Nathan Broad

Broad hails from the Western Australian town of Wubin, 272 kilometres north-east of Perth.[2] He played junior football with the Chittering Broncos, before moving to Perth at age 16 to join the Swan Districts development program.[3][2] While in Perth he attended Governor Stirling High School on a sports scholarship.[2]

In 2011 he was a member of the Western Australian squad, but did not play a game at the 2011 AFL Under 18 Championships.[4][5] Despite this, he went ultimately un-drafted in the 2011 pool and returned to play state league football in the Western Australian Football League. He did so for four years including playing 20 matches with Swan Districts in 2015, while averaging 20 disposals per game in a rebounding defensive role.[2] He finished fourth in the club's best and fairest award that year and began receiving the attention of AFL scouts.[6] He attended the state draft combine in October 2015 and recorded a time of 24.04 seconds in the repeat sprint (faster than any player in who attended the national combine) and the state combine's third-best beep test score (14.1).[7]

Broad was drafted by Richmond with the club's third selection and the 67th overall in the 2015 AFL national draft.[8]

He first represented Richmond in a pre-season match against Fremantle in his home state, playing a dual role as a general and rebounding defender. Despite this, and an all-around impressive pre-season, he would be restrained to playing with the Richmond's reserves side in the VFL for much of his first season at the club.[9][10] He eventually made his AFL debut in round 14 of the 2016 AFL season against Brisbane in a home game at the MCG.[11] He had been named as an emergency for the match but was called in to play after teammate Jake Batchelor was removed due to injury.[11] He recorded 14 disposals and five marks on debut.[11] Broad played in the club's next match as well, before being dropped and returning to VFL level for the rest of the season.[12][13] He finished the year having played just the two matches at senior level.[14]

Broad during the 2017 AFL Grand Final parade

For the second straight year Broad started the 2017 season without gaining AFL selection. Just days before the VFL season was to start though he suffered an AC joint injury in his right shoulder while training in April 2017.[4][15] He was subsequently added to the club's long term injury list and missed eight weeks of football at all levels as a result. He returned to play for the club's reserve side in the VFL in early June.[16] After showing good form at VFL level he was called up to AFL action in round 17.[17] He remained in the side for the rest of the home and away season, holding averages of 15.1 disposals and 4.3 marks per game over this stretch.[14] In the first week of the finals Broad contributed 15 disposals and eight marks towards Richmond's win over Geelong before helping shut down GWS forward Toby Greene in the preliminary final two weeks later.[18][14] From there, Broad's side played off against minor premiers Adelaide in the 2017 AFL Grand Final. He kept his direct opponent Tom Lynch goalless, while contributing 13 disposals of his own to Richmond's 48 point victory.[19] As a result, he won a premiership medal in his tenth game that season and twelfth of his career.[14]

In the month following his side's 2017 premiership win, Broad was embroiled in scandal for distributing a photograph of a nude woman without consent, the result of which saw him suspended for the first three matches of the 2018 AFL season.[20] He did however play in one pre-season series match with the club as well as in Richmond's side at the Sydney tournament of the AFLX exhibition series in February.[21][22][23][24] Broad played with the club's reserves team in the VFL during the period of his suspension as well as in one further match, before being re-called to senior level in round 5.[25][26] Broad suffered a corked glute muscle in the lead up to Richmond's round 9 match against West Coast, but ultimately played in the match despite the injury.[14][27] At the mid-season bye, Broad had not missed a game since his return to AFL level, while holding averages of 10.6 disposals and three marks per game.[14] Broad equaled a career-best 19 disposals in the first match following the bye, but suffered a fractured cheekbone in the last quarter of that win over Adelaide.[28][14] That injury required surgery to repair and caused him to miss one match.[29][30] Broad played two consecutive matches upon his return, but was rested in round 20 due to calf soreness.[31] He played in each of the club's final three home and away matches including his return in round 21's win over Gold Coast.[32] In Richmond's home qualifying final win over Hawthorn, Broad managed just three disposals.[33] That performance, along with consecutive four disposal games to close out the home and away season, saw Broad's continuing selection under some media speculation.[33] Despite that form he held his spot in Richmond's next match, a shock preliminary final loss to Collingwood in which he contributed disposals 10 and two marks and that saw Richmond's season brought to a close.[34]

