Ebony Marinoff (born 15 November 1997) 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

Adelaide Football Club The Adelaide Crows (officially the Adelaide Football Club) are a professional Australian rules football team based in Adelaide, South Australia. Founded in 1990. The Crows has fielded a men's team in the Australian Football League (AFL) since ...

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). Marinoff is a three-time AFL Women's premiership player and five-time AFL Women's All-Australian, and won the Adelaide Club Champion award in 2021. In 2017, she won the

inaugural In government and politics, inauguration is the process of swearing a person into office and thus making that person the incumbent. Such an inauguration commonly occurs through a formal ceremony or special event, which may also include an inaugur ...

AFL Women's Rising Star The AFL Women's Rising Star award is presented annually to the best young player in the AFL Women's (AFLW) during the home-and-away season. The first award was awarded in 2017. The award has been sponsored by National Australia Bank (NAB) since ...

award, played in a premiership with in the

VFL Women's VFL Women's (VFLW) is the major state-level women's Australian rules football league in Victoria. The league initially comprised the six premier division clubs and the top four division 1 clubs from the now-defunct Victorian Women's Football Le ...

(VFLW) and represented The Allies in the inaugural AFL Women's State of Origin match. Marinoff is the AFL Women's games record holder and Adelaide games record holder with 66 games.

Early life

Marinoff's first introduction to the sport was through the

Auskick Auskick is a program designed to teach the basic skills of Australian rules football (AFL) to boys and girls aged between 5 and 12. Auskick is a non-contact variant of the sport. It began in Australia and is now a nationwide non-selective pro ...

program. She first played competitive football at the age of five in the boys team at Lockleys Football Club in the

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

suburb of

Lockleys Lockleys is an inner western suburb of Adelaide, in the City of West Torrens. Australian Bureau of Statistics data from May 2021 revealed that Adelaide's western suburbs had the lowest unemployment rate in South Australia. History The area ...

. She remained at the club through to the age of twelve. She later moved on to play with an all-girls team at Morphetville Park. In 2014, at sixteen years of age, she played in her first premiership with the senior side at Morphettville Park, and played in two more premierships in 2015 and 2016. Marinoff represented South Australia in under-16, under-18 and open age teams. In 2015, she was named in the youth girls All-Australian team. Marinoff played for South Australia in the 2016 women's exhibition series. She was named best-on-ground for a 37-disposal performance in a South Australia intra-club match at

Adelaide Oval Adelaide Oval is a sports ground in Adelaide, South Australia, located in the parklands between the city centre and North Adelaide. The venue is predominantly used for cricket and Australian rules football, but has also played host to rugby ...

in April and kicked the match-winning goal in the late stages of the final quarter against NSW/ACT at Adelaide Oval in June. In September, she played for in the women's all-star exhibition match at VU Whitten Oval.

AFL Women's career

2017

Marinoff was drafted by with the club's first selection and seventh overall in the

2016 AFL Women's draft The 2016 AFL Women's draft consisted of the various periods when the eight clubs in the AFL Women's AFL Women's (AFLW) is Australia's national semi-professional Australian rules football in Australia, Australian rules football league for w ...

. Marinoff made her debut in the club's inaugural match in round 1, 2017 against at

Thebarton Oval Thebarton Oval is a sports ground in Adelaide, South Australia currently used for a variety of sports including Australian rules football. It was the home ground of South Australian National Football League (SANFL) club West Torrens Football Clu ...

, where she gathered a game-high twenty disposals and six tackles in the 36-point win. Her performance earned her a nomination for the 2017 AFL Women's Rising Star award. Marinoff was a member of the Adelaide team that won the

AFL Women's premiership in 2017, defeating by six points at

Metricon Stadium Carrara Stadium (known commercially as Metricon Stadium) is a stadium on the Gold Coast in Queensland, Australia, located in the suburb of Carrara. The stadium is primarily used for Australian rules football, serving as the home ground of the ...

. A few days later, Marinoff was named in the 2017 AFL Women's All-Australian team and announced as the 2017 AFL Women's Rising Star. She also led the competition in tackles (76) and average tackles per game (9.5) in its inaugural season. Adelaide signed Marinoff for the 2018 season during the trade period in May 2017. Following the AFL Women's season, Marinoff played for in the

(VFLW), also winning a premiership. She later played for The Allies in the inaugural AFL Women's State of Origin match on 2 September, where she was named among the Allies' best players with 13 disposals and five tackles.

2018

Sophie Armitstead, Ebony Marinoff and Dana Hooker contest (cropped)

After an impressive start to the 2018 season, in round 4, Marinoff set a new record for tackles with 21 in her side's draw against Greater Western Sydney in heavy rain at

Blacktown ISP Oval Blacktown International Sportspark Oval is an Australian rules football and cricket ground located in Rooty Hill, a suburb in Sydney, Australia. The stadium was constructed in 2009 as part of the Blacktown International Sportspark. It has a capa ...

