Tom McDonald (Australian footballer)

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Tom McDonald
Tom McDonald 2018.5.jpg
McDonald playing in August 2018.
Personal information
Full name Thomas McDonald
Date of birth (1992-09-18) 18 September 1992 (age 29)
Original team(s) North Ballarat (TAC Cup)
Draft No. 53, 2010 national draft
Debut Round 23, 2011, Melbourne
vs. Gold Coast, at MCG
Height 194 cm (6 ft 4 in)
Weight 99 kg (218 lb)
Position(s) Full-forward / Centre half-back
Club information
Current club Melbourne
Number 25
Playing career1
Years Club Games (Goals)
2011– Melbourne 192 (140)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 2021.
Career highlights
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

Thomas McDonald (born 18 September 1992) is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the Melbourne Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). 1.94 metres (6 ft 4 in) tall and weighing 100 kilograms (220 lb), McDonald is a key position player who can play both forward and defence. He spent his final junior year playing in the TAC Cup for the North Ballarat Rebels and played top-level football when he played two matches for North Ballarat in the Victorian Football League (VFL). He was recruited by the Melbourne Football Club with the fifty-third overall selection in the 2010 AFL draft and made his AFL debut during the 2011 season. His second year saw him earn a Rising Star nomination playing in Melbourne's backline, and finished sixth overall. He has since become Melbourne's main key defender and has finished in the top ten of the club's best and fairest in every season he's played, apart from 2011 where he played just two matches.

Early life[]

Growing up in Edenhope, Victoria, McDonald attended Edenhope College before moving to Ballarat to board at St Patrick's College for year twelve.[1] He played for the North Ballarat Rebels in the TAC Cup in 2010 as a key forward[2] and played two matches for the North Ballarat Football Club seniors in the Victorian Football League (VFL) in mid-2010.[3]

AFL career[]

2011–2014: Early career[]

McDonald was recruited by the Melbourne Football Club with their fourth selection and fifty-third overall in the 2010 national draft.[4] After playing in the 2011 NAB Cup,[5] he spent the majority of the season playing in the Victorian Football League (VFL) for Melbourne's affiliate team, the Casey Scorpions.[3] He made his AFL debut in the thirty point win against Gold Coast at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in round twenty-three where he recorded eighteen disposals, six marks, six rebound-50s and four tackles, playing as a backman,[6] and he was named in the best players by AFL Media[7] and The Age.[8] He maintained his spot in the team the next week for the final match of the year in the eight point loss against Port Adelaide at the Adelaide Oval, to finish with two matches for the year.[9]

After a strong pre-season in 2012 where McDonald's endurance was highlighted,[10] he played his first match for the year in the 108-point loss to West Coast at Patersons Stadium in round two where he was a late inclusion.[11] He spent the season playing as the full back where he played on some of the competitions best full-forwards including St Kilda's Nick Riewoldt, Geelong's Tom Hawkins and Collingwood's Travis Cloke.[12] After playing on Jonathon Patton in the seventy-eight point win against Greater Western Sydney at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in round thirteen he was named the round nominee for the Rising Star where he recorded twenty-six disposals, four marks and three tackles.[13] He missed his first match of the year in round fifteen after he suffered from a bleeding lung as a result of a collision during the sixty-one point loss against Brisbane the previous week.[14] He returned for the round sixteen match against Fremantle at Etihad Stadium and played the remainder of the year to finish with twenty matches for the season.[15] His performances during the year earned him a third-place finish in Melbourne's best and fairest count, behind Nathan Jones and Jack Grimes,[16] and the Harold Ball Memorial Trophy as Melbourne's best young player.[17] Furthermore, he finished sixth in the Rising Star award.[18]

