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Will Ashcroft
Ashcroft in 2022
Personal information
Date of birth (2004-05-06) 6 May 2004 (age 20)
Place of birth Gold Coast, Queensland
Original team(s) Brisbane Lions(VFL)/Sandringham Dragons (NAB League) / Brighton Grammar (APS) / Southport (QAFL) / Broadbeach (QAFL)
Draft No. 2 (F/S), 2022 national draft
Debut Round 1, 2023, Brisbane Lions vs. Port Adelaide, at Adelaide Oval
Height 182 cm (6 ft 0 in)
Weight 76 kg (168 lb)
Position(s) Midfielder
Club information
Current club Brisbane Lions
Number 8
Playing career1
Years Club Games (Goals)
2023– Brisbane Lions 31 (11)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 2024.
Career highlights
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

Will Ashcroft (born 6 May 2004) is an Australian rules footballer playing for the Brisbane Lions Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He was taken as pick number 2, under the father–son rule. Ashcroft is a premiership player and Norm Smith Medallist, claiming both distinctions in Brisbane's 2024 premiership victory against the Sydney Swans.

Ashcroft began playing football as a child at the age of six. The son of Marcus Ashcroft, a three-time AFL premiership player, Ashcroft's talent as a footballer was identified by the Gold Coast Suns Football Club at the age of ten. He played for various teams in Queensland as a child, before moving to Melbourne in 2019 at the age of 15 where he commenced playing for the Sandringham Dragons. During his time with the Sandringham Dragons, Ashcroft was promoted to captain and received the Larke Medal for best player at the national championships.

At the 2022 AFL Draft, Ashcroft was chosen to play for the Brisbane Lions. Ashcroft was widely considered the best player in the 2022 draft class by AFL club recruiters.

Early life

[edit]

Ashcroft was born on 6 May 2004 on the Gold Coast, to parents Rebekah and Marcus Ashcroft.[1][2] He has two siblings,[3] one of which is fellow professional footballer Levi Ashcroft.

Ashcroft attended All Saints Anglican School for most of his youth.[4] His father Marcus Ashcroft, is a three-time AFL premiership player who competed in 318 games for the Brisbane Bears/Lions over the course of his 15-year professional career.[5] His great uncle is former Melbourne Demons player John Townsend, who was part of their 1964 premiership team.

Ashcroft played a variety of sports while growing up on the Gold Coast and was selected to represent Queensland in swimming as well as athletics before focusing on Australian rules football.[6] He played junior football from a young age, and was at 10 years old selected by the Gold Coast Suns to take part in their academy program.[6]

Ashcroft has stated that his personal training standards were inspired by Gary Ablett Jr. and Touk Miller.[7] At 11 years of age, he switched clubs and began playing for Southport in the under-14s Gold Coast AFL competition. Several years later he represented Queensland at the 2018 U15 AFL National Championships, where his performances earned him All-Australian honours as a bottom-ager.[8] He was also awarded the Gold Coast Suns under-14s Academy Player of the Year award after the 2018 season[9] where he played alongside future AFL players Jed Walter, Ethan Read, Jake Rogers and Will Graham.[10] Ashcroft relocated to Melbourne in 2019 where he began attending Brighton Grammar and once again competed in the U15 AFL National Championships, although this time he would captain Victoria to an undefeated gold medal performance.[11]

Ashcroft temporarily moved back to Queensland in 2020 to play in the QAFL junior league for Morningside during the COVID-19 pandemic-affected year which cancelled all junior football competitions within Victoria.[12] In 2021, after moving back to Victoria, Ashcroft was deemed a top draft prospect after performing well for Victoria Metro in the U17 National Championships.[13] Despite spending most of his childhood on the Gold Coast and five years in the Suns academy, the AFL ruled in April 2021 that Ashcroft was ineligible to be academy-drafted by the Gold Coast Suns.[14]

In 2022, Ashcroft captained the Sandringham Dragons to a NAB League premiership and Victoria Metro to an U18 National Championship, later receiving the captaincy honour in the U18 All-Australian team as well as the Larke Medal.[15] After finishing his Victorian Certificate of Education at Brighton Grammar toward the end of 2021, he began studying commerce and sport management at Deakin University.[16]

AFL career

[edit]

Ashcroft was nominated as a father–son selection for the Brisbane Lions in the 2022 AFL draft, and was accepted as Pick 2 after the Brisbane Lions matched North Melbourne's bid.[17] He since agreed to remain with the Brisbane Lions until at least the end of the 2026 season.[18] Ashcroft made his AFL debut in Round 1 against Port Adelaide, gathering 13 disposals and a goal in a 54-point defeat. In Round 2, Ashcroft collected 31 disposals against Melbourne and received a Rising Star nomination as one of the best players on the ground in only his second game, earning widespread praise from the AFL media and community.

In Round 19, Ashcroft ruptured his ACL against the Geelong Cats, ending his debut season prematurely and therefore missing the 2023 finals series. The AFL community all widely expressed their support for Ashcroft, who was the Rising Star favourite and had been a standout player for Brisbane despite it being his debut season. He documented his recovery process through his website, WASH Performance and Wellbeing.

