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] |
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 West Coast Eagles are a professional Australian rules football club based in the inner-Perth suburb of Lathlain, Western Australia. The club was founded in 1986 as one of two expansion teams in the Australian Football League (AFL), then known as the Victorian Football League, and has competed in the competition ever since. The West Australian Football Commission wholly owns the West Coast Eagles and the Fremantle Football Club, the AFL's other Western Australian team.
The Norm Smith Medal is an Australian rules football award presented annually to the player adjudged the best on ground in the Grand Final of the Australian Football League (AFL). Prior to 1990 the competition was known as the Victorian Football League (VFL). It was first presented in the 1979 VFL Grand Final, and was won by Wayne Harmes, playing in Carlton's premiership victory against Collingwood. The award is named in honour of Norm Smith who won four VFL premierships as a player and six as coach for the Melbourne Football Club.
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