Aaron Davey (born 10 June 1983) is a professional Australian rules football player of

Indigenous Australian Indigenous Australians or Australian First Nations are people with familial heritage from, and membership in, the ethnic groups that lived in Australia before British colonisation. They consist of two distinct groups: the Aboriginal peoples ...

heritage. He played for the Melbourne Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL) until he retired from the club at the end of the 2013 season. Davey finished runner-up in the

AFL Rising Star The AFL Rising Star is an Australian rules football award presented annually to the player adjudged the best young player in the Australian Football League (AFL) for the year. It was first presented in the 1993 season, and was won by Nathan Buc ...

in 2004. He is one of few successful top-level footballers to have been elevated from the

rookie list The rookie list is a means for Australian Football League (AFL) clubs to maintain additional players outside the 38-man primary or senior list. Rookie listed players are not eligible to play in AFL home-and-away or finals matches unless they are e ...

. Davey's representative honours include playing for Australia twice against

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

in 2005 and 2006. Davey was a cult figure at the Melbourne Football Club and a highly popular player with young Demons fans. Davey's achievements at Melbourne include a Best and Fairest for an outstanding 2009 season. Davey is also a recognised leader of Melbourne's young indigenous group of players.

Early years

Davey, of

ancestry with tribal ancestry that can be traced to the

Kokatha The Kokatha, also known as the Kokatha Mula, are an Aboriginal Australian people of the state of South Australia. They speak the Kokatha language, close to or a dialect of the Western Desert language. Country Traditional Kokatha lands extend ov ...

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

, was born to mother Lizzie and father Alwyn Davey.Flanagan, M.,
The Davey pacesetters
", ''Real Footy'', 9 May 2007. Retrieved on 9 May 2007. He has four siblings, Alwyn (named after his father who died when Aaron was nine) Alwyn's twin brother Russell, Hayley and Bronwyn who are the older sisters to the boys. The boys were raised in Darwin in the

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory shares its borders with Western Aust ...

. Davey started playing football as a

forward pocket In the sport of Australian rules football, each of the eighteen players in a team is assigned to a particular named position on the field of play. These positions describe both the player's main role and by implication their location on the gro ...

player in the

Northern Territory Football League The Northern Territory Football League (NTFL) is an Australian rules football semi-professional league operating in Darwin in the Northern Territory. The league is one of few (and the highest level) Australian Rules competitions played during ...

for the

Palmerston Football Club The Palmerston Football Club, nicknamed, Magpies, is an Australian rules football club, currently playing in the Northern Territory Football League. They were first called Internationals before entering the NTFL, then they were called North Da ...

. He moved to Melbourne to further his prospects of an Australian rules career, and trialled with the

Port Melbourne Football Club The Port Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed The Borough, is an Australian rules football club based in the inner-Melbourne suburb of Port Melbourne. The club was founded in 1874 and has been competing in the Victorian Football Association/Leag ...

in the

Victorian Football League The Victorian Football League (VFL) is an Australian rules football league in Australia serving as one of the second-tier regional semi-professional competitions which sit underneath the fully professional Australian Football League (AFL). It ...

after his debut season in the Davey was voted the player most likely to succeed at the AFL level. In 2003, Sandringham Coach Graeme Yeats believed "Davey is the fastest player in the competition" He was overlooked by all clubs in the 2003 AFL Draft. However, he caught the eye of Melbourne Football Club talent scouts and was selected at Pick No. 3 in the rookie draft. When later asked on

Before the Game ''Before the Game'' was an Australian rules football comedy panel television show which aired on Network Ten on 1 March 2003 until 27 September 2013. The show was hosted by Andrew Maher with regular panelists Mick Molloy, Dave Hughes, Anthony ...

, why Davey was not selected in the AFL Draft, Melbourne's former coach Neale Daniher responded that clubs were not on the lookout for short indigenous players after the possessionless display of Leon Davis in the 2002 Grand Final.