Ashcroft's was nominated for and won the Goal of the Year, announced at the 2023 Brownlow Medal. He finished the year with 10 Brownlow votes, the third-most for the Lions, finishing behind Joe Daniher with 12, and Lachie Neale, who won the award with 31.

He returned from his ACL injury mid-way through the 2024 season, returning against Melbourne in Round 16 and playing a crucial role in the Lions' mid-season resurgence that saw them bounce back from a below-average season start to make finals with a fifth-place finish. Ashcroft would be instrumental in the Lions finals run, and was part of the Brisbane Lions 2024 premiership winning team,[19] winning the Norm Smith Medal as best afield in the Grand Final with 30 disposals and a goal.[20]

Statistics

[edit]

Updated to the end of the 2024 season[21]

Legend
  G  
 Goals
  K  
 Kicks
  D  
 Disposals 
  T  
 Tackles
  B  
 Behinds 
  H  
 Handballs 
  M  
 Marks
  #  
 Played in that season's 
premiership team
Season Team No. Games Totals Averages (per game) Votes
G B K H D M T G B K H D M T
2023 Brisbane Lions 8 18 8 6 200 198 398 61 63 0.4 0.3 11.1 11.0 22.1 3.4 3.5 10
2024# Brisbane Lions 8 13 3 8 166 131 297 67 33 0.2 0.6 12.8 10.1 22.9 5.2 2.5 0
Career 31 11 14 366 329 695 128 96 0.4 0.5 11.8 10.6 22.4 4.1 3.1 10

Honours and achievements

[edit]

Team

Individual

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Brisbane Lions father-son prospect Will Ashcroft makes early claim to be AFL's No.1 draft pick". Fox Sports. 2 May 2022. Retrieved 10 October 2022.
  2. ^ "Will Ashcroft". afl.com.au. Retrieved 15 December 2022.
  3. ^ Robbemond, Amanda (16 March 2017). "Coeliac disease: How Marcus Ashcroft's Gold Coast family live with gluten intolerance". The Gold Coast Bulletin. Retrieved 15 December 2022.
  4. ^ "Saints Alive: Middle/Senior Sport Updates". All Saints Anglican School. 20 April 2018. Retrieved 14 October 2022.
  5. ^ "Queensland Football Hall of Fame: Marcus Ashcroft (Legend)". AFL Queensland. 1 November 2020. Retrieved 16 October 2022.
  6. ^ a b Hamilton, Andrew (29 November 2014). "Will Ashcroft, son of Marcus, could be centre of tug of war between Brisbane Lions, Gold Coast". The Courier Mail. Retrieved 11 October 2022.
  7. ^ Waterworth, Ben (20 October 2022). "How ready-made pro with dream footy childhood became AFL's top prospect: Full Q&A". Fox Sports Australia. Retrieved 20 October 2022.
  8. ^ Cheadle, Josh (31 July 2018). "Four Academy members earn All-Australian honours". Gold Coast Suns. Retrieved 16 October 2022.
  9. ^ "2018 SUNS Academy Awards". Gold Coast Suns. 6 September 2018. Retrieved 15 October 2022.
  10. ^ "Long-time Suns fan inspired by Pies gun as he waits for draft call". AFL.com.au. 15 November 2023. Retrieved 11 March 2024.
  11. ^ "Ashcroft appointed Captain". Brighton Grammar School. 27 August 2019. Retrieved 18 October 2022.
  12. ^ "Why 'dominant' father–son gun's 'big decision' will shape the AFL draft as Lions face (positive) problem". Fox Sports Australia. 18 July 2022. Retrieved 24 November 2022.
  13. ^ Sheehan, Kevin (27 June 2021). "U17 CHAMPS: Son of three-peat Lion stars as Metro roars past Country". Retrieved 16 October 2022.
  14. ^ "Lions win crosstown battle for access to son of triple premiership star". AFL.com.au. 14 April 2021. Retrieved 11 October 2022.
  15. ^ Mottram, Seb (18 September 2022). "Hype surrounding Lions father-son booms after huge Grand Final outing". www.sen.com.au. Retrieved 10 October 2022.
  16. ^ Cavanagh, Chris (12 March 2022). "AFL draft news: Potential No.1 pick Will Ashcroft yet to decide on Brisbane father-son nomination". The Herald Sun. Retrieved 10 October 2022.
  17. ^ "AFL Draft 2022 live: Aaron Cadman goes No. 1, Will Ashcroft No. 2". news.com.au. 28 November 2022. Retrieved 28 November 2022.
  18. ^ "Will Ashcroft would be proud to call his brother Levi a Brisbane Lions teammate". news.com.au. 12 August 2022. Retrieved 30 October 2022.
  19. ^ "Lion Kings: Fagan's heroes thrash Swans in GF shock". AFL. 28 September 2024.
  20. ^ "Where there's a Will: Prodigious Lion wins Norm Smith". AFL.com.au. 28 September 2024.
  21. ^ "AFL Tables – Will Ashcroft". AFL Tables. Retrieved 30 September 2024.
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