Ben “Big Boy” McEvoy (born 11 July 1989) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the St Kilda Football Club and

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 (AFL).

Early career

McEvoy is an Australian Institute of Sport and AFL Academy graduate. He was an All-Australian selection in the NAB AFL Under 18 championships, averaging seven marks per game as a ruck/forward. He played junior football with Dederang-Mt BeautyTrue Sainters: St Kilda’s ruck future is in great hands with Ben McEvoy
/ref> and U18 football with the

Murray Bushrangers The Murray Bushrangers is an Australian rules football team playing in Victorian statewide under-18s competition, presently known as the NAB League, since 1993 based in Wangaratta. The team trains on Norm Minns Oval. The team is coached by Mark ...

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 Vict ...

. In 2007 he captained the

and won the best and fairest award.

AFL career

St Kilda

McEvoy was recruited by with the ninth selection in the

2007 AFL Draft The 2007 Australian Football League draft consisted of four opportunities for player acquisitions during the 2007/08 Australian Football League off-season. These were trade week, the national draft, which was held on 24 November 2007, the pre-s ...

from the

. With an injury to

Michael Gardiner Michael Strickland Gardiner (born 5 July 1979) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the St Kilda Football Club and the West Coast Eagles in the Australian Football League (AFL). Originally from Albany, Western Australia. Ga ...

he made his debut for St Kilda against Fremantle in 2008. This was his only game for that year and he has been in and out of the St Kilda senior side for the next two years, wearing the number 5 jumper. In that time he was consistently in the best players for St Kilda's VFL affiliate team,

Casey Scorpions The Casey Football Club, nicknamed the "Demons" and formerly the "Scorpions", is an Australian rules football club based in Cranbourne East, Victoria. The club, which was known until 2005 as the Springvale Football Club and the Casey Scorpions ...

2010 season

Hawthorn and St Kilda played out a draw in Round 17 after McEvoy kicked a goal with 12 seconds remaining. McEvoy went up uncontested in a ball-up and then dribbled through the goal from 12m out with no Hawthorn player in the goalsquare. After playing strongly into and through the 2010 finals series, including eight consecutive games and 18 for the season, McEvoy was dropped for the

Grand Final Primarily in Australian sports, a grand final (sometimes colloquially abbreviated to "grannie") is a game that decides a sports league's premiership (or championship) winning team, i.e. the conclusive game of a finals (or play-off) series. S ...

. With injury to first ruck Michael Gardiner, McEvoy regained his place in the side for the

grand final replay A grand final replay was a method of deciding the winner of a competition when a grand final is drawn. It is commonly used in football codes, particularly in Australian rules football, and most notably in the Australian Football League, where it w ...

in which St Kilda were defeated by Collingwood.

2011 season

The 2011 season was widely considered McEvoy's breakout season. After a strong preseason, McEvoy's fitness and preparation was lauded as outstanding by those close to the club. He worked closely with Steven King before and during the season to improve his technical skill to assume the lead ruck role for the club.

2012 season

He was St Kilda's number one ruckman again in 2012, but had mid season surgery to his knee after he injured it at training. He missed six games and after returning played every game to season's end. He liked to spend time dropping back into defence to take strong contested marks.

2013 season

McEvoy played all 22 games for St Kilda in season 2013 and held down the number one ruck role.

Hawthorn

During the 2013 trade period, McEvoy was traded by St Kilda to Hawthorn in exchange for young midfielder Shane Savage and Hawthorn's first round pick. The Saints had decided to rebuild their playing list by trading players for early draft picks. McEvoy was holidaying in

Cambodia Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailan ...

when he was contacted to agree to the trade. The Hawks were hopeful at the time that McEvoy could hold down the number one ruck position after premiership ruckman Max Bailey announced his retirement post-season. After being in and out of the side during the 2014 season, McEvoy featured in the Hawthorn side which defeated by 63 points to win the club's 12th premiership. He also featured in the 2015 Hawthorn Premiership side where the Hawks defeated the West Coast Eagles to claim their third straight premiership. On 14 August 2017 McEvoy signed a two-year contract extension keeping him at Hawthorn until the end of 2019. Following a player vote, McEvoy was named Hawthorn's 37th VFL/AFL captain for the 2021 season replacing Ben Stratton who retired following the 2020 season. McEvoy was the first player since

Keith Shea Keith Sylvester Shea (10 August 1914 – 27 February 1951) was an Australian rules footballer who played at high levels in both Victoria and Western Australia. His senior VFL playing career spanned from 1932 to 1945, although it was interrupte ...

in 1945 to become Hawthorn captain after playing for another club. McEvoy also became the first ruckman to captain Hawthorn since Don Scott in 1980.

Statistics

, - ,

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; ...

, , , , 5 , 1 , , 0 , , 1 , , 5 , , 1 , , 6 , , 4 , , 1 , , 0 , , 0.0 , , 1.0 , , 5.0 , , 1.0 , , 6.0 , , 4.0 , , 1.0 , , 0.0 , , 0 , - , 2009 , , , , 5 , 11 , , 3 , , 2 , , 32 , , 49 , , 81 , , 30 , , 20 , , 94 , , 0.3 , , 0.2 , , 2.9 , , 4.5 , , 7.4 , , 2.7 , , 1.8 , , 8.5 , , 0 , - , 2010 , , , , 5 , 19 , , 7 , , 4 , , 71 , , 128 , , 199 , , 75 , , 50 , , 205 , , 0.4 , , 0.2 , , 3.7 , , 6.7 , , 10.5 , , 3.9 , , 2.6 , , 10.8 , , 0 , - , 2011 , , , , 5 , 22 , , 4 , , 5 , , 121 , , 199 , , 320 , , 118 , , 85 , , 497 , , 0.2 , , 0.2 , , 5.5 , , 9.0 , , 14.5 , , 5.4 , , 3.9 , , 22.6 , , 1 , - ,

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 gat ...

