Justin Crawford

Justin Crawford
Personal information
Full name	Justin Crawford
Date of birth	20 March 1977
Place of birth	Finley
Original team(s)	Tocumwal
Draft	Zone selection, 1994 AFL Draft
Height / weight	181 cm / 82 kg
Playing career^1
Years	Club	Games (Goals)
1995 – 1996 1997 – 1998 Total	Sydney Hawthorn	17 (11) 29 (21) 46 (32)
^1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 1998.
Career highlights
AFL Rising Star nominee: 1995

Justin Crawford (born 20 March 1977 in Finley) is a former Australian rules footballer who played with Sydney and Hawthorn in the Australian Football League (AFL) during the 1990s.

Crawford, the younger brother of Brownlow Medal winner Shane, was recruited from Tocumwal by Sydney as a zone selection. He was just 18 when he made his debut in 1995^[1] and earned an AFL Rising Star nomination for a 26 disposal and two goal game against Fitzroy. An on-baller, Crawford took part in Sydney's qualifying final win over Hawthorn in 1996 but had just seven disposals and was dropped for the preliminary final for make way for Tony Lockett's return.^[2]

He joined his brother at Hawthorn in 1997 after being traded for David McEwan and the 17th selection of the 1996 AFL Draft, used on Rowan Warfe. Playing mostly as a forward, Crawford put together 15 games in 1997 and during the year was fined $1000 over an incident at Crown Casino, in which he urinated under a gambling table.^[3][4] He retired from the AFL at the end of the 1998 season, aged just 21.

He resurfaced in the WAFL to play with South Fremantle and was part of the club's premiership in 2005 but left the club at the end of that year.

References

1. Holmesby, Russell; Main, Jim (2007). The Encyclopedia Of AFL Footballers. BAS Publishing. ISBN 978-1-920910-78-5.
2. "Justin Crawford". AFL Tables.
3. Sydney Morning Herald, "AFL star splashes out at casino ", 25 July 1997, Edited by Michael Koslowski
4. "Footballer fined $1000 for urinating in casino". The Age. 26 July 1997. p. 8. Retrieved 12 October 2016.