Broad in the 2019 pre-season series

Broad was tipped to fall out of Richmond's best 22 by AFL Media in the summer before the 2019 season, though strong performances in each of the club's two pre-season matches would ultimately earn him selection in round 1's season-opening match against Carlton.[35][36][37][14] The loss of All-Australian defender and teammate Alex Rance to an ACL injury in that match however, would force Broad into a more defensive role than in seasons past.[38][39][40][41] His performances were unremarkable over the next fortnight as the Richmond defence conceded 36 goals over two matches, before stabilising with a win over Port Adelaide in round 4 in which Broad ably accounted for opponent Justin Westhoff.[42][43][44][45] He was one of just two Richmond's first-choice defenders to play in each of the club's first eight matches of the year, including in a win over Fremantle in round 8 where he kicked his first career goal and played partially as a relief ruck after Toby Nankervis suffered a mid-match injury.[46][47][48] After 11 matches, Broad was one of just six players to appear in all Richmond matches that season.[49] That run was not to continue into round 12 however, after was Broad was dropped back to VFL football for the first time since the start of 2018.[50][51][52] It was a short stint at that level, immediately recalled to AFL football in round 13.[53] He played in each of the club's unbeaten nine game winning streak to close out the home and away season, including in round 16 when he equaled a career-best with eight marks over Gold Coast.[14] Broad played in his 50th career AFL match in round 22 during that run, passing that mark to claim the best winning percentage (80 per cent) of any active AFL player with 50 or more games played.[54] Despite a career-low two disposals, Broad was highly effective in defence during the club's first final, a qualifying final victory over the Brisbane Lions at The Gabba.[55][56] Broad was again subdued offensively but strong defensively in the first half of the preliminary final against Geelong.[57][58] In the second half however, Broad suffered a head knock and concussion that saw him removed from the remainder of the match as his teammates won through to a grand final match up against Greater Western Sydney.[59][60][61] In the week that followed, he was the subject of intense media speculation around his fitness to play including revelations that Broad suffered memory loss covering the entirety of the preliminary final.[62][63][64] Broad passed all concussion tests later that week and was ultimately selected to play in the grand final where he and the Richmond defence kept the Giants to 25 points, their lowest score in the club's eight year history and the lowest score by any team in a VFL/AFL grand final since 1960.[65][66] According to AFL Media, Broad "played his role superbly" while directly defending Harry Himmelberg.[67] Broad finished the year having played a career-best 24 matches, winning a second AFL premiership in three seasons and placing 16th in the club's best and fairest count.[14][68]

The 2019/20 off-season retirement of fellow defender Alex Rance assured Broad he would continue to be a key part his club's defensive unit, which he showed with strong performances in the pre-season series including with 21 disposals in the first of those two matches.[69][70][71][72][73] Broad earned AFL selection for a round 1 win over Carlton when the season began a fortnight later, but under extraordinary conditions imposed on the league as a result of the rapid progression of the coronavirus pandemic into Australia.[74][75][76][77][78] In what the league planned would be the first of a reduced 17-round season, the match was played without crowds in attendance due to public health prohibitions on large gatherings and with quarter lengths reduced by one fifth in order to reduce the physical load on players who would be expected to play multiple matches with short breaks in the second half of the year.[79][80] Just three days later, the AFL Commission suspended the season for a period of at least 10 weeks after multiple states enforced quarantine conditions on their borders that effectively ruled out the possibility of continuing the season as planned.[81][82]

Broad plays as a versatile defender, capable of directly defending small and tall forwards or playing as a spare interceptor, but with particular skills as a rebounder from half-back.[83] He is notable for his repeat sprint and endurance running ability.[84]

Statistics are correct to the end of round 1, 2020 [14]

Team

• 2x AFL premiership player (Richmond): 2017, 2019
• McClelland Trophy (Richmond): 2018

Broad began a relationship with Love Island Australia season 1 winner Tayla Damir in late 2019.[85][86]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Nathan Broad.

• Nathan Broad's profile on the official website of the Richmond Football Club
• Nathan Broad's playing statistics from AFL Tables
• Nathan Broad's statistics from Footy Wire