The 2008 season was the 112th completed season of the Australian Football League (AFL), the highest-level Australian rules football competition in Australia. There were 84 players who first participated in an AFL premiership match during the 2008 season. [2] [3] The regular season commenced on 20 March and concluded with the AFL Grand Final on 27 September, where the premiership was won by Hawthorn. [4] This year celebrated the 150th anniversary of the establishment of Australian football as a sport in 1858. [5]
The premiership season is inclusive of home-and-away and finals series matches only, and does not include pre-season matches or representative games (such as State of Origin or International rules football). [6] Of those making their AFL debut, there were 17 rookie-listed players who were elevated to their clubs' senior list during the season. [7] Rookie players receive a reduced salary in comparison to senior-listed players, and are not necessarily automatically eligible for selection in games, unless they are elevated. [8]
In addition to those players making their debuts, there were 25 players who played their first game with a new AFL club after previously having played with another club in the league. [2] [9] Notably, former West Coast captain Chris Judd played his first game for Carlton in the first round of the season, after being traded in the preceding off-season. [10] [11] Cyril Rioli played every game for Hawthorn in the 2008 season, playing a total of 25 games (including the Grand Final)—the most of any debut player that year. [1] Jack Anthony scored the most goals out of first-year players in 2008, attaining 25 goals in his 12 matches. [12]
Club | AFL debuts | Change of club |
---|---|---|
Adelaide | 6 | 2 |
Brisbane Lions | 7 | 1 |
Carlton | 6 | 2 |
Collingwood | 5 | 1 |
Essendon | 8 | 0 |
Fremantle | 4 | 2 |
Geelong | 3 | 0 |
Hawthorn | 5 | 1 |
Melbourne | 7 | 0 |
North Melbourne | 6 | 2 |
Port Adelaide | 6 | 0 |
Richmond | 1 | 3 |
St Kilda | 4 | 5 |
Sydney | 6 | 2 |
West Coast | 8 | 1 |
Western Bulldogs | 2 | 3 |
Total | 84 | 25 |
Age | Player's age as of debut |
---|---|
Round | Round when player's first premiership match occurred |
Games | The number of games played in 2008 |
Goals | The number of goals scored in 2008 |
† | Denotes player who was elevated from club's rookie list [7] |
Rd. | Name | Club | Age | Games | Goals | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Jake Edwards | Carlton | 20 years, 74 days | 5 | 4 | [24] |
Paul Stewart | Port Adelaide | 20 years, 254 days | 11 | 1 | [25] | |
Trent West | Geelong | 20 years, 155 days | 6 | 1 | [26] | |
Nathan Brown | Collingwood | 19 years, 96 days | 23 | 4 | [27] | |
Craig Bird | Sydney | 19 years, 61 days | 21 | 8 | [28] | |
Jarryn Geary | St Kilda | 19 years, 273 days | 10 | 0 | [13] | |
David Mackay | Adelaide | 19 years, 242 days | 19 | 4 | [29] | |
Kurt Tippett | Adelaide | 20 years, 320 days | 19 | 17 | [30] | |
Cale Morton | Melbourne | 18 years, 65 days | 19 | 12 | [31] | |
Cyril Rioli | Hawthorn | 18 years, 253 days | 25 | 24 | [1] | |
Cameron Stokes † | Hawthorn | 18 years, 265 days | 9 | 6 | [32] | |
Isaac Weetra | Melbourne | 18 years, 25 days | 2 | 0 | [33] | |
Scott Thompson | North Melbourne | 21 years, 320 days | 6 | 0 | [14] | |
2 | Lachlan Henderson | Brisbane Lions | 18 years, 105 days | 8 | 3 | [34] |
