handballs | D | Disposals | M | Marks | T | Tackles |
Season | Team | No. | Games | G | B | K | H | D | M | T | G | B | K | H | D | M | T | Votes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Totals | Averages (per game) | |||||||||||||||||
2008 | Western Bulldogs | 14 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 28 | 32 | 60 | 18 | 10 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 4.7 | 5.3 | 10.0 | 3.0 | 1.7 | 0 |
2009 | Western Bulldogs | 14 | 22 | 18 | 13 | 178 | 184 | 362 | 70 | 86 | 0.8 | 0.6 | 8.1 | 8.4 | 16.5 | 3.2 | 3.9 | 0 |
2010 | Western Bulldogs | 14 | 10 | 1 | 4 | 76 | 97 | 173 | 36 | 34 | 0.1 | 0.4 | 7.6 | 9.7 | 17.3 | 3.6 | 3.4 | 0 |
2011 | Western Bulldogs | 14 | 22 | 12 | 11 | 204 | 253 | 457 | 74 | 96 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 9.3 | 11.5 | 20.8 | 3.4 | 4.4 | 6 |
2012 | Greater Western Sydney | 8 | 20 | 8 | 11 | 278 | 210 | 488 | 86 | 100 | 0.4 | 0.6 | 13.9 | 10.5 | 24.4 | 4.3 | 5.0 | 5 |
2013 | Greater Western Sydney | 8 | 21 | 11 | 6 | 247 | 242 | 489 | 95 | 94 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 11.8 | 11.5 | 23.3 | 4.5 | 4.5 | 4 |
2014 | Greater Western Sydney | 8 | 20 | 7 | 10 | 240 | 258 | 498 | 75 | 115 | 0.4 | 0.5 | 12.0 | 12.9 | 24.9 | 3.8 | 5.8 | 15 |
2015 | Greater Western Sydney | 8 | 22 | 10 | 7 | 253 | 303 | 556 | 103 | 115 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 11.5 | 13.8 | 25.3 | 4.7 | 5.2 | 19 |
2016 | Greater Western Sydney | 8 | 24 | 16 | 12 | 272 | 287 | 559 | 82 | 109 | 0.7 | 0.5 | 11.3 | 12.0 | 23.3 | 3.4 | 4.5 | 12 |
2017 | Greater Western Sydney | 8 | 25 | 14 | 10 | 353 | 324 | 677 | 90 | 98 | 0.6 | 0.4 | 14.1 | 13.0 | 27.1 | 3.6 | 3.9 | 11 |
2018 | Greater Western Sydney | 8 | 24 | 8 | 15 | 318 | 324 | 642 | 92 | 95 | 0.3 | 0.6 | 13.3 | 13.5 | 26.8 | 3.8 | 4.0 | 13 |
Career | 216 | 107 | 100 | 2447 | 2514 | 4961 | 821 | 952 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 11.3 | 11.6 | 23.0 | 3.8 | 4.4 | 85 |
Honours and achievements
Individual
- Greater Western Sydney Giants co-captain: 2012–present
- Kevin Sheedy Medal: 2012
- Robert Rose Award: 2018
- 2× Brett Kirk Medal: 2014 (game 1), 2017 (game 2)
- Australian representative honours in international rules football: 2011
- 22under22 team: 2012
- AFL Rising Star nominee: 2009
References
- ↑ Jennifer Witham (24 November 2007). "Bulldogs' 'mixed bag' of talent". Archived from the original on 6 July 2011.
- ↑ dailytelegraph (24 March 2012). "GWS v Swans: As it happened".
- ↑ foxsports (6 September 2012). "Greater Western Sydney co-captain Callan Ward claims Kevin Sheedy medal for club's best and fairest".
- ↑ Ward GIANTS' Brownlow Best, GWS Giants official website, 23 September 2014
- ↑ Curley, Adam (12 May 2018). "Match report: Seventh heaven for Eagles". afl.com.au. Retrieved 28 July 2018.
- ↑ Curley, Adam (28 July 2018). "Match report: Top-four Giants continue rise". afl.com.au. Retrieved 28 July 2018.
- ↑ "Callan Ward". AFL Tables. Retrieved 25 March 2018.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Callan Ward. |
- Callan Ward's profile on the official website of the Greater Western Sydney Giants
- Callan Ward's playing statistics from AFL Tables