After the departure of defender, Jared Rivers, McDonald played a more prominent role in Melbourne's backline during the 2013 season.[19] He played his first match of the year in the 148-point loss against Essendon at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in round two[20] and played the next four matches before missing four weeks due to a shoulder injury.[21] He returned to the side for the eighty-three point loss against Collingwood in the annual Queen's Birthday clash in round eleven.[22] He did not miss a match for the remainder of the season to finish with seventeen matches for the year[9] and a tenth-place finish in Melbourne's best and fairest count.[23]

The 2014 season saw McDonald play in round one for the first time in his career when he played in the seventeen point loss against St Kilda at Etihad Stadium.[24] He played his fiftieth AFL match in the thirty-three point loss against Collingwood in the Queen's Birthday match in round twelve.[25] After playing every match up to round fourteen, he was forced to miss the round fifteen match due to a calf injury,[26] but returned the next week for the sixty-three point loss against Fremantle at TIO Stadium.[27] In the final round match against North Melbourne, he kicked his first and second career goals within a minute of each other, both were set up in near identical ways, with McDonald marking inside fifty after teammate, Dean Kent kicked to him.[28] He played twenty-one matches for the season, resulting in a seventh-place finish in Melbourne's best and fairest.[29]

2015–2016: Emergence as the main defender at Melbourne[]

McDonald at training in July 2015

After introducing a more offensive style into the way his game,[30] McDonald opened the 2015 AFL season with a team-high twenty-six disposals in the twenty-six point win against Gold Coast[31] and was named in the best players.[32] The departure of James Frawley, saw McDonald emerge as the number one defender at Melbourne[33] and he was highly praised in the first half of the season where he was compared to the 2014 All-Australian centre half-back, Alex Rance, with Herald Sun journalist, Sam Landsberger debating whether McDonald's season was better than Rance's.[34] He was labelled as Melbourne's most improved player[35] and was named as a potential All-Australian.[36][37] After his direct opponent, Travis Cloke, kicked seven goals in the Queen's Birthday clash, McDonald found himself lose form and he was moved into the forward line to help regain his confidence.[38] He spent the second half of the year playing in both the forward and back line,[39] which drew the praise of both then-senior coach Paul Roos and backline coach, Jade Rawlings, for his versatility.[40][41] He played every match for the year,[42] which earned him a third-place finish in Melbourne's best and fairest.[43]

On the eve of the 2016 season, McDonald was named in Melbourne's leadership group.[44] Due to finish the season out-of-contract, speculation surrounded his season as to whether he would re-sign with the club.[45][46][47] He ultimately re-signed with the club in August on a two-year deal, tying him to Melbourne until the end of the 2018 season.[48] The round sixteen match against Fremantle at TIO Stadium in a thirty-two point win saw McDonald record a career-high thirty-one disposals, ten marks, and six rebound-50s, which earned him the centre half-back position in AFL Media's team of the week.[49] He played his 100th AFL match in the two-point win against Gold Coast at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in round nineteen.[50] He played every match during the year and finished sixth in Melbourne's best and fairest count.[51]

2017–Present: Melbourne's key forward, leading goalkicker[]

Following Max Gawn's early season hamstring injury, McDonald was redeployed as a back-up ruckman to assist the undersized Cameron Pedersen. McDonald also played as a wingman, where he could apply his elite running capacity. Playing in this role, McDonald was awarded three Brownlow votes for amassing 26 disposals, twelve marks and a goal against the Essendon Bombers in round 5. With the loss of key forward Jesse Hogan due to health issues, McDonald was later moved forward during the second half of Melbourne's upset victory against the Adelaide Crows where he kicked two early goals in the third quarter as Melbourne defeated the Crows by 41 points. McDonald's move forward eventuated in a match winning performance against the West Coast Eagles round 14 where McDonald kicked five goals, including the matchwinner; a miraculous snap in the dying seconds as he was tackled by Jeremy McGovern. McDonald finished with 23 goals for the season after kicking eight in total during his previous six seasons at the club, with his contested marking and aerobic capacity demonstrating that he could play as a key forward despite playing as a defender for his career to date.

