Ellie Blackburn (born 25 March 1995) 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

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 ...

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). She served as Western Bulldogs co-captain in 2019, and has served as the sole captain since the 2020 season. Blackburn is the Western Bulldogs games record holder with 68 games. Blackburn was drafted by the Bulldogs in 2016 as a marquee signing prior to the inaugural AFL Women's season, and is a three-time AFL Women's All-Australian and dual Western Bulldogs best and fairest. In 2017, she was the inaugural Western Bulldogs leading goalkicker, and in 2018, she captained the Bulldogs to their first AFL Women's premiership in the absence of suspended captain

Katie Brennan Katie Brennan (born 2 October 1992) is an Australian rules footballer with and captain of the Richmond Football Club in the AFL Women's (AFLW). She previously played for and captained the Western Bulldogs from 2017 to 2019. Brennan was signed ...

. Blackburn was also voted as 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 ...

(AFLPA) AFLW best captain in 2021.

Early life

Blackburn began playing competitive football in the under-9s division for the Beaconsfield Junior Football Club. 2011 saw her named player of the carnival at the national under-18 championships. In 2013, she was the captain of the Victorian side at the under 18 championships, where she was named the competition's best-and-fairest player. She was awarded under 18 All-Australian selection in 2011, 2012, and her final year of eligibility in 2013. She attended high school at Hallam Senior College in Melbourne's outer east. Blackburn played state football for 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). She was drafted by Melbourne with the thirteenth pick in the inaugural women's draft in 2013 and represented the club in the women's exhibition games between 2013 and 2016. Over this time she averaged 20 disposals per match for the club. In July 2016, Blackburn was signed by the – the team that she played against in all of the exhibition matches – as one of two marquee players ahead of the inaugural AFL Women's season.

AFL Women's career

Blackburn was announced as a member of the Bulldogs' inaugural four-woman leadership group in late January 2017. Blackburn made her debut in round 1, 2017, against at

Whitten Oval Whitten Oval (also known as Victoria University Whitten Oval under a naming rights agreement) is a stadium in the inner-western suburbs of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, located in Barkly Street, West Footscray. It is the training and administra ...

. She was named among the Bulldogs' best, recording twelve disposals and kicking her first league goal in the match. In round 3, Blackburn was named the Bulldogs' best, recording a team high twenty-six disposals and six tackles for the match. Blackburn was highlighted as "Player of the Week" by the

for her round 5 performance in the 2017 AFL Women's season. At the end of the season, Blackburn was second in the competition for kicks, one behind 's

Karen Paxman Karen Paxman (born 25 November 1988) is an Australian rules footballer playing for the Melbourne Football Club in the AFL Women's (AFLW). A defender, tall, Paxman plays primarily on the half-back line with the ability to push into the midfi ...

. Teammates also spoke highly of her leadership after she captained the team for majority of the season, with captain

injured. At the end of the 2017 season, Blackburn was nominated by her teammates for the AFL Players' Most Valuable Player Award and was listed in the

2017 AFL Women's All-Australian team The 2017 AFL Women's All-Australian team represents the best-performed players of the 2017 AFL Women's season. It was announced on 28 March 2017 as a complete women's Australian rules football team of 22 players, the first and only time that thi ...

. In May 2017, she was announced as the co-winner of the inaugural Western Bulldogs best and fairest award alongside Emma Kearney. The Western Bulldogs signed Blackburn for the 2018 season during the trade period in May 2017. On 2 September, Blackburn played for

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

in the inaugural AFL Women's State of Origin match, where she was named among Victoria's best players with three goals. In round 4 of the 2019 season, Blackburn was knocked out in a collision and stretchered off the ground in a neck brace. Leading into the 2020 season, ''womens.afl'' journalist Sarah Black named Blackburn at no. 10 on her list of the top 30 players in the AFLW. Despite suffering a hand injury in a practice match, she was able to play in round 1, and was selected in ''womens.afl''s Team of the Week for that round. Blackburn 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

's 2017–2019 retrospective AFL Women's 22under22 team. Leading into the 2021 season, Sarah Black again named Blackburn at no. 10 on her annual list of the top 30 players in the AFLW. Blackburn was best afield in each of the Bulldogs' first three matches and was selected in ''womens.afl''s Team of the Week in each of the first three rounds, making her one of only two players (along with 's

Alyce Parker Alyce Parker (born 15 August 2000) is an Australian rules footballer playing for the Greater Western Sydney Giants in the AFL Women's competition (AFLW). Parker grew up in Holbrook, New South Wales, and was an active participant in numerous ...