AFL career

Debut Season: 2004

Davey debuted in the 2004 Wizard Cup, playing a handful of sensational pre-season games before debuting in the senior side in the first round of 2004. In his first AFL game, the lightly built forward kicked a goal and totalled an impressive 13 possessions, receiving a nomination for the

award. In his next 15 games, Davey won wide acclaim for his blistering acceleration, evasive footwork and goal sense. He was likened to Essendon player Andrew Lovett, another young indigenous player. In particular, Davey's ability to run down opposition players with explosive acceleration, his hard tackling and his "one percenter" second and third efforts at the ball earned him the respect of coaches and players across the league. Davey formed a potent forward line combination, crumbing the likes of Russell Robertson and David Neitz. He quickly became a cult hero, particularly amongst young supporters, and a face of the Melbourne Football Club. Davey played the rest of the season until a

hamstring In human anatomy, a hamstring () is any one of the three posterior thigh muscles in between the hip and the knee (from medial to lateral: semimembranosus, semitendinosus and biceps femoris). The hamstrings are susceptible to injury. In quadrupe ...

injury in round 16 against the

Western Bulldogs The Western Bulldogs are a professional Australian rules football team that competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's premier competition. Founded in 1877 as the Footscray Football Club, and based in West Footscray in the o ...

at the

Telstra Dome Docklands Stadium, also currently known by naming rights sponsorship as Marvel Stadium, is a multi-purpose sports and entertainment stadium in the Docklands area of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Construction started in October 1997 and w ...

put him out for four games. He returned for the finals and played in a losing elimination final against Essendon. At the end of the season, Davey won the AFLPA best first year player, which has been awarded to many superstars of the game, notably

Brownlow Medal The Charles Brownlow Trophy, better known as the Brownlow Medal (and informally as "Charlie"), is awarded to the " best and fairest" player in the Australian Football League (AFL) during the home-and-away season, as determined by votes cast by ...

lists

Chris Judd Christopher Dylan Judd (born 8 September 1983) is a former professional Australian rules footballer and captain of both the West Coast Eagles and Carlton Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). Widely regarded as one of the bes ...

and

Adam Goodes Adam Roy Goodes (born 8 January 1980) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Sydney Swans in the Australian Football League (AFL). Goodes holds an elite place in VFL/AFL history as a dual Brownlow Medallist, d ...

Season 2005

In 2005, Davey played all 22 games and another losing elimination final, this time against

Geelong Geelong ( ) (Wathawurrung: ''Djilang''/''Djalang'') is a port city in the southeastern Australian state of Victoria, located at the eastern end of Corio Bay (the smaller western portion of Port Phillip Bay) and the left bank of Barwon River, ...

. He was selected for the

International rules International rules football ( ga, Peil na rialacha idirnáisiunta; also known as international rules in Australia and compromise rules or Aussie rules in Ireland) is a team sport consisting of a hybrid of football codes, which was developed ...

series as one of only three Demons players. Davey was selected along with Lovett and several other indigenous players in Kevin Sheedy's handpicked squad. Topping off a sensational season, Davey finished third in the club best and fairest behind

Travis Johnstone Travis Johnstone (born 17 July 1980) is an Australian rules footballer who has played for the Melbourne Football Club and Brisbane Lions in the Australian Football League (AFL). He is the grandson of former Fitzroy Lions player, Norm Johnstone ...

and Russell Robertson respectively. In that year, Davey won the

AFL Players Association The AFL Players Association (AFL PA, also simply known as AFL Players) is the representative body for all current and past professional Australian Football League (AFL) and AFL Women's (AFLW) players. The AFL PA promotes and protects its membe ...

Marn Grook Award for Best Emerging Indigenous Player and was one of three indigenous players in the Demons line-up to hail from Darwin, along with Matthew Whelan and

Shannon Motlop Shannon Motlop (born 18 August 1978) is an indigenous Larrakia Australian rules footballer. Primarily playing as a midfielder or small forward, he represented both the Kangaroos and Melbourne in the Australian Football League. He currently ...