Following his breakout in the forward line during the previous season, it was believed that McDonald would continue in his newfound role while assisting in the ruck when required. However, a niggling toe injury during the following pre-season kept McDonald sidelined for the opening five rounds of the 2018 AFL season, before he finally returned with two goals and 16 disposals in a 36 point win against Essendon. In a six week streak between rounds 6 and 11 where Melbourne won all of their matches, McDonald made a successful and dynamic return to Melbourne's forward half, highlighted by a 24 touch, four goals best on ground performance against the Western Bulldogs in Round 11. During the 2018 Queen's Birthday match, McDonald kicked a career high six goals as Melbourne lost to Collingwood by 42 points. Mid-way through the season, McDonald signed with the Demons for a further four years. By the end of the season, Melbourne qualified for their first finals campaign in 12 years. McDonald played a key role in Melbourne's 33 point Semi-Final win against Hawthorn, kicking a match high four goals as Melbourne triumphed to the tune of 33 points. Following Melbourne's loss to West Coast in the preliminary final the following week, McDonald had amassed a total of 53 goals for the season, the most since any Melbourne player since Brad Green's 55 goal haul in 2010.

Views and personal life[]

In 2021 McDonald commented that he thought it was ‘ethical wrong’ for the AFL to mandate that AFL players be vaccinated against COVID to play.[52] He subsequently was criticised by some in the media for this view.[53]

McDonald has previously appeared on a podcast for the right-wing ‘think tank’, the Institute of Public Affairs.[54]

Statistics[]

Statistics are correct to the end of the 2021 season [9]
Legend
 G  Goals  K  Kicks  D  Disposals  T  Tackles
 B  Behinds  H  Handballs  M  Marks
AFL playing statistics
Season Team No. Games Totals Averages (per game) Votes
G B K H D M T G B K H D M T
2011 Melbourne 43 2 0 1 16 12 28 9 4 0.0 0.5 8.0 6.0 14.0 4.5 2.0 0
2012 Melbourne 25 20 0 1 161 171 332 94 40 0.0 0.1 8.1 8.6 16.6 4.7 2.0 0
2013 Melbourne 25 17 0 1 142 134 276 72 34 0.0 0.1 8.4 7.9 16.2 4.2 2.0 0
2014 Melbourne 25 21 2 0 195 118 313 101 35 0.1 0.0 9.3 5.6 14.9 4.8 1.7 0
2015 Melbourne 25 22 5 4 268 149 417 155 44 0.2 0.2 12.2 6.8 19.0 7.0 2.0 0
2016 Melbourne 25 22 1 0 258 155 413 148 36 0.0 0.0 11.7 7.0 18.8 6.7 1.6 0
2017 Melbourne 25 22 23 7 227 161 388 139 53 1.0 0.3 10.3 7.3 17.6 6.3 2.4 9
2018 Melbourne 25 20 53 20 189 121 310 134 47 2.7 1.0 9.5 6.1 15.5 6.7 2.4 4
2019 Melbourne 25 15 18 15 128 77 205 65 23 1.2 1.0 8.5 5.1 13.7 4.3 1.5 6
2020[a] Melbourne 25 9 7 1 50 27 77 29 16 0.8 0.1 5.5 3.0 8.5 3.2 1.7 0
2021#[b] Melbourne 25 23 33 22 217 105 322 122 51 1.4 1.0 9.4 4.6 14.0 5.3 2.2 8
Career 192 140 72 1847 1226 3073 1064 379 0.7 0.4 9.6 6.4 16.0 5.5 2.0 27

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.
  2. ^ Statistics include one game in which McDonald was substituted out of the game due to injury (round 20).