, breaking the record of 16 set by midfielder

Sarah Hosking Sarah Hosking (born 2 December 1995) is an Australian rules footballer with the Richmond Football Club in the AFL Women's (AFLW). She previously played for the Carlton Football Club from 2017 to 2020. Hosking represented Victoria in the inaug ...

two weeks earlier. The effort also bested the existing men's league record of 19, thus setting the national senior-level record across men's and women's competitions for tackles. Marinoff was selected in ''afl.com.au''s Team of the Week in rounds 3, 4, 5 and 7, and finished equal-fifth in the 2018 AFL Women's best and fairest count with six votes. She was also named in the initial 2018 AFL Women's All-Australian 40-woman squad. Marinoff again finished the season leading the competition in tackles (82) and average tackles per game (11.7); both statistics were better than her previous season and in less games (Marinoff played eight of eight possible games in 2017 and seven of seven possible games in 2018). Adelaide signed Marinoff for the 2019 season prior to the trading and signing period in May 2018 after she chose not to accept an offer from one of or .

2019

In round 3 of the 2019 season, Marinoff broke the league disposal record of 30 set by Emma Kearney in round 6 of the 2017 season, recording 33 disposals in Adelaide's win against at

Norwood Oval Norwood Oval (currently known as Coopers Stadium due to sponsorship from the Adelaide-based Coopers Brewery) is a suburban oval in the western end of Norwood, an inner eastern suburb of Adelaide, South Australia. It is owned by Norwood, Payn ...

(a record which was later broken by teammate

Anne Hatchard Anne Hatchard is an Australian rules footballer playing for the Adelaide Football Club in the AFL Women's competition. AFL Women's career Hatchard was drafted by Adelaide with their eleventh selection and eighty-seventh overall in the 2016 A ...

in 2020), and was selected in ''womens.afl''s Team of the Week in rounds 1, 3 and 6. Marinoff went on to play in Adelaide's second premiership, when they defeated Carlton by 45 points in front of a record AFL Women's crowd at Adelaide Oval, and was named among their best players. She was also named in the

2019 AFL Women's All-Australian team The 2019 AFL Women's All-Australian team represents the best-performed players of the 2019 AFL Women's season. It was announced on 2 April 2019 as a complete women's Australian rules football team of 21 players. The team is honorary and does no ...

, her second All-Australian selection, and finished equal-fourth in the 2019 AFL Women's best and fairest count with seven votes. Marinoff finished the season leading the competition in kicks (130), disposals (205) and average disposals per game (22.8), along with finishing second in handballs (75), average handballs per game (8.3), tackles (74) and average tackles per game (8.2), in a career-best season. She also kicked her first AFL Women's goal in round 7 and followed up with two in the preliminary final, and finished the season as one of only three players (along with teammates

Deni Varnhagen Deni Varnhagen (born 26 October 1992) is an Australian rules footballer playing for the Adelaide Football Club in the AFL Women's competition. Early life and state football At the age of nine, Varnhagen started playing Australian rules footbal ...

and

Stevie-Lee Thompson Stevie-Lee Thompson (born 23 March 1992) is an Australian rules footballer playing for the Adelaide Football Club in the AFL Women's competition. Early life and state football Thompson was born in Brisbane but was raised in Hawke's Bay, New ...

) to have played the most AFL Women's matches to that point with 24. Adelaide signed Marinoff for the 2020 season during the trade and signing period in April 2019.

2020

Leading into the 2020 season, ''womens.afl'' journalist Sarah Black named Marinoff at no. 15 on her list of the top 30 players in the AFLW. She was selected in ''womens.afl''s Team of the Week in rounds 2 and 3. Marinoff finished the home-and-away season equal with 's

Ashleigh Riddell Ashleigh Riddell (born 7 March 1996) is an Australian rules footballer playing for the North Melbourne Football Club in the AFL Women's (AFLW) competition. Riddell is a dual AFL Women's All-Australian and won the North Melbourne best and fa ...

in first for kicks (94) and average kicks per game (15.7), also improving her career-best average in disposals per game (23.2), and was one of fourteen players to have played the most AFL Women's matches to that point with 30. She was selected in the initial 40-woman squad for the

2020 AFL Women's All-Australian team The 2020 AFL Women's All-Australian team represents the best-performed players of the 2020 AFL Women's season. It was announced on 27 April 2020 as a complete women's Australian rules football team of 21 players. The team is honorary and does no ...

, and was also selected in 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 ...

's inaugural AFL Women's 22under22 team, having earlier been selected in the retrospective 2017–2019 team.