) to do so. She also received a Goal of the Year nomination for her goal in the final quarter of the round 1 match. At the end of the home-and-away season, Blackburn was voted as the AFLW Players' best captain for 2021 ahead of Melbourne captain and three-time winner

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 ...

, and also finished third in voting for the AFLW Players' most valuable player award behind co-captain

Brianna Davey Brianna Iris Davey (born 13 January 1995) is an Australian footballer in both the Association football (soccer) and Australian rules football codes. In soccer, she was a goalkeeper for the national women's team the Matildas and played in the W ...

and Fremantle midfielder

Kiara Bowers Kiara Bowers (born 16 November 1991) is an Australian rules footballer playing for the Fremantle Football Club in the AFL Women's (AFLW). Career In July 2016, Bowers was announced as Fremantle's second marquee signing ahead of the inaugural AF ...

. She also finished equal-third with Parker in the

2021 AFL Women's best and fairest The 2021 AFL Women's best and fairest award was presented to the players adjudged the best and fairest players during the 2021 AFL Women's season. Kiara Bowers of the Fremantle Football Club and Brianna Davey of the Collingwood Football Club ...

count with 14 votes, one behind joint winners Davey and Bowers, and won her third AFL Women's All-Australian selection and second Western Bulldogs best and fairest award. Blackburn signed a contract extension with the club in June 2021. Blackburn was named at no. 4 in Sarah Black's 2022 list of the top 30 players in the AFLW, which was Blackburn's first appearance in the top five. She was named the Bulldogs' best player in their opening round loss to Melbourne, before being ruled out of the following round due to the AFL's health and safety protocols, which would have been the first time she missed a match for the club. However, the Bulldogs' next two matches were postponed as a result of the protocols, and Blackburn played in the Bulldogs' next match, a loss to Greater Western Sydney in round 4; she was named among their best players with twelve disposals, eight tackles and a goal, with coach

Nathan Burke Nathan Burke (born 6 February 1970) is a former Australian rules footballer and current coach of the team in the AFL Women's competition (AFLW). A tough rover he is considered the most courageous footballers to play for the St Kilda Footb ...

saying that she only spent two minutes in the midfield in the second half of the match after " unningherself ragged", as one of several players who had played underdone after having

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. Blackburn was again named among the Bulldogs' best players in their loss to Fremantle a few days later and was best afield in the Bulldogs' first win of the season against in round 5, polling eight coaches' votes. She was also best afield in the Bulldogs' one-point win over in round 6 with 23 disposals and a goal, polling nine coaches' votes, and was selected in ''womens.afl''s Team of the Week for that round. Blackburn was among the Bulldogs' best players in their win over and draw against in round 7, and was the Bulldogs' best player in their loss to Collingwood in round 8. She was among the Bulldogs' best players in their win over in round 9 and loss to Brisbane in round 10, polling nine coaches' votes in round 9 and five in round 10. Leading into the 2023 season, Sarah Black named Blackburn at no. 18 on her annual list of the top 30 players in the AFLW.

Statistics

''Updated to the end of the 2023 season''. , - ,

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2023 Events Predicted and scheduled events * January 1 ** In the United States, books, films, and other works published in 1927 will enter the public domain, assuming there are no changes made to copyright law. ** Croatia will adopt the eu ...

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Honours and achievements

Team * AFL Women's premiership player (): 2018 (c) * AFL Women's minor premiership ():

Individual * Western Bulldogs co-captain: 2019;

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

: 2020–present * Western Bulldogs games record holder * 3×

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 ...

* 3× Western Bulldogs best and fairest: 2017, 2021, S6 * Western Bulldogs leading goalkicker: 2017 * AFLPA AFLW best captain: 2021 * Victoria representative honours in AFL Women's State of Origin: 2017 * AFL Women's 2017–2019 22under22 team

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Blackburn, Ellie Living people 1994 births Western Bulldogs (AFLW) players Australian rules footballers from Victoria (state) All-Australians (AFL Women's) Melbourne University Football Club (VFLW) players