Benjamin "Ben" McKinley (born 4 March 1987) is an

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 previously played for the

North Melbourne Football Club The North Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed the Kangaroos, is a professional Australian rules football club. The men's team competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), and the women's team in the AFL Women's (AFLW). The Kangaroos also ...

in the

Australian Football League The Australian Football League (AFL) is the only fully professional sports, 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 ...

(AFL). He previously played for the West Coast Eagles.

Early life

McKinley played all of his junior football (U10's - U17's) with the Yarrambat Junior Football Club. He attended

Ivanhoe Grammar School , motto_translation = Faithful even unto death . , established = 1915 , type = Independent, co-educational , denomination = Anglican , slogan = Courageous and Kind . , ...

where he played for the Old Ivanhoe Football Club. McKinley also played for the

Northern Knights The Northern Knights is an Australian rules football club playing in the NAB League, the top statewide under-18 competition in Victoria, Australia. They are based in Preston, representing the northern suburban area of Melbourne. The Knights a ...

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 ...

competition where he attracted the eye of talent scouts.

AFL career

2005–10: West Coast Eagles

McKinley was recruited by the West Coast as the number 29 draft pick in the

2005 AFL Draft The 2005 AFL draft was the 2005 event of the AFL draft, the annual draft of players by Australian rules football teams that participate in the main competition of that sport, the Australian Football League. The 2005 draft consisted of a pre-seas ...

. McKinley has played predominantly as a forward for

East Perth East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fac ...

in the WAFL. He made his debut for the

West Coast Eagles The West Coast Eagles are a professional Australian rules football club based in Perth, 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 L ...

in Round 15 2007 against

Port Adelaide Port Adelaide is a port-side region of Adelaide, approximately northwest of the Adelaide city centre, Adelaide CBD. It is also the namesake of the City of Port Adelaide Enfield council, a suburb, a federal and state electoral division and is t ...

. After kicking seven goals against West Perth in Round 2, he was a late inclusion into the West Coast team for the Round 3

Western Derby The Western Derby () is the name given to the Australian rules football match between the West Coast Eagles and the Fremantle Dockers, who both participate in the Australian Football League (AFL). As both teams are based in Perth, the capital ...

and kicked three goals. The following week, he kicked four of his team's five goals against

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mounta ...

. A five-goal effort in the Eagles' loss to Port Adelaide in Round 5 saw him nominated for the Rising Star award. A notable performance was the Essendon clash late in the season, with the Bombers needing a win to get to September, McKinley single-handedly destroyed Essendon with a 7-goal man of the match performance

He finished the season as West Coast's leading goalkicker and was named Rookie of the Year at the Club Champion Award

2011–2012: North Melbourne

During the 2010 AFL Trade Week, Ben McKinley requested a trade to

. West Coast agreed to trade Ben McKinley to the North Melbourne Football Club in exchange for pick 86 in the 2010 AFL Draft.

Delisting

Ben McKinley was delisted from North Melbourne at the end of the 2012 season after failing to play a senior match.

References

External links

* * 1987 births Living people Australian rules footballers from Victoria (Australia) West Coast Eagles players North Melbourne Football Club players East Perth Football Club players Northern Knights players People educated at Ivanhoe Grammar School {{AFL-bio-1980s-stub