Brad Ebert | West Coast | 17 years, 362 days | 15 | 5 | [15] | |
Chris Masten | West Coast | 18 years, 332 days | 9 | 1 | [16] | |
Chris Mayne | Fremantle | 19 years, 148 days | 17 | 10 | [35] | |
Rhys Palmer | Fremantle | 19 years, 45 days | 20 | 10 | [36] | |
Darren Pfeiffer | Carlton | 20 years, 183 days | 7 | 4 | [37] | |
Harry Taylor | Geelong | 21 years, 292 days | 21 | 3 | [38] | |
3 | Scott Selwood | West Coast | 18 years, 9 days | 9 | 2 | [39] |
Matthew Kreuzer | Carlton | 18 years, 328 days | 20 | 13 | [18] | |
Austin Wonaeamirri † | Melbourne | 19 years, 187 days | 18 | 24 | [40] | |
Jack Anthony | Collingwood | 20 years, 78 days | 12 | 25 | [12] | |
4 | Tayte Pears | Essendon | 18 years, 18 days | 5 | 2 | [41] |
Ben Ross | North Melbourne | 19 years, 204 days | 3 | 2 | [42] | |
Matthew Spangher | West Coast | 20 years, 355 days | 7 | 1 | [43] | |
5 | Nick Smith † | Sydney | 19 years, 312 days | 2 | 1 | [44] |
Clayton Hinkley | Fremantle | 19 years, 58 days | 5 | 2 | [45] | |
Jarrhan Jacky | Adelaide | 19 years, 14 days | 3 | 1 | [46] | |
6 | Sharrod Wellingham † | Collingwood | 19 years, 293 days | 12 | 4 | [47] |
Shane Mumford † | Geelong | 21 years, 295 days | 3 | 0 | [48] | |
Steven Browne | Carlton | 19 years, 85 days | 13 | 4 | [49] | |
James Polkinghorne | Brisbane Lions | 19 years, 97 days | 4 | 0 | [50] | |
Jesse White | Sydney | 20 years, 109 days | 2 | 0 | [51] | |
7 | David Ellard † | Carlton | 19 years, 50 days | 1 | 1 | [52] |
James Sellar | Adelaide | 19 years, 40 days | 1 | 0 | [53] | |
Josh Smith | North Melbourne | 22 years, 59 days | 2 | 0 | [54] | |
Jarrod Atkinson † | Essendon | 23 years, 73 days | 5 | 2 | [55] | |
Darcy Daniher | Essendon | 18 years, 226 days | 3 | 0 | [56] | |
David Myers | Essendon | 18 years, 309 days | 8 | 1 | [57] | |
8 | Trent Cotchin | Richmond | 18 years, 40 days | 15 | 9 | [19] |
Ryan Davis † | West Coast | 20 years, 355 days | 11 | 4 | [58] | |
Alan Obst † | North Melbourne | 20 years, 364 days | 3 | 0 | [59] | |
Shane Valenti † | Melbourne | 21 years, 110 days | 9 | 3 | [60] | |
9 | Tim Houlihan | West Coast | 19 years, 104 days | 8 | 0 | [61] |
Beau Wilkes † | West Coast | 22 years, 65 days | 14 | 1 | [62] | |
Josh Kennedy | Hawthorn | 19 years, 340 days | 3 | 0 | [63] | |
Jarryd Morton | Hawthorn | 19 years, 233 days | 8 | 0 | [64] | |
10 | Dennis Armfield | Carlton | 21 years, 161 days | 9 | 2 | [65] |
Gavin Urquhart | North Melbourne | 20 years, 13 days | 14 | 0 | [66] | |
11 | Tom Bellchambers | Essendon | 18 years, 334 days | 3 | 0 | [67] |
James Hawksley | Brisbane Lions | 19 years, 124 days | 4 | 0 | [68] | |
Callan Ward | Western Bulldogs | 18 years, 59 days | 6 | 2 | [20] | |
12 | Andy Otten | Adelaide | 19 years, 30 days | 2 | 0 | [69] |
Brent Renouf | Hawthorn | 20 years, 42 days | 8 | 0 | [70] | |
13 | Jarryd Allen | St Kilda | 20 years, 158 days | 4 | 0 | [71] |
Robert Eddy † | St Kilda | 20 years, 165 days | 13 | 3 | [72] | |
Ben McEvoy | St Kilda | 18 years, 354 days | 1 | 0 | [73] | |
Tom Collier | Brisbane Lions | 19 years, 88 days | 6 | 1 | [74] | |
14 | Stefan Martin | Melbourne | 21 years, 225 days | 8 | 0 | [75] |
Josh Head | Fremantle | 25 years, 83 days | 3 | 1 | [76] | |
15 | Todd Goldstein | North Melbourne | 20 years, 11 days | 3 | 2 | [77] |
16 | Bradd Dalziell | Brisbane Lions | 21 years, 126 days | 7 | 1 | [78] |
Matthew O'Dwyer † | Sydney | 19 years, 365 days | 2 | 1 | [79] | |