. The three played with each other in the local Darwin junior football. The injection of

Byron Pickett Byron Pickett (born 11 August 1977) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played with three clubs in the AFL. He was known as a big game player as well as for his strength, hard bumps and tough approach to the game. Pickett ...

into the Demons side provided Davey with a football mentor and it was about this time that Davey began to show a little onfield aggression.

Season 2006

Davey's versatility and added bulk saw him used in the forward line in 2006, midfield and even at times defence. Initially, football commentators on

3AW 3AW is a talkback radio station based in Melbourne. It broadcasts on 693 kHz AM. It began transmission on 22 February 1932 as Melbourne's fifth commercial radio station. The station is owned and operated by Nine Entertainment Co. Hist ...

, especially

Rex Hunt Rex James Hunt (born 7 March 1949) is an Australian television and radio personality, and a former Australian rules football player. He was also a veteran Australian rules football commentator known for his habit of making up quirky nicknames ...

, referred to him as "Jack Davey" – a reference to a former Australian radio quiz show host

Jack Davey John Andrew Davey (8 February 190714 October 1959), known as Jack Davey, was a New Zealand-born singer and pioneering star of Australian radio as a performer, producer, writer and host from the early 1930s into the late 1950s. Later in his caree ...

, whose trademark greeting at the opening of the show was "Hi Ho, everybody!" Due to this it is not uncommon to hear 3AW replay a soundbite of Jack Davey saying "Hi Ho, everybody" whenever Davey scores a goal. But more recently (from 2006 onwards), he has been widely referred to as "Flash" by many commentators for his incredible pace and acceleration. In another exciting season, he achieved a total of three Goal of the Year nominations, including back-to-back weeks of soccer style strikes.

Season 2007

He played for the Indigenous All-Stars in the pre-season against Essendon, where he re-injured his hamstring. Despite the Demons horror season, with Melbourne winning only five games for the year, Davey produced a career best game in round 7 against the

, collecting 29 disposals and kicking three goals, for which he received two

votes, the equivalent to second best on ground. As the season continued the Demons struggled and Davey's increasing aggression saw him suspended for two games for striking

Brisbane Lions The Brisbane Lions is a professional Australian rules football club based in Brisbane, Queensland, that plays in the Australian Football League (AFL). The club was formed in late 1996 via a merger of the Melbourne-based 1883 foundation VFL c ...

player

Troy Selwood Troy Selwood (born 1 May 1984) is a former Australian rules footballer who played 75 games for the Brisbane Lions in the Australian Football League (AFL). He was also captain of the Geelong Football Club's team in the Victorian Football League ...

the Gabba The Brisbane Cricket Ground, commonly known as the Gabba, is a major sports stadium in Brisbane, the capital of Queensland, Australia. The nickname Gabba derives from the suburb of Woolloongabba, in which it is located. Over the years, the Gab ...

in round 15.

Season 2008

His 2008 was a struggle with injuries in a year that the club was not performing well.

Season 2009

After starring for the Indigenous All-Stars against Adelaide in the 2009 pre-season, Davey's season started strong though his club continued to struggle. Under new coach

Dean Bailey Dean Bailey (18 January 1967 – 11 March 2014) was an Australian rules football player and coach. He played for the Essendon Football Club and was the senior coach of the Melbourne Football Club, as well as an assistant coach at Essendon an ...

, Davey was switched to the midfield with devastating effect. His round four performance against Richmond was instrumental to the win. Even though the club had a poor year, Davey personally had an outstanding year. Davey's year was capped off by winning the

Keith 'Bluey' Truscott Medal The Keith 'Bluey' Truscott Trophy is an Australian rules football award presented annually to the player(s) adjudged the best and fairest at the Melbourne Football Club throughout the Victorian Football League/Australian Football League (VFL/A ...

