Alex Woodward (born 11 June 1993) is a professional

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by k ...

er who played for the

Hawthorn Football Club The Hawthorn Football Club, nicknamed the Hawks, is a professional Australian rules football club based in Mulgrave, Victoria, that competes in the Australian Football League (AFL). The club was founded in 1902 in the inner-east suburb of Hawt ...

in the

Australian Football League The Australian Football League (AFL) is the only fully professional competition of Australian rules football. Through the AFL Commission, the AFL also serves as the sport's governing body and is responsible for controlling the laws of the gam ...

(AFL). He attended Mazenod College.

Football career

He was drafted by

with pick 53 in 2011 AFL Draft from the

Sandringham Dragons The Sandringham Dragons are an Australian rules football club playing in the NAB League, the top statewide under-18 competition in Victoria, Australia. They are based at the Trevor Barker Oval in Sandringham, Victoria, representing the southern ...

in the

TAC Cup The NAB League Boys (also referred to as simply the NAB League and formerly known as the TAC Cup) is an under-19 Australian rules football representative competition held in Australia. It is based on geographic regions throughout country Victo ...

. Whilst on Hawthorn's list, Woodward twice ruptured his

anterior cruciate ligament The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is one of a pair of cruciate ligaments (the other being the posterior cruciate ligament) in the human knee. The two ligaments are also called "cruciform" ligaments, as they are arranged in a crossed formation ...

(ACL) in his right knee and has had three

knee reconstruction Anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACL reconstruction) is a surgical tissue graft replacement of the anterior cruciate ligament, located in the knee, to restore its function after an injury. The torn ligament can either be removed from ...

s. Woodward has played primarily for

Box Hill Hawks Box Hill Hawks Football Club is an Australian rules football club playing in the Victorian Football League. It has an alliance with the Hawthorn Football Club, which plays in the Australian Football League. Early Australian rules football in B ...

in VFL and finally made his AFL debut in round 18,

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

. After competing his first full year of football in three years, Woodward's hard work was rewarded with winning the J. J. Liston Trophy for 2014. He polled 20 votes. Woodward tore the ACL in his right knee early in Box Hill Hawks’ match against Coburg in the VFL in July 2015. Woodward was delisted at the conclusion of the 2015 season; however, he was re-drafted in the 2016 rookie draft with the 52nd selection. At the conclusion of the 2016 season, he was delisted again by Hawthorn. In 2017, he joined the Collingwood VFL team but ruptured his ACL again in his third game for the club. He returned strongly with the club in mid-2018, and managed to finish third in the J. J. Liston Trophy despite playing only eight games for the year. Woodward also served as a runner for the Collingwood AFL team during the year, and controversially became involved in the play during the

2018 AFL Grand Final The 2018 AFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the West Coast Eagles and the Collingwood Football Club at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on 29 September 2018. It was the 123rd annual grand final of the Australian ...

to Collingwood's detriment. Late in the third quarter, Collingwood's

Taylor Adams Taylor Adams (born 20 September 1993) is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the Collingwood Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He previously played for the Greater Western Sydney Giants from 2012 to 2 ...

miskicked an attempted clearing kick towards centre half back; 's

Elliot Yeo Elliot Yeo (born 1 October 1993) is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the West Coast Eagles in the Australian Football League (AFL). He previously played for the Brisbane Lions between 2012 and 2013. Yeo won a premiership ...

and Collingwood's

Jaidyn Stephenson Jaidyn Stephenson (born 15 January 1999) is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the North Melbourne Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL), having been initially drafted to the Collingwood Football Club. A ...

would both have had the opportunity to contest the miskick, but Woodward inadvertently blocked Stephenson's path, allowing Yeo to take the mark uncontested and kick a goal. The goal gave West Coast the lead for the first time since early in the game, and West Coast went on to win by five points. In August 2019, following his 5th ACL injury, Woodward announced his retirement from playing football altogether.

Statistics

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2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

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2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

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Honours and achievements

Team * Minor premiership ():

Individual * J.J. Liston Trophy: 2014

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Woodward, Alex 1993 births Living people Box Hill Football Club players Hawthorn Football Club players Australian rules footballers from Victoria (state) Sandringham Dragons players Australian people of Filipino descent J. J. Liston Trophy winners