Will Minson

Will Minson

Photographed in March 2008
Personal information
Full name William Gerald Minson
Date of birth (1985-04-11) 11 April 1985
Original team(s) Norwood (SANFL)
Draft No. 20, 2002 National Draft, Western Bulldogs
Height / weight 199 cm / 106 kg
Position(s) Ruckman
Playing career1
Years Club Games (Goals)
2004–2016 Western Bulldogs 191 (81)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 2016.
Career highlights

William Gerald Minson (born 11 April 1985) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Western Bulldogs in the Australian Football League (AFL).

Early life

Minson grew up in Norwood, South Australia and played football with the Norwood Football Club up until the under 18's.

He was a student at St Peter's College, Adelaide, where he played the majority of his junior football, while also playing as a junior footballer at Walkerville FC.

AFL career

The Western Bulldogs recruited Minson in the 2002 AFL Draft at pick number 20. He made his debut with the club in 2004.

He is considered very mobile for his size and is also very big strong man. He is known for his physical presence, being suspended for striking Geelong star Cameron Ling in just his second game.

In Round 14 2008, with the Bulldogs playing Port Adelaide in their annual game in Darwin, Minson was involved in a confrontation with Kane Cornes, a Port Adelaide midfielder. Minson appeared two days later in an interview with the Foxtel AFL program On the Couch, apologising on the couch for a derogatory comment made to Cornes. The actual comment is said to have concerned or been directed towards Kane's newborn son who has suffered from health problems, and in particular questioning Kane's priorities in choosing to play football in Darwin that weekend, rather than being back in Adelaide in support of his wife and son. Minson claimed that what was said was in "the heat of battle". [1]

In Round 12 2012, following the Western Bulldogs' victory over Port Adelaide, Minson was again embroiled in a controversy over allegedly sledging Danyle Pearce, another Port Adelaide player. The comments, which are said to have concerned Pearce's mother, were made in the final quarter of the match, immediately after the two were wrestling at a stoppage and during a subsequent melee. Whilst the incident was not elevated to the AFL tribunal, the Western Bulldogs fined Minson and imposed a one-week suspension on him as punishment for the silly indiscretion. Because of the prior incident with Kane Cornes, a media frenzy ensued. In a press conference two days after the game, Minson said he was "deeply regretful for any comments that were made", and that he had "no intention of ever putting anyone through that again".[2]

In October 2016, Minson announced he would no longer be playing for the Western Bulldogs and he would explore his options during the free-agency period.[3] After failing to find a new club during the free-agency period, he was subsequently delisted by the Western Bulldogs.[4]

Statistics

Statistics are correct to the end of the 2014 season[5]
Legend
 G  Goals  B  Behinds  K  Kicks  H  Handballs  D  Disposals  M  Marks  T  Tackles  H/O  Hit-outs
Led the league for the season only
Led the league after season and finals
Season Team # Games G B K H D M T H/O G B K H D M T H/O
Totals Averages (per game)
2004 Western Bulldogs 27 5 1 1 10 7 17 4 4 37 0.2 0.2 2.0 1.4 3.4 0.8 0.8 7.4
2005 Western Bulldogs 27 17 4 4 86 64 150 33 52 207 0.2 0.2 5.1 3.8 8.8 8.8 1.9 12.2
2006 Western Bulldogs 27 13 8 4 58 46 104 25 24 131 0.6 0.3 4.5 3.5 8.0 1.9 1.8 10.1
2007 Western Bulldogs 27 6 0 1 26 22 48 8 13 73 0.0 0.2 4.3 3.7 8.0 1.3 2.2 12.2
2008 Western Bulldogs 27 25 19 11 175 91 266 88 58 313 0.8 0.4 7.0 3.6 10.6 3.5 2.3 12.5
2009 Western Bulldogs 27 25 16 4 143 165 308 89 70 365 0.6 0.2 5.7 6.6 12.3 3.6 2.8 14.6
2010 Western Bulldogs 27 15 8 7 88 75 163 48 32 197 0.5 0.5 5.9 5.0 10.9 3.2 2.1 13.1
2011 Western Bulldogs 27 9 6 2 62 49 111 32 23 167 0.7 0.2 6.9 5.4 12.3 3.6 2.6 18.6
2012 Western Bulldogs 27 21 4 6 138 154 292 57 67 667 0.2 0.3 6.6 7.3 13.9 2.7 3.2 31.8
2013 Western Bulldogs 27 22 7 5 152 168 320 40 81 860 0.3 0.2 6.9 7.6 14.5 1.8 3.7 39.1
2014 Western Bulldogs 27 21 4 6 144 108 252 33 81 757 0.2 0.3 6.9 5.1 12.0 1.6 3.9 36.0
Career 179 77 51 1082 949 2031 457 505 3774 0.4 0.3 6.0 5.3 11.3 2.6 2.8 21.1

Personal life

Minson has a younger brother, Hugh, who formerly played in the Australian Football League with Port Adelaide before being forced to retire through injury.[6]

Off the field, Minson is known for his intelligence and multi-faceted abilities - he plays saxophone, speaks fluent German and is currently studying civil engineering at the University of Melbourne.[7] He is also heavily involved with the charity Red Dust, which operates sporting and lifestyle clinics in remote aboriginal communities and, more recently, in very poor areas of India.[2]

References

  1. ↑ Lalor, Peter (1 July 2008). "Minson sorry after Cornes sledge".
  2. 1 2 Devlin, Rebekah (19 June 2012). "The dumbest smart bloke in the AFL".
  3. ↑ "Will Minson's Kennel career comes to an end". WesternBulldogs.com.au. Bigpond. 5 October 2016. Retrieved 5 October 2016.
  4. ↑ Schmook, Nathan (28 October 2016). "Dogs promise rookie spot for delisted knee victim Josh Prudden". AFL.com.au. BigPond. Retrieved 29 October 2016.
  5. ↑ Will Minson's player profile at AFL Tables
  6. ↑ Young Port ruckman Hugh Minson retires
  7. ↑ Football is not the limit of player skills

External links

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