17 | Addam Maric | Melbourne | 18 years, 100 days | 5 | 2 | [80] |
18 | Scott Clouston † | Brisbane Lions | 21 years, 182 days | 2 | 1 | [81] |
Ryan Brabazon | Sydney | 21 years, 221 days | 1 | 0 | [82] | |
Patrick Veszpremi | Sydney | 18 years, 337 days | 6 | 9 | [83] | |
Mitchell Farmer | Port Adelaide | 19 years, 212 days | 3 | 0 | [84] | |
Nick Salter † | Port Adelaide | 21 years, 4 days | 2 | 3 | [85] | |
19 | Ryan Williams | Port Adelaide | 19 years, 304 days | 2 | 0 | [86] |
Chris Dawes | Collingwood | 20 years, 85 days | 6 | 5 | [87] | |
John McCarthy | Collingwood | 18 years, 264 days | 6 | 3 | [88] | |
Rhys Magin † | Essendon | 19 years, 159 days | 4 | 2 | [89] | |
20 | Matthew Westhoff | Port Adelaide | 20 years, 71 days | 3 | 3 | [90] |
Patrick Dangerfield | Adelaide | 18 years, 133 days | 2 | 0 | [91] | |
Tony Notte | West Coast | 18 years, 123 days | 2 | 0 | [92] | |
21 | Cale Hooker | Essendon | 19 years, 314 days | 2 | 0 | [93] |
Marlon Motlop | Port Adelaide | 18 years, 128 days | 2 | 1 | [94] | |
Pearce Hanley † | Brisbane Lions | 19 years, 282 days | 2 | 0 | [95] | |
22 | Sam Reid | Western Bulldogs | 18 years, 297 days | 1 | 0 | [96] |
Jack Grimes | Melbourne | 19 years, 112 days | 1 | 0 | [97] | |
John Williams | Essendon | 19 years, 328 days | 1 | 0 | [98] |
Round | Round when player's first premiership match occurred |
---|---|
Games | The number of games played in 2008 |
Goals | The number of goals scored in 2008 |
Previous club(s) |
Player's previous AFL clubs, with the yearspan of their appearances |
† | Denotes player who was elevated from club's rookie list |
Players are only included if they previously played a match with another AFL club. |
The 2008 season was the 112th completed season of the Australian Football League (AFL), the highest-level Australian rules football competition in Australia. There were 84 players who first participated in an AFL premiership match during the 2008 season. [2] [3] The regular season commenced on 20 March and concluded with the AFL Grand Final on 27 September, where the premiership was won by Hawthorn. [4] This year celebrated the 150th anniversary of the establishment of Australian football as a sport in 1858. [5]
The premiership season is inclusive of home-and-away and finals series matches only, and does not include pre-season matches or representative games (such as State of Origin or International rules football). [6] Of those making their AFL debut, there were 17 rookie-listed players who were elevated to their clubs' senior list during the season. [7] Rookie players receive a reduced salary in comparison to senior-listed players, and are not necessarily automatically eligible for selection in games, unless they are elevated. [8]
In addition to those players making their debuts, there were 25 players who played their first game with a new AFL club after previously having played with another club in the league. [2] [9] Notably, former West Coast captain Chris Judd played his first game for Carlton in the first round of the season, after being traded in the preceding off-season. [10] [11] Cyril Rioli played every game for Hawthorn in the 2008 season, playing a total of 25 games (including the Grand Final)—the most of any debut player that year. [1] Jack Anthony scored the most goals out of first-year players in 2008, attaining 25 goals in his 12 matches. [12]