, which is awarded to Melbourne's Best and Fairest player.

Season 2010

Davey's 2010 season was not as successful as the year before and, although he remained one of Melbourne's better players and their main playmaker, he was not as damaging as the previous season. He finished the season by coming fourth in Melbourne's Best and Fairest. He was, however, Melbourne's equal leading vote-getter, with

Colin Sylvia Colin Martin Sylvia (8 November 1985 – 28 October 2018) was an Australian rules footballer who played for the Melbourne Football Club and Fremantle Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). Football career At 15 years of age, ...

, at the

2010 Brownlow Medal The 2010 Brownlow Medal was the 83rd year the award was presented to the player adjudged the fairest and best player during the Australian Football League (AFL) home and away season. Chris Judd of the Carlton Football Club won the medal by polli ...

. On 20 August 2013 Davey announced his retirement from football at age 30. He played his last game on 1 September against the Western Bulldogs.

Statistics

: , - style="background:#eaeaea;" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" , 2004 , style="text-align:center;", , 36 , , 19 , , 28 , , 20 , , 131 , , 50 , , 181 , , 21 , , 50 , , 1.5 , , 1.1 , , 6.9 , , 2.6 , , 9.5 , , 1.1 , , 2.6 , , 0 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 36 , , 23 , , 30 , , 32 , , 198 , , 81 , , 279 , , 49 , , 71 , , 1.3 , , 1.4 , , 8.6 , , 3.5 , , 12.1 , , 2.1 , , 3.1 , , 0 , - style="background:#eaeaea;" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 36 , , 22 , , 37 , , 15 , , 253 , , 74 , , 327 , , 79 , , 63 , , 1.7 , , 0.7 , , 11.5 , , 3.4 , , 14.9 , , 3.6 , , 2.9 , , 2 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 36 , , 18 , , 24 , , 13 , , 200 , , 58 , , 258 , , 57 , , 70 , , 1.3 , , 0.7 , , 11.1 , , 3.2 , , 14.3 , , 3.2 , , 3.9 , , 2 , - style="background:#eaeaea;" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 36 , , 15 , , 11 , , 10 , , 164 , , 73 , , 237 , , 48 , , 44 , , 0.7 , , 0.7 , , 10.9 , , 4.9 , , 15.8 , , 3.2 , , 2.9 , , 0 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 36 , , 22 , , 9 , , 8 , , 357 , , 147 , , 504 , , 60 , , 90 , , 0.4 , , 0.4 , , 16.2 , , 6.7 , , 22.9 , , 2.7 , , 4.1 , , 6 , - style="background:#eaeaea;" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 36 , , 20 , , 8 , , 9 , , 289 , , 98 , , 387 , , 45 , , 75 , , 0.4 , , 0.5 , , 14.5 , , 4.9 , , 19.4 , , 2.3 , , 3.8 , , 10 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 36 , , 11 , , 5 , , 7 , , 127 , , 50 , , 177 , , 29 , , 31 , , 0.5 , , 0.6 , , 11.5 , , 4.5 , , 16.1 , , 2.6 , , 2.8 , , 0 , - style="background:#eaeaea;" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 36 , , 8 , , 7 , , 3 , , 51 , , 33 , , 84 , , 13 , , 37 , , 0.9 , , 0.4 , , 6.4 , , 4.1 , , 10.5 , , 1.6 , , 4.6 , , 0 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

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 ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 36 , , 20 , , 15 , , 12 , , 162 , , 53 , , 215 , , 39 , , 42 , , 0.8 , , 0.6 , , 8.1 , , 2.7 , , 10.8 , , 2.0 , , 2.1 , , 2 , - class="sortbottom" ! colspan=3, Career ! 178 ! 174 ! 129 ! 1932 ! 717 ! 2649 ! 440 ! 573 ! 1.0 ! 0.7 ! 10.9 ! 4.0 ! 14.9 ! 2.5 ! 3.2 ! 22

Honours and achievements

*Individual **

: 2009 ** AFL Rising Star Runner-up: 2004 ** AFL Rising Star Nominee: 2004 (Round 1) ** Australian Representative Honours in

International Rules Football International rules football ( ga, Peil na rialacha idirnáisiunta; also known as international rules in Australia and compromise rules or Aussie rules in Ireland) is a team sport consisting of a hybrid of football codes, which was develope ...