2021

During a practice match in the 2021 pre-season, Marinoff made front-on contact with Greater Western Sydney player

Bríd Stack Bríd Stack ( (born 16 December 1986) is a former All-Ireland winning former ladies' Gaelic footballer. Playing for Cork, she won the All-Ireland Ladies' Gaelic Football Championship 11 times, and was an Ladies' Gaelic Football All Stars Awards ...

in an incident that saw Stack suffer a fractured vertebra and was given a three-match suspension, the longest suspension in the competition's history to that point. Commentators such as

Kane Cornes Kane Graham Cornes (born 5 January 1983) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Port Adelaide Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). Early life A product of Sacred Heart College and Glenelg in the SANFL, ...

and his father, inaugural Crows AFL coach

Graham Cornes Graham Studley Cornes Order of Australia, OAM (born 31 March 1948 in Melbourne, Victoria) is a former Australian rules footballer and coach, as well as a media personality. From 1995 until early 2013, Cornes co-hosted a weekday drivetime sports ...

, suggested that the incident was unavoidable and the club should appeal the decision. Adelaide eventually announced that it would appeal the decision, with the club calling it "grossly disproportionate" and coach Matthew Clarke calling the incident an "unavoidable footy collision". After the appeal was initially delayed due to new video evidence found by Marinoff herself, her suspension was successfully overturned by the appeals board after a hearing that lasted more than three hours, allowing Marinoff to play in the opening round of the season. captain

Daisy Pearce Daisy Pearce (born 27 May 1988) is an Australian rules footballer playing for the Melbourne Football Club in the AFL Women's (AFLW) competition. Often regarded as the face of women's Australian rules football, Pearce has served as Melbourne c ...

voluntarily provided a character reference. After leading the competition in total and average kicks during the 2021 season, Marinoff was named in the

2021 AFL Women's All-Australian team The 2021 AFL Women's All-Australian team represents the best-performed players of the 2021 AFL Women's season. The team was announced on 20 April 2021 as a complete women's Australian rules football team of 21 players. The team is honorary and ...

and won her first Adelaide Club Champion award. In June, she declined a large offer from to re-sign with Adelaide. Marinoff was also selected in Champion Data's 2021 AFLW All-Star stats team, after placing in the top ten for every midfield statistical category.

2022

Marinoff was named at no. 6 in Sarah Black's 2022 list of the top 30 players in the AFLW, which was Marinoff's first appearance in the top ten. She was among Adelaide's best players in its opening round win against Brisbane and was best afield in Adelaide's win over in round 3 with a game-high 23 disposals and six tackles; she polled eight coaches' votes and was selected in ''womens.afl''s Team of the Week for that round. Marinoff was named among Adelaide's best players with 26 disposals in its win over Melbourne in round 4 and was selected in ''womens.afl''s Team of the Week for that round. She was best afield in Adelaide's win over Carlton in round 5 with 31 disposals, eight marks and ten tackles; she polled the maximum ten coaches' votes and was selected in ''womens.afl''s Team of the Week for that round. Marinoff was Adelaide's best player in its loss to the in round 6 and was selected in ''womens.afl''s Team of the Week for that round. She was best afield with 24 disposals, 16 tackles and a goal in Adelaide's win over Greater Western Sydney in round 7; during the match, she became the first player in AFLW history to record 1,000 career disposals. Marinoff also received seven coaches' votes and was selected in ''womens.afl''s Team of the Week for round 7. Marinoff was among Adelaide's best players in its round 8 win over , polling the maximum ten coaches' votes, and was selected in ''womens.afl''s Team of the Week for round 8. She was best afield in Adelaide's win over Collingwood in round 9, which was her 50th AFLW match; she also won eight coaches' votes and was selected in ''womens.afl''s Team of the Week for that round. Marinoff was among Adelaide's best players in its win over St Kilda in round 10; she polled eight coaches' votes to finish fourth in that year's AFLW champion player of the year award, and was selected in ''womens.afl''s Team of the Week for round 10. She was named in Champion Data's 2022 AFLW All-Star stats team after leading the competition for metres gained with 395.7 a game.

Statistics

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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 United ...

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Honours and achievements

Team * 3× AFL Women's premiership player ():

* 2× AFL Women's minor premiership ():

Individual * AFL Women's games record holder * Adelaide equal games record holder * 5×

AFL Women's All-Australian team The AFL Women's All-Australian team is an all-star team of women's Australian rules footballers playing in the AFL Women's (AFLW), selected by a panel at the end of each season. It represents a complete team, including interchange players and ...

, S7 * Adelaide Club Champion: 2021 *

* Allies representative honours in AFL Women's State of Origin: 2017 * AFL Women's 22under22 team: 2020 * AFL Women's 2017–2019 22under22 team

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Marinoff, Ebony Living people 1997 births Adelaide Football Club (AFLW) players Australian rules footballers from South Australia All-Australians (AFL Women's) Darebin Falcons players