Club | AFL debuts | Change of club |
---|---|---|
Adelaide | 6 | 2 |
Brisbane Lions | 7 | 1 |
Carlton | 6 | 2 |
Collingwood | 5 | 1 |
Essendon | 8 | 0 |
Fremantle | 4 | 2 |
Geelong | 3 | 0 |
Hawthorn | 5 | 1 |
Melbourne | 7 | 0 |
North Melbourne | 6 | 2 |
Port Adelaide | 6 | 0 |
Richmond | 1 | 3 |
St Kilda | 4 | 5 |
Sydney | 6 | 2 |
West Coast | 8 | 1 |
Western Bulldogs | 2 | 3 |
Total | 84 | 25 |
Age | Player's age as of debut |
---|---|
Round | Round when player's first premiership match occurred |
Games | The number of games played in 2008 |
Goals | The number of goals scored in 2008 |
† | Denotes player who was elevated from club's rookie list [7] |
Rd. | Name | Club | Age | Games | Goals | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Jake Edwards | Carlton | 20 years, 74 days | 5 | 4 | [24] |
Paul Stewart | Port Adelaide | 20 years, 254 days | 11 | 1 | [25] | |
Trent West | Geelong | 20 years, 155 days | 6 | 1 | [26] | |
Nathan Brown | Collingwood | 19 years, 96 days | 23 | 4 | [27] | |
Craig Bird | Sydney | 19 years, 61 days | 21 | 8 | [28] | |
Jarryn Geary | St Kilda | 19 years, 273 days | 10 | 0 | [13] | |
David Mackay | Adelaide | 19 years, 242 days | 19 | 4 | [29] | |
Kurt Tippett | Adelaide | 20 years, 320 days | 19 | 17 | [30] | |
Cale Morton | Melbourne | 18 years, 65 days | 19 | 12 | [31] | |
Cyril Rioli | Hawthorn | 18 years, 253 days | 25 | 24 | [1] | |
Cameron Stokes † | Hawthorn | 18 years, 265 days | 9 | 6 | [32] | |
Isaac Weetra | Melbourne | 18 years, 25 days | 2 | 0 | [33] | |
Scott Thompson | North Melbourne | 21 years, 320 days | 6 | 0 | [14] | |
2 | Lachlan Henderson | Brisbane Lions | 18 years, 105 days | 8 | 3 | [34] |
Brad Ebert | West Coast | 17 years, 362 days | 15 | 5 | [15] | |
Chris Masten | West Coast | 18 years, 332 days | 9 | 1 | [16] | |
Chris Mayne | Fremantle | 19 years, 148 days | 17 | 10 | [35] | |
Rhys Palmer | Fremantle | 19 years, 45 days | 20 | 10 | [36] | |
Darren Pfeiffer | Carlton | 20 years, 183 days | 7 | 4 | [37] | |
Harry Taylor | Geelong | 21 years, 292 days | 21 | 3 | [38] | |
3 | Scott Selwood | West Coast | 18 years, 9 days | 9 | 2 | [39] |
Matthew Kreuzer | Carlton | 18 years, 328 days | 20 | 13 | [18] | |
Austin Wonaeamirri † | Melbourne | 19 years, 187 days | 18 | 24 | [40] | |
Jack Anthony | Collingwood | 20 years, 78 days | 12 | 25 | [12] | |
4 | Tayte Pears | Essendon | 18 years, 18 days | 5 | 2 | [41] |
Ben Ross | North Melbourne | 19 years, 204 days | 3 | 2 | [42] | |
Matthew Spangher | West Coast | 20 years, 355 days | 7 | 1 | [43] | |
5 | Nick Smith † | Sydney | 19 years, 312 days | 2 | 1 | [44] |
Clayton Hinkley | Fremantle | 19 years, 58 days | 5 | 2 | [45] | |
Jarrhan Jacky | Adelaide | 19 years, 14 days | 3 | 1 | [46] | |
6 | Sharrod Wellingham † | Collingwood | 19 years, 293 days | 12 | 4 | [47] |
Shane Mumford † | Geelong | 21 years, 295 days | 3 | 0 | [48] | |
Steven Browne | Carlton | 19 years, 85 days | 13 | 4 | [49] | |
James Polkinghorne | Brisbane Lions | 19 years, 97 days | 4 | 0 | [50] | |
Jesse White | Sydney | 20 years, 109 days | 2 | 0 | [51] | |
7 | David Ellard † | Carlton | 19 years, 50 days | 1 | 1 | [52] |
James Sellar | Adelaide | 19 years, 40 days | 1 | 0 | [53] | |
Josh Smith | North Melbourne | 22 years, 59 days | 2 | 0 | [54] | |
Jarrod Atkinson † | Essendon | 23 years, 73 days | 5 | 2 | [55] | |
Darcy Daniher | Essendon | 18 years, 226 days | 3 | 0 | [56] | |