, , , , 5 , 16 , , 7 , , 0 , , 95 , , 101 , , 196 , , 85 , , 60 , , 405 , , 0.4 , , 0.0 , , 5.9 , , 6.3 , , 12.3 , , 5.3 , , 3.8 , , 25.3 , , 0 , - ,

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 fa ...

, , , , 5 , 22 , , 6 , , 2 , , 116 , , 137 , , 253 , , 103 , , 63 , , 449 , , 0.3 , , 0.1 , , 5.3 , , 6.2 , , 11.5 , , 4.7 , , 2.9 , , 20.4 , , 1 , - , bgcolor=F0E68C ,

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 ...

^# , , , , 7 , 13 , , 6 , , 2 , , 55 , , 112 , , 167 , , 57 , , 34 , , 271 , , 0.5 , , 0.2 , , 4.2 , , 8.6 , , 12.8 , , 4.4 , , 2.6 , , 20.8 , , 0 , - , bgcolor=F0E68C , 2015^# , , , , 7 , 19 , , 12 , , 1 , , 83 , , 127 , , 210 , , 80 , , 62 , , 371 , , 0.6 , , 0.1 , , 4.4 , , 6.7 , , 11.1 , , 4.2 , , 3.3 , , 19.5 , , 0 , - ,

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 of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...

, , , , 7 , 23 , , 11 , , 6 , , 86 , , 147 , , 233 , , 79 , , 61 , , 443 , , 0.5 , , 0.3 , , 3.7 , , 6.4 , , 10.1 , , 3.4 , , 2.7 , , 19.3 , , 0 , - ,

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a s ...

, , , , 7 , 22 , , 14 , , 1 , , 110 , , 164 , , 274 , , 88 , , 76 , , 712 , , 0.6 , , 0.0 , , 5.0 , , 7.5 , , 12.5 , , 4.0 , , 3.5 , , 32.4 , , 5 , - ,

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the Unit ...

, , , , 7 , 19 , , 6 , , 6 , , 91 , , 144 , , 235 , , 69 , , 61 , , 583 , , 0.3 , , 0.3 , , 4.8 , , 7.6 , , 12.4 , , 3.6 , , 3.2 , , 30.7 , , 8 , - ,

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

, , , , 7 , 19 , , 8 , , 2 , , 101 , , 135 , , 236 , , 91 , , 46 , , 538 , , 0.4 , , 0.1 , , 5.3 , , 7.1 , , 12.4 , , 4.8 , , 2.4 , , 28.3 , , 4 , - ,

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in t ...

, , , , 7 , 16 , , 4 , , 1 , , 69 , , 72 , , 141 , , 51 , , 31 , , 161 , , 0.3 , , 0.1 , , 4.3 , , 4.5 , , 8.8 , , 3.2 , , 1.9 , , 10.1 , , 0 , - ,

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October 2021 coup in Sudan; Crowd shortly after t ...

, , , , 7 , 22 , , 12 , , 8 , , 135 , , 140 , , 275 , , 111 , , 78 , , 370 , , 0.5 , , 0.4 , , 6.1 , , 6.4 , , 12.5 , , 5.0 , , 3.5 , , 16.8 , , 0 , - ,

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretariat; The global monkeypo ...

, , , , 7 , 8 , , 6 , , 1 , , 36 , , 57 , , 93 , , 17 , , 26 , , 178 , , 0.8 , , 0.1 , , 4.5 , , 7.1 , , 11.6 , , 2.1 , , 3.3 , , 22.3 , , 0 , - class="sortbottom" ! colspan=3, Career ! 252 !! 106 !! 42 !! 1206 !! 1713 !! 2919 !! 1058 !! 754 !! 5277 !! 0.4 !! 0.2 !! 4.8 !! 6.8 !! 11.6 !! 4.2 !! 3.0 !! 20.9 , , 19 Notes

Honours and achievements

Team * 2× AFL premiership player ():

, 2015 * Minor premiership (): 2009 * Minor premiership (): 2015 Individual * Hawthorn captain: 2021–2022 * best clubman: 2021 * life member * Under 18 All-Australian team: 2007

Personal life

McEvoy has a younger brother Peter, who played for the

Box Hill Hawks Football Club 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 ...

development team, and lead the development league in goalkicking in 2014, booting 59 goals. The two brothers played alongside each other in the 2014 elimination final against

Port Melbourne Port Melbourne is an inner-city List of Melbourne suburbs, suburb in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, south-west of Melbourne's Melbourne central business district, Central Business District, located within the Cities of ...

, with the brothers combining for 6 goals in a 24-point victory to the Hawks, the same game being Peter's debut VFL match.http://www.heraldsun.com.au/leader/east/the-box-hill-hawks-stand-tall-to-defeat-minor-premier-port-melbourne-in-their-vfl-qualifying-final/story-fngnvmqa-1227042783313?nk=5126e14ce4eb55316e32c1dcc98455c9

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:McEvoy, Ben 1989 births Living people Australian rules footballers from Victoria (state) St Kilda Football Club players Hawthorn Football Club players Hawthorn Football Club Premiership players Murray Bushrangers players Box Hill Football Club players Casey Demons players Two-time VFL/AFL Premiership players AFL Academy graduates