Ellie McKenzie (born 17 October 2002) 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 playing for the

Richmond Football Club The Richmond Football Club, nicknamed the Tigers, is an Australian rules football team playing in the Australian Football League (AFL). Between its inception in the Melbourne suburb of Richmond in 1885 and 1907, the club competed in the Victo ...

in the

AFL Women's AFL Women's (AFLW) is Australia's national semi-professional Australian rules football league for female players. The first season of the league in February and March 2017 had eight teams; the league expanded to 10 teams in the 2019 season, 1 ...

(AFLW).

Early life and junior football

McKenzie grew up in the northern Melbourne suburb of Northcote. She first played junior football in 2010 in an under 10s boys team at the Fitzroy Junior Football Club before a representative stint with 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

NAB League Girls The NAB League Girls (formerly known as the TAC Cup Girls) is an under-19 Australian rules football representative competition held in Australia. It is based on geographic regions throughout country Victoria and metropolitan Melbourne with each ...

competition. She earned All-Australian honours as a bottom age player at the 2019 AFL Women's Under 18 Championships but was unable to challenge for a consecutive honour after the 2020 series was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

AFL Women's career

McKenzie was drafted by Richmond with the first overall pick in the 2020 AFL Women's draft. She made her debut against at

Punt Road Oval Punt Road Oval, also known by naming rights sponsorship as the Swinburne Centre, is an Australian rules football ground and former cricket oval located within the Yarra Park precinct of East Melbourne, Victoria, situated a few hundred metres to ...

in the opening round of the 2021 season. She recorded 12 disposals in the loss, and was named among her side's best by ''AFL Media''. McKenzie won a 2021 AFL Women's Rising Star nomination for her role in 's first ever AFLW win, recorded against . In that game, she had 16 disposals, 5 marks, a goal and 4 inside 50s. McKenzie won the league's best first year player award in 2021, following in the footsteps of Rising Star winner

Chloe Molloy Chloe Molloy (born 6 December 1998) is an Australian rules footballer with the Sydney Swans in the AFL Women's (AFLW). She previously played for the Collingwood Football Club from 2018 to season seven. Molloy is a dual AFL Women's All-Austr ...

, Brownlow medallist

Madison Prespakis Madison Prespakis (born 2 November 2000) is an Australian rules footballer playing for the Essendon Football Club in the AFL Women's (AFLW). She previously played for the Carlton Football Club from 2019 to 2022. A midfielder who won multiple ...

and St Kilda gun Georgia Patrikios. She received 137 votes to win the award, the closest to her being Bulldog

Jess Fitzgerald Jess Fitzgerald (born 8 March 2002) is an Australian rules footballer playing for in the AFL Women's (AFLW). She was drafted with the second selection in the 2020 AFL Women's draft by the . Early football Growing up in Bundoora, Victoria, Fitz ...

on 63 votes. She also finished runner up in the team's best and fairest for 2021, finishing with 15 vote which was 1 behind winner

Monique Conti Monique Conti (born 9 December 1999) is an Australian rules footballer and basketballer. Conti currently plays for the Richmond Football Club in the AFL Women's (AFLW), having previously played for the Western Bulldogs from 2018 to 2019, and ...

, and won the team's best first year player award.

Statistics

:''Statistics are correct to the end of the 2021 season.'' , - style="background-color: #eaeaea" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

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 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 22 , , 9 , , 4 , , 4 , , 70 , , 70 , , 140 , , 27 , , 26 , , 0.4 , , 0.4 , , 7.8 , , 7.8 , , 15.6 , , 3.0 , , 2.9 , , 6 , - , - class="sortbottom" ! colspan=3, Career ! 9 ! 4 ! 4 ! 70 ! 70 ! 140 ! 27 ! 26 ! 0.4 ! 0.4 ! 7.8 ! 7.8 ! 15.6 ! 3.0 ! 2.9 ! 6

Personal life

McKenzie is the younger sister of former men's rookie Tom McKenzie.

References

External links

* * 2002 births Living people Richmond Football Club (AFLW) players Northern Knights players (Talent League Girls) Australian rules footballers from Melbourne People from Northcote, Victoria {{AFL-bio-2000s-stub