David Myers | Essendon | 18 years, 309 days | 8 | 1 | [57] | |
8 | Trent Cotchin | Richmond | 18 years, 40 days | 15 | 9 | [19] |
Ryan Davis † | West Coast | 20 years, 355 days | 11 | 4 | [58] | |
Alan Obst † | North Melbourne | 20 years, 364 days | 3 | 0 | [59] | |
Shane Valenti † | Melbourne | 21 years, 110 days | 9 | 3 | [60] | |
9 | Tim Houlihan | West Coast | 19 years, 104 days | 8 | 0 | [61] |
Beau Wilkes † | West Coast | 22 years, 65 days | 14 | 1 | [62] | |
Josh Kennedy | Hawthorn | 19 years, 340 days | 3 | 0 | [63] | |
Jarryd Morton | Hawthorn | 19 years, 233 days | 8 | 0 | [64] | |
10 | Dennis Armfield | Carlton | 21 years, 161 days | 9 | 2 | [65] |
Gavin Urquhart | North Melbourne | 20 years, 13 days | 14 | 0 | [66] | |
11 | Tom Bellchambers | Essendon | 18 years, 334 days | 3 | 0 | [67] |
James Hawksley | Brisbane Lions | 19 years, 124 days | 4 | 0 | [68] | |
Callan Ward | Western Bulldogs | 18 years, 59 days | 6 | 2 | [20] | |
12 | Andy Otten | Adelaide | 19 years, 30 days | 2 | 0 | [69] |
Brent Renouf | Hawthorn | 20 years, 42 days | 8 | 0 | [70] | |
13 | Jarryd Allen | St Kilda | 20 years, 158 days | 4 | 0 | [71] |
Robert Eddy † | St Kilda | 20 years, 165 days | 13 | 3 | [72] | |
Ben McEvoy | St Kilda | 18 years, 354 days | 1 | 0 | [73] | |
Tom Collier | Brisbane Lions | 19 years, 88 days | 6 | 1 | [74] | |
14 | Stefan Martin | Melbourne | 21 years, 225 days | 8 | 0 | [75] |
Josh Head | Fremantle | 25 years, 83 days | 3 | 1 | [76] | |
15 | Todd Goldstein | North Melbourne | 20 years, 11 days | 3 | 2 | [77] |
16 | Bradd Dalziell | Brisbane Lions | 21 years, 126 days | 7 | 1 | [78] |
Matthew O'Dwyer † | Sydney | 19 years, 365 days | 2 | 1 | [79] | |
17 | Addam Maric | Melbourne | 18 years, 100 days | 5 | 2 | [80] |
18 | Scott Clouston † | Brisbane Lions | 21 years, 182 days | 2 | 1 | [81] |
Ryan Brabazon | Sydney | 21 years, 221 days | 1 | 0 | [82] | |
Patrick Veszpremi | Sydney | 18 years, 337 days | 6 | 9 | [83] | |
Mitchell Farmer | Port Adelaide | 19 years, 212 days | 3 | 0 | [84] | |
Nick Salter † | Port Adelaide | 21 years, 4 days | 2 | 3 | [85] | |
19 | Ryan Williams | Port Adelaide | 19 years, 304 days | 2 | 0 | [86] |
Chris Dawes | Collingwood | 20 years, 85 days | 6 | 5 | [87] | |
John McCarthy | Collingwood | 18 years, 264 days | 6 | 3 | [88] | |
Rhys Magin † | Essendon | 19 years, 159 days | 4 | 2 | [89] | |
20 | Matthew Westhoff | Port Adelaide | 20 years, 71 days | 3 | 3 | [90] |
Patrick Dangerfield | Adelaide | 18 years, 133 days | 2 | 0 | [91] | |
Tony Notte | West Coast | 18 years, 123 days | 2 | 0 | [92] | |
21 | Cale Hooker | Essendon | 19 years, 314 days | 2 | 0 | [93] |
Marlon Motlop | Port Adelaide | 18 years, 128 days | 2 | 1 | [94] | |
Pearce Hanley † | Brisbane Lions | 19 years, 282 days | 2 | 0 | [95] | |
22 | Sam Reid | Western Bulldogs | 18 years, 297 days | 1 | 0 | [96] |
Jack Grimes | Melbourne | 19 years, 112 days | 1 | 0 | [97] | |
John Williams | Essendon | 19 years, 328 days | 1 | 0 | [98] |
Round | Round when player's first premiership match occurred |
---|---|
Games | The number of games played in 2008 |
Goals | The number of goals scored in 2008 |
Previous club(s) |
Player's previous AFL clubs, with the yearspan of their appearances |
† | Denotes player who was elevated from club's rookie list |
Players are only included if they previously played a match with another AFL club. |