Andrew Gaff

Andrew Gaff
Personal information
Full name Andrew Gaff
Nickname(s) Gaffy
Date of birth (1992-06-16) 16 June 1992
Original team(s) Oakleigh Chargers (TAC Cup)
Draft #4, 2010 National Draft
Height / weight 181 cm / 83 kg
Position(s) Midfielder
Club information
Current club West Coast
Number 3
Playing career1
Years Club Games (Goals)
2011– West Coast 132 (49)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 2016.
Career highlights

Andrew Gaff (born 16 June 1992) is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the West Coast Eagles in the Australian Football League (AFL). He is renowned as one of the best wingmen in the league, with his gut-running ability and footskills ranked among the elite of the competition.

Early life

Gaff attended Kew East Primary school until 2004[1] and Carey Baptist Grammar School in his high school years. He starred in the Carey First XVIII football team as a hard-running midfielder who proved to be a prolific goalkicker.

Originally from the Kew Comets, Gaff played in the TAC Cup with the Oakleigh Chargers. before being selected with the fourth pick overall in the 2010 National Draft by the West Coast Eagles. Recognised as one of the best prospects in his draft year, Gaff was renowned for his endurance, work ethic, kicking and ability to accumulate possessions.[2]

Growing up, Gaff supported the Melbourne Football Club, and attended the 2000 AFL Grand Final as a spectator in which they lost to Essendon by 60 points.[3]

AFL career

Gaff played his first game for the Eagles in the pool round of the 2011 NAB Cup, playing against Hawthorn and gathering six possessions, before being rested in the second game against Fremantle.

He became the third player in the Eagles' history to wear the No. 3 jumper for the Eagles after Chris Mainwaring and Chris Judd. The jumper was retired for three years following Mainwaring's death in October 2007 and Judd's departure from the club prior to the 2008 season.

Gaff made his AFL debut in the opening round match against North Melbourne, replacing Chris Masten as the Eagles' first substitute player.[4]

Gaff was rewarded for his form by being nominated for the 2011 AFL Rising Star award in Round 19, 2011.[5]

As of the end of Round 18, 2015, Gaff was having a career best year. He is ranked equal fifth in the AFL Coaches Association voting,[6] and averages 29.9 touches a game, including a remarkable run of five straight games where he collected more than 30 disposals.[7]

In 2015, he was awarded the John Worsfold Medal as the club's best-and-fairest player.[8] His outstanding form was recognised league-wide as he was named on the wing in the 2015 All-Australian team.[9]

Gaff had another consistent year in 2016, despite being knocked unconscious in Round 9 by Port Adelaide's Tom Jonas, causing him to miss a week and dip in form, albeit slightly. He rebounded strongly in the last month of the year as the Eagles found some stunning form. He had a career best 38 disposals in a clinical win over Hawthorn at Subiaco in Round 22, and then set a new career-best tally with 41 disposals the next week against Adelaide at Adelaide Oval, as the Eagles entered the finals as the form team of the competition. He was rewarded with a place in the 40 person All-Australian squad, but was left out of the final 22-man team.

Statistics

Statistics are correct to the end of Round 23 of the 2016 AFL season.[10]
Season Team # Games G B K H D M T G B K H D M T
Totals Averages (per game)
2011
 West Coast 3 17 7 7 172 130 302 75 19 0.4 0.4 10.1 7.6 17.8 4.4 1.1
2012
 West Coast 3 24 9 13 374 217 591 114 34 0.4 0.5 15.6 9.0 24.6 4.8 1.4
2013
 West Coast 3 22 5 9 266 171 437 76 40 0.2 0.4 12.1 7.8 19.9 3.4 1.8
2014
 West Coast 3 22 10 2 344 190 534 120 54 0.4 0.1 15.6 8.6 24.3 5.4 2.4
2015
 West Coast 3 25 11 8 415 323 738 111 62 0.4 0.3 16.6 12.9 29.5 4.4 2.5
2016
 West Coast 3 21 7 6 352 270 622 79 26 0.3 0.3 16.8 12.8 29.6 3.8 1.2
Career 131 49 45 1923 1301 3224 575 235 0.4 0.3 14.7 9.9 24.6 4.4 1.8
Legend
 G  Goals  B  Behinds  K  Kicks  H  Handballs  D  Disposals  M  Marks  T  Tackles

References

  1. ↑ 2010 AFL National Draft: who your club picked - The Age. Published 19 November 2010. Retrieved 17 July 2011.
  2. ↑ Quayle, Emma (16 November 2010). "Picks of the draft: Andrew Gaff". Retrieved 10 October 2015.
  3. ↑ Malcolm, Alex (29 September 2015). "Gaff hopes to create new Grand Final memories after 2000 'flogging'". Retrieved 29 September 2015.
  4. ↑ Eagles' victory soured - The Age. Written by Tim Clarke. Published 28 March 2011. Retrieved 17 July 2011.
  5. ↑ Holmesby, Luke (2 August 2011). "Gift of the Gaff". AFL BigPond Network. Retrieved 2 August 2011.
  6. ↑ http://www.afl.com.au/news/2015-08-03/aflca-votes-round-18
  7. ↑ http://afltables.com/afl/stats/players/A/Andrew_Gaff.html
  8. ↑ Malcolm, Alex (10 October 2015). "Gaff caps stellar season with best and fairest". AFL.com.au. Bigpond. Retrieved 10 October 2015.
  9. ↑ Bilton, Dean (22 September 2015). "AFL Finals: 2015 All Australian team features 11 new faces, Western Bulldogs skipper Robert Murphy named captain". abc.net.au/news. Australian Broadcasting Authority. Retrieved 10 October 2015.
  10. ↑ "Andrew Gaff of the West Coast Eagles Career AFL Stats". footywire.com. Retrieved 10 October 2015.

External links

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