: 2005, 2006, 2013 **

Harold Ball Memorial Trophy The Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed the Demons, is a professional Australian rules football club that competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's elite competition. It is based in Melbourne, Victoria, and plays its home ...

: 2004 ** AFLPA Marn Grook Award: 2005 ** Indigenous All-Stars Representative Honours: 2007, 2009, 2013

Media appearances

Davey made an appearance on the AFL Players Revue of the Grand Final edition of ''

The AFL Footy Show ''The Footy Show'' was an Australian sports and variety entertainment television program which aired on the Nine Network. The show was dedicated to the Australian Football League (AFL) and Australian rules football. The show featured a panel o ...

'' doing a

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...

impersonation. In 2009, Davey featured in the official advertisement for the AFL, playing football on a

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

court. Davey is a frequent panellist on

The Marngrook Footy Show ''The Marngrook Footy Show'' was a sport panel show broadcast in Australia focusing on Australian rules football and aimed at Indigenous viewers. Debuting on television in 2007 after 10 years on radio, the show first aired on NITV and on Channe ...

Personal life and family

Aaron is the older brother of

Alwyn Davey Alwyn Davey, Jr. (born 15 May 1984) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Essendon Football Club of the Australian Football League (AFL) between 2007 and 2013. Early life Davey is of Indigenous Australian descent with t ...

, who played for Essendon and both are cousins of

list,

Gavin Wanganeen Gavin Adrian Wanganeen (born 18 June 1973) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Essendon Football Club and Port Adelaide Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL), and also for the Port Adelaide Magpies in ...

, and

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

player

Patrick Mills Patrick Sammy Mills (born 11 August 1988) is an Australian professional basketball player for the Brooklyn Nets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Mills was born and raised in Canberra, and is of Torres Strait Islander and Aborigin ...

. His sister, Bronwyn was part of the first AFL Women's Draft, playing for the Melbourne Football Club's women's team recruited from

Greenacres, South Australia Greenacres is a north eastern suburb of Adelaide, South Australia in the City of Port Adelaide Enfield. It is considered to be an inner suburb of greater Adelaide. Hampstead Road and Muller Road intersect at the south west corner of Greenacres, m ...

Charitable Work

In 2005, Davey became an ambassador for

The Fred Hollows Foundation The Fred Hollows Foundation is a non-profit aid organisation based in Sydney, Australia, which was founded in 1992 by eye surgeon Fred Hollows. The foundation focuses on treating and preventing blindness and other vision problems. It opera ...

. Davey participated in the Coastrek in 2013, running 50 km to raise money for The Fred Hollows Foundation and awareness about the health issues Aboriginals and

Torres Strait Islanders Torres Strait Islanders () are the Indigenous Melanesian people of the Torres Strait Islands, which are part of the state of Queensland, Australia. Ethnically distinct from the Aboriginal people of the rest of Australia, they are often grouped ...

people face.

References

External links

* *
Vibe article on Aaron Davey
{{DEFAULTSORT:Davey, Aaron 1983 births Living people Australian rules footballers from the Northern Territory Melbourne Football Club players Port Melbourne Football Club players Palmerston Football Club players Keith 'Bluey' Truscott Trophy winners Indigenous Australian players of Australian rules football Sportspeople from Darwin, Northern Territory Casey Demons players Australia international rules football team players Port Adelaide Magpies players Sandringham Football Club players West Preston Football Club players Wodonga Football Club players