Honours and achievements[]

Team

Individual

External links[]

References[]

  1. ^ Whelan, Melanie (17 November 2010). "Ballarat's AFL draft hopefuls: Tom McDonald". The Courier. Fairfax Media. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
  2. ^ "Rebels defeated by 2pts in "Game Of Two Halves"". BFL.VCFL.com.au. 12 July 2010. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
  3. ^ a b "Player Profile–Thomas McDonald". VFL.com.au. Fox Sports Pulse. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
  4. ^ McDermott, Josh. "Ballarat footballers bound for the big time". ABC Online. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
  5. ^ Burgan, Matt; Carroll, Lynda (4 July 2011). "Q&A with Tom McDonald". MelbourneFC.com.au. Bigpond. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
  6. ^ Hanlon, Peter (26 August 2011). "Watson, Welsh given all clear for clash with Port". The Age. Fairfax Media. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
  7. ^ Edwards, Nat; Belkin, Murray (28 August 2011). "Demons find voice". AFLcom.au. Bigpond. Archived from the original on 10 October 2012. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
  8. ^ Hanlon, Peter (29 August 2011). "Red and blue seeing Green". The Age. Fairfax Media. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
  9. ^ a b c "Tom McDonald". AFL Tables. Retrieved 30 August 2014.
  10. ^ Clark, John (15 December 2011). "The summer slog: foxsports.com.au checks in with each of the 18 AFL clubs ahead of the 2012 season". Fox Sports (Australia). News Corp Australia. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
  11. ^ Quayle, Emma (22 June 2012). "Young Demon on the rise". The Age. Fairfax Media. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
  12. ^ Smart, Nick (26 June 2012). "Tom McDonald of the Melbourne Demons a real Rising Star". News.com.au. News Corp Australia. Retrieved 26 June 2012.
  13. ^ Holmesby, Luke (26 June 2012). "McDonald warms to his task". AFL.com.au. Bigpond. Retrieved 26 June 2012.
  14. ^ Stafford, Andrew (2 July 2012). "Demon in hospital with bleeding lung". The Age. Fairfax Media. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
  15. ^ "Round 16 AFL teams: Essendon loses Paddy Ryder". News.com.au. News Corp Australia. 12 July 2012. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
  16. ^ Anderson, Jon (14 September 2012). "Melbourne midfielder Nathan Jones wins Demons best and fairest". Herald Sun. News Corp Australia. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
  17. ^ Hogan, Jesse (14 September 2012). "Tireless Demon wins top honour". The Age. Fairfax Media. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
  18. ^ Lovett, Michael, ed. (February 2015). AFL Record Season Guide 2015. Melbourne, Victoria: AFL Media. p. 606.
  19. ^ Hogan, Jesse (4 October 2012). "Dees pin faith in rising defender". The Age. Fairfax Media. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
  20. ^ Hogan, Jesse (4 April 2013). "Demons cut fringe recruits following Port thrashing". The Age. Fairfax Media. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
  21. ^ Murnane, Matt (4 June 2013). "Loss of Frawley adds to Melbourne's woes". The Age. Fairfax Media. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
  22. ^ "AFL Round 11 Teams". Triple M. 6 June 2013. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
  23. ^ Guthrie, Ben (5 September 2013). "Jones claims second best and fairest". AFL.com.au. Bigpond. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
  24. ^ "2014 AFL round one teams". The Age. Fairfax Media. 20 March 2014. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
  25. ^ "Melbourne vs. Collingwood round 12 2014". AFL Tables. 9 June 2014. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
  26. ^ Guthrie, Ben (27 June 2014). "Tom McDonald set to miss clash with Bulldogs". AFL.com.au. Bigpond. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
  27. ^ Higgins, Ben (3 July 2014). "Round 16 teams: Sam Mitchell and Anthony Morabito return while Lenny Hayes is injured". Herald Sun. News Corp Australia. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
  28. ^ Niall, Jake (30 August 2014). "North tunes up with victory over improved Dees". The Age. Fairfax Media. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
