Andrew McGrath

Andrew McGrath (born 2 June 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 (1998-06-02) 2 June 1998
Place of birth Mississauga, Ontario, Canada[1]
Original team(s) Sandringham Dragons (TAC Cup)
Draft No. 1, 2016 national draft
Height 178 cm (5 ft 10 in)
Weight 83 kg (183 lb)
Position(s) Midfielder
Club information
Current club Essendon
Number 1
Playing career1
Years Club Games (Goals)
2017– Essendon 66 (15)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of round 2, 2020 season.
Career highlights
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

Early life

McGrath was born in Mississauga, Ontario and moved to Melbourne, Australia at age five in 2003.[3] He was a talented junior track and field athlete winning the Australian national under-14 high jump competition in 2011,[4] the Victorian state heptathlon[5] and national 200m hurdles events at under-15 level in 2012[6] and the under-17 400m hurdles in 2014.[7] He was named All-Australian and co-captain of the 2016 AFL Under 18 Championships playing for Vic Metro,[8] and was also the captain of Brighton Grammar School, where he was part of three consecutive APS Football premierships.

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.[9] 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.[10] He kicked his first AFL goal against Melbourne in round 6.[11] 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.[12] 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.[13][14][15]

Statistics
Statistics are correct to the end of Round 2, 2020 season[16]
Legend
 G  Goals  B  Behinds  K  Kicks  H  Handballs  D  Disposals  M  Marks  T  Tackles
Season Team No. Games Totals Averages (per game)
G B K H D M T G B K H D M T
2017 Essendon1211118123441583590.00.08.611.119.84.02.8
2018 Essendon1205120319539877480.20.110.29.819.93.92.4
2019 Essendon1239323022445475590.40.110.410.220.63.42.7
2020 Essendon12002026463150.00.010.013.023.01.57.5
Career 66 15 5 652 691 1343 242 182 0.2 0.1 9.9 10.5 20.3 3.7 2.8

References
  1. Twomey, Callum (24 June 2016). "Gun athlete to draft bolter: McGrath's great leap forward". AFL.com.au. Bigpond. Retrieved 20 November 2016.
  2. Landsberger, Sam (18 November 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 18 November 2016.
  3. Quayle, Emma (21 November 2016). "Could Andrew McGrath be Canada's first No.1 AFL draft pick?". The Age. Retrieved 21 November 2016.
  4. "Athletics Australia Handbook of Records and Results 2011" (PDF). p. 51. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 April 2016. Retrieved 20 November 2016.
  5. "IGA State Multi-Event Championships 2012 - 15/12/2012 to 16/12/2012 Lakeside Stadium, Albert Park Results - Heptathlon" (PDF).
  6. "Athletics Australia Handbook of Records and Results 2012" (PDF). p. 57. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 April 2016. Retrieved 20 November 2016.
  7. "2014 Australian Junior Championships Sydney Olympic Park Athletics Centre - 12/03/2014 to 16/03/2014 Results" (PDF).
  8. Waterworth, Ben (30 June 2016). "Under 18s All-Australian team announced: Including Jack Graham, Hugh McCluggage, Jack Bowes". Fox Sports (Australia). News Corp Australia. Retrieved 31 July 2016.
  9. Harrington, Anna. "Andrew McGrath impresses, Joel Smith injured: How every AFL debutant in Round 1 fared". Fox Sports Australia. Retrieved 27 March 2017.
  10. McGowan, Marc (18 April 2017). "Dons' first No.1 pick gets Rising Star nod". AFL.com.au. Telstra. Retrieved 18 April 2017.
  11. "McGrath kicks his first goal - AFL". AFL.com.au. 29 April 2017. Retrieved 9 July 2017.
  12. "Essendon Vs Adelaide Crows - Match Centre - AFL.com.au". afl.com.au. Retrieved 14 September 2017.
  13. "AFL Rising Star 2017: Andrew McGrath claims award from Ryan Burton and Sam Powell-Pepper". Fox Sports Australia. 1 September 2017. Retrieved 1 September 2017.
  14. "AFL MVP Awards, Most courageous, Best Captain, First year player, Adelaide Crows". Fox Sports. 12 September 2017. Retrieved 14 September 2017.
  15. "22 under 22 team 2017 AFL, AFLPA, Marcus Bontempelli, Zach Merrett". Fox Sports. 12 September 2017. Retrieved 14 September 2017.
  16. "Andrew McGrath". footywire.com. Retrieved 15 June 2020.
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