Chris Grant (footballer)

Christopher Lee Grant (born 13 December 1972) is a former Australian rules football player in the Australian Football League, a legend of the Western Bulldogs and a member of the Australian Football Hall of Fame.[1] He was born in Daylesford, Victoria, Australia.

Chris Grant
Personal information
Full name Christopher Lee Grant
Date of birth (1972-12-13) 13 December 1972
Place of birth Daylesford, Victoria
Original team(s) Daylesford
Draft No. 105, 1988 national draft
Height 193 cm (6 ft 4 in)
Weight 99 kg (218 lb)
Position(s) Full Forward/Centre Half Back
Playing career1
Years Club Games (Goals)
1990–2007 Footscray/Western Bulldogs 341 (554)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 2007.
Career highlights
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

AFL career

Grant was recruited by the Footscray Football Club (now Western Bulldogs) in the 1988 VFL Draft at pick number 105, and played his first AFL game in 1990 at the age of 17. Grant kicked 51 goals that season, the youngest player in VFL-AFL history to achieve this feat, to be the leading goalkicker for the club.

Over the following years, Grant established himself as a respected player in the half-forward position. He earned All-Australian honours in 1994 and 1996. He appeared in the 1997 documentary Year of the Dogs alongside the rest of the Footscray team. He polled 27 votes in the 1997 Brownlow Medal, one more than winner Robert Harvey; however, he was ineligible for the award due to a one-match suspension for striking Hawthorn's Nick Holland.[2] The incident (high contact while attempting to spoil a mark) was not deemed reportable by the umpires but Director of Football Operations Ian Collins decided Chris should be sent to the tribunal.[3]

In 2001 he was named team captain, and was selected as a member of the Footscray & Western Bulldogs 'Team of the Century' in 2002. He missed the 2003 season to an ACL injury sustained in Round 1; his absence in the team was severely felt as the Bulldogs ended up finishing last on the AFL ladder.[4][5] He relinquished the captaincy at the end of the 2004 season.

Grant played over 300 games and scored more than 500 goals throughout his career, an astonishing feat considering he spent much of his career at centre half back, playing on the game's best key forwards. He won the club best-and-fairest award in 1994 and 1996 (and came second in 1997, 1998, and 1999, and third in 2001). He gained third place in the 1996 Brownlow Medal. He received All-Australian Honours in 1997, 1998, and 1999. He was the club's leading goal-kicker in 1990 and 1994.

In playing his 330th game on 5 August 2006, Grant broke Doug Hawkins' record for most games played for the Western Bulldogs. He held the club games record until 2009, when he was passed by Brad Johnson.

Near the end of 1996 Grant was offered a large amount of money to move to Port Adelaide, but his decision to stay with the Western Bulldogs was helped along by a little boy, Ryan Adams, who sent Grant a letter with a 20-cent piece attached saying it was all he had and that Grant could keep it if he stayed with the Bulldogs.[6]

Grant announced his retirement from senior football at the Bulldogs' best-and-fairest presentation on 2 October 2007, following a career that spanned 18 seasons and 341 games.[7]

Chris Grant came out of retirement to represent his old club in Daylesford and in his first game of the season kicked 11 goals.

Grant continues to support the Western Bulldogs. Currently he is the Director of the Football Department.

Personal life

Grant's daughter, Isabella, will play for the Western Bulldogs' AFL Women's team in the upcoming 2020 AFL Women's season after being drafted to the club as a father-daughter selection.[8]

Statistics
[9]
Season Team No. Games Totals Averages (per game)
G B K H D M T G B K H D M T
1990 Footscray 2920513116139200102152.61.68.12.010.05.10.8
1991 Footscray 29151815113771907571.21.07.55.112.75.00.5
1992 Footscray 29245028249140389133362.11.210.45.816.25.51.5
1993 Footscray 2917332220062262109141.91.311.83.615.46.40.8
1994 Footscray 324715726477341155183.02.411.03.214.26.50.8
1995 Footscray 3223826214101315133241.71.29.74.614.36.01.1
1996 Footscray 3221612267101368135270.70.512.14.616.76.11.2
1997 Western Bulldogs 3233722281148429170291.61.012.26.418.77.41.3
1998 Western Bulldogs 3224234294117411185391.91.513.45.318.78.41.8
1999 Western Bulldogs 3243729284137421176331.51.211.85.717.57.31.4
2000 Western Bulldogs 317402019370263105242.41.211.44.115.56.21.4
2001 Western Bulldogs 322463022895323110582.11.410.44.314.75.02.6
2002 Western Bulldogs 3211717196109305111320.80.89.35.214.55.31.5
2003 Western Bulldogs 31009514500.00.09.05.014.05.00.0
2004 Western Bulldogs 32208180109289106320.00.48.25.013.14.81.5
2005 Western Bulldogs 3162651153915458331.60.37.22.49.63.62.1
2006 Western Bulldogs 324281619297289113381.20.78.04.012.04.71.6
2007 Western Bulldogs 35423615512270.80.47.23.010.24.41.4
Career 341 554 374 3476 1538 5014 2003 466 1.6 1.1 10.2 4.5 14.7 5.9 1.4

References
  1. Daffey, Paul (13 June 2012). "Dogs' humble champ". Archived from the original on 19 October 2012.
  2. Edmund, Sam (18 June 2008). "Champions call for update to Brownlow reprimand ruling". Herald Sun. Retrieved 12 July 2011.
  3. The Age 14 May 1997
  4. Whiting, Michael (11 April 2016). "Dogs can learn from history on Murphy injury". Australian Football League. Retrieved 22 June 2020.
  5. Pierik, Jon (11 April 2016). "AFL 2016: 'I felt the pop,' says Bob Murphy". Redland City Bulletin. Retrieved 22 June 2020.
  6. Len Johnson, The Age (21 April 2005). "Grant's grand regret".
  7. AAP (2 October 2007). "Chris Grant announces retirement". Archived from the original on 6 July 2011.
  8. "Isabella Grant to join AFLW Bulldogs". Western Bulldogs. 11 October 2019. Retrieved 5 February 2020.
  9. Chris Grant's player profile at AFL Tables
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