  29. ^ Ralph, Jon (4 September 2014). "Melbourne skipper Nathan Jones wins third best and fairest award, Dom Tyson and Bernie Vince follow". Herald Sun. News Corp Australia. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
  30. ^ Burgan, Matt (5 March 2015). "Big gains made this pre-season: McDonald". MelbourneFC.com.au. Bigpond. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
  31. ^ Australian Associated Press (4 April 2015). "AFL: New-look Demons stun Suns". The Australian. News Corp Australia. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
  32. ^ Schmook, Nathan (4 April 2015). "Opening round Dee-light as Melbourne stuns Gold Coast". AFL.com.au. Bigpond. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
  33. ^ Schmook, Nathan (18 April 2015). "'Two-way' McDonald making great strides in 2015". AFL.com.au. Bigpond. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
  34. ^ Landsberger, Sam (23 April 2015). "Tom McDonald raising profile after excellent start to season in Melbourne's defence". Herald Sun. News Corp Australia. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
  35. ^ Ryan, Peter (10 June 2015). "Who's most improved at your club?". AFL.com.au. Bigpond. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
  36. ^ Higgins, Ben (17 June 2015). "AFL 2015: Who is your club's leading man in intercepts and launching counter-attack". Herald Sun. News Corp Australia. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
  37. ^ Bilton, Dean (25 June 2015). "The mid-season AFL All Australian team features plenty of new faces among older heads". ABC Online. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
  38. ^ Guthrie, Ben (20 July 2015). "Demon goes forward to attack the blues". AFL.com.au. Bigpond. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
  39. ^ Burgan, Matt (19 July 2015). "McDonald provides new-found flexibility". MelbourneFC.com.au. Bigpond. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
  40. ^ Burgan, Matt (11 July 2015). "Roos praises McDonald's effort up forward". MelbourneFC.com.au. Bigpond. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
  41. ^ Burgan, Matt (23 July 2015). "Rawlings praises duo's versatility". MelbourneFC.com.au. Bigpond. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
  42. ^ Lewis, Georgina; Burgan, Matt (11 November 2015). "McDonald set to match it with best again". MelbourneFC.com.au. Bigpond. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
  43. ^ Pierik, Jon (12 September 2015). "Bernie Vince into history as Dees' best". The Age. Fairfax Media. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
  44. ^ Morris, Tom (10 March 2016). "Melbourne announces entire 2015 leadership group, except for skipper Nathan Jones, has changed". Fox Sports (Australia). News Corp Australia. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
  45. ^ Ralph, Jon (28 February 2016). "Tom McDonald in no hurry to start contract talks with Melbourne". Herald Sun. News Corp Australia. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
  46. ^ Guthrie, Ben (10 June 2016). "Tom McDonald in no rush to ink new Demons deal". AFL.com.au. Bigpond. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
  47. ^ Di Giorgio, Giulio (1 August 2016). "Dees coach expects out-of-contract defender to stay". AFL.com.au. Bigpond. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
  48. ^ Clark, Jay (10 August 2016). "Tom McDonald re-signs with Melbourne, along with brother Oscar". Herald Sun. News Corp Australia. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
  49. ^ Curley, Adam (12 July 2016). "Team of the week: round 16". AFL.com.au. Bigpond. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
  50. ^ Navaratnam, Dinny (29 July 2016). "Big task for 100-game Demon in milestone clash". AFL.com.au. Bigpond. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
  51. ^ Pierik, Jon (7 September 2016). "Jack Viney claims Melbourne Demons best and fairest award". The Age. Fairfax Media. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
  52. ^ "Vaccinated AFL player against mandatory COVID jabs as AFLW player tests positive". ABC News. 18 October 2021.
  53. ^ Matthey, James (19 October 2021). "Furious backlash to AFL star's vaccine claim". News.com.au — Australia's Leading News Site.
  54. ^ "The Young IPA Podcast – Episode 100 with Tom McDonald and John Roskam". 12 March 2019.
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