Brad Sheppard

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Brad Sheppard
Brad Sheppard 2019.2.jpg
Sheppard playing for West Coast in July 2019
Personal information
Full name Bradley Sheppard
Date of birth (1991-05-23) 23 May 1991 (age 30)
Original team(s) East Fremantle Football Club, WAFL
Draft 7th overall pick, 2009
West Coast
Height 189 cm (6 ft 2 in)
Weight 73 kg (161 lb)
Position(s) Defender
Playing career1
Years Club Games (Goals)
2010–2021 West Coast 216 (19)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 2021.
Career highlights
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

Bradley Sheppard (born 23 May 1991) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the West Coast Eagles in the Australian Football League (AFL). He was selected seventh overall in the 2009 National Draft.

Early Career[]

Sheppard was born Perth, Western Australia and attended Wesley College. He represented Western Australia at the National AFL U18 Championships in both 2008, when he was ineligible to be drafted, and again in 2009, his draft year. In 2009, he played 15 games at WAFL League level with the East Fremantle Football Club and was also awarded a position in the Under 18 All-Australian as a back pocket for his performance at the 2009 AFL U18 Championships. Sheppard was invited to and attended the annual AFL Draft Camp at the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra in October 2009 and tested in the top 10 in the 20 m sprint (=10th, 2.96s) and 6x30m repeat sprints (24.69s) out of those that attended.

He has represented Western Australia in cricket at under-17 level and is related to the Australian cricketing Marsh family, with Geoff Marsh as an uncle and cousins Shaun and Mitchell Marsh.[1]

AFL Career[]

Sheppard made his debut for the West Coast Eagles against Hawthorn in round 7, 2010. He was on the end of a dangerous tackle from Hawthorn's Chance Bateman which saw him suspended for two weeks.

In 2015, he was named the club's player of the finals after an impressive campaign which saw the Eagles make the Grand Final, ultimately losing to a rampant Hawthorn. Sheppard was one of the best in the deciding match.

In Round 17 of the 2018 Season, Sheppard played his 150th match against the Fremantle Dockers.[2]

In the first week of the 2018 Finals series, Sheppard suffered a season-ending hamstring injury and subsequently missed playing in the 2018 AFL Grand Final which was won by West Coast.[3] Sheppard bounced back the next two seasons, making the All Australian squad in 2019, Sheppard made the final cut in 2020 being selected as a defender in the All-Australian team.

Sheppard suffered two major concussions in 2021, the first a serious head collision with Carlton’s Adam Saad in Round 12, the other in Round 22 against Fremantle suffering delayed concussion after landing head first on concrete after falling over a fence at Optus Stadium, Sheppard was force to miss games the following week from both incidents. In December of that year, Sheppard, still suffering ongoing symptoms from the two head knocks, was forced into retirement after receiving medical advice that if he would continued to play he would risk more damage to himself.[4]

Playing style[]

Sheppard is a versatile medium-sized player that has primarily played as a defender, but has also demonstrated ability at playing midfield and half forward roles. He is considered a well-rounded young player with good ball carrying ability, neat and reliable foot skills, fine decision making ability, strong work-ethic and athleticism (speed and endurance) as strengths.[5]

Statistics[]

Statistics are correct to the end of the 2021 season[6]
Legend
 G  Goals  K  Kicks  D  Disposals  T  Tackles
 B  Behinds  H  Handballs  M  Marks
 †  Led the league
for the season
Season Team No. Games Totals Averages (per game)
G B K H D M T G B K H D M T
2010
 West Coast 12 14 2 6 118 90 208 42 31 0.1 0.4 8.4 6.4 14.9 3.0 2.2
2011
 West Coast 12 6 1 0 48 26 74 17 22 0.2 0.0 8.0 4.3 12.3 2.8 3.7
2012
 West Coast 5 12 6 3 98 58 156 47 24 0.5 0.3 8.2 4.8 13.0 3.9 2.0
2013
 West Coast 5 13 3 4 97 57 154 37 31 0.2 0.3 7.5 4.4 11.9 2.6 2.4
2014
 West Coast 5 14 0 1 162 72 234 57 34 0.0 0.1 11.6 5.1 16.7 4.1 2.4
2015
 West Coast 5 25 3 4 264 163 427 141 39 0.1 0.2 10.6 6.5 17.1 5.6 1.6
2016
 West Coast 5 23 1 2 207 167 374 110 48 0.0 0.1 9.0 7.3 16.3 4.8 2.1
2017
 West Coast 5 24 1 0 188 169 357 99 71 0.0 0.0 7.8 7.0 14.9 4.1 3.0
2018
 West Coast 5 23 0 1 253 120 373 148 53 0.0 0.0 11.0 5.2 16.2 6.4 2.3
2019
 West Coast 5 24 0 2 324 139 463 188† 37 0.0 0.1 13.5 5.8 19.3 7.8 1.5
2020[a] West Coast 5 18 2 0 194 92 286 112 34 0.1 0.0 10.8 5.1 15.9 6.2 1.9
2021
 West Coast 5 20 0 0 220 127 347 129 32 0.0 0.0 11.0 6.4 17.4 6.5 1.6
Career 216 19 23 2173 2544 3453 1127 456 0.1 0.1 10.1 5.9 16.0 5.2 2.1

Notes

  1. ^ The 2020 season was played with 17 home-and-away matches per team (down from 22) and 16-minute quarters with time on (down from 20-minute quarters with time on) due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

References[]

  1. ^ Duffield, Mark (21 May 2010). "Sheppard and Marsh recall backyard battleground". The West Australian. Retrieved 13 August 2011.
  2. ^ Sheppard reflects on 150 games - westcoasteagles.com.au, retrieved 13 November 2018
  3. ^ "Gutted Eagle opens up on injury". PerthNow. 11 September 2018. Retrieved 13 November 2018.
  4. ^ "Sheppard retires amid concussion battle". The West Australian. 7 December 2021. Retrieved 7 December 2021.
  5. ^ All the facts, figures and background for this year's AFL national draft prospects - FOX SPORTS
  6. ^ "Bradley Sheppard of the West Coast Eagles Career AFL Stats". footywire.com. Retrieved 10 October 2015.

External links[]

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