Gilbert McAdam (born 30 March 1967 in

Alice Springs Alice Springs ( aer, Mparntwe) is the third-largest town in the Northern Territory of Australia. Known as Stuart until 31 August 1933, the name Alice Springs was given by surveyor William Whitfield Mills after Alice, Lady Todd (''née'' Al ...

) is an

Indigenous Australian Indigenous Australians or Australian First Nations are people with familial heritage from, and membership in, the ethnic groups that lived in Australia before British colonisation. They consist of two distinct groups: the Aboriginal peoples ...

former

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 ...

player and one of three McAdam brothers to play in the

Australian Football League The Australian Football League (AFL) is the only fully 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 the laws of the gam ...

(AFL).

Playing career

Early career

McAdam grew up in

, where his father was president of the South Alice Football Club. His older brother, Greg McAdam, had earlier found his way to the

St Kilda Football Club The St Kilda Football Club, nicknamed the Saints, is a professional Australian rules football club based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, Victoria. The club plays in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's premier league. The club ...

via

North Adelaide North Adelaide is a predominantly residential precinct and suburb of the City of Adelaide in South Australia, situated north of the River Torrens and within the Adelaide Park Lands. History Surveyor-General Colonel William Light of the colo ...

in the

SANFL The South Australian National Football League, or SANFL ( or ''S-A-N-F-L''), is an Australian rules football league based in the Australian state of South Australia. It is also the state's governing body for the sport. Originally formed as the ...

. McAdam moved to Darwin to play in the

Northern Territory Football League The Northern Territory Football League (NTFL) is an Australian rules football semi-professional league operating in Darwin in the Northern Territory. The league is one of few (and the highest level) Australian Rules competitions played during ...

(NTFL) with the

Southern Districts Football Club The Southern Districts Football Club, nicknamed the Crocs, is an Australian rules football club established in 1981. The club plays in the Northern Territory Football League at semi-professional level and represent the rural area of Litchfield ...

when he was just 11 years old. In 1979, Gilbert McAdam was chosen as the 12-year-old schoolboys Northern Territory captain who captained the team to victory to become the first Northern Territory team to win a national title. The stand out players were McAdams and Scott Parker who was the youngest competitor to have played in the carnival. In 1986, McAdam played 3 games for Claremont in the

West Australian Football League The West Australian Football League (WAFL) is an Australian rules football league based in Perth, Western Australia. The league currently consists of ten teams, which play each other in a 20-round season usually lasting from March to September, ...

(WAFL) before returning home to Darwin. After a few seasons he went on to play in the

South Australian National Football League The South Australian National Football League, or SANFL ( or ''S-A-N-F-L''), is an Australian rules football league based in the Australian state of South Australia. It is also the state's governing body for the sport. Originally formed as the ...

(SANFL) with

Central District Football Club Central District Football Club is an Australian rules football club which plays in the South Australian National Football League. Based at Elizabeth in the City of Playford about 25 km to the north of Adelaide, South Australia the club's ...

, taking out the 1989

Magarey Medal The Magarey Medal is an Australian rules football honour awarded annually since 1898 to the fairest and most brilliant player in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL), as judged by field umpires. The award was created by Willia ...

. McAdam was the first indigenous player to take out the award.

AFL career

McAdam was drafted number 17 in the

1989 VFL Draft The 1989 VFL draft was the fourth annual national draft held by the Victorian Football League (since changed its name to Australian Football League) as the main method for the 14 teams to recruit players for the 1990 season. It consisted of a tra ...

. He kicked five goals in the famous 1993 game against Collingwood at

Victoria Park Victoria Park may refer to: Places Australia * Victoria Park Nature Reserve, a protected area in Northern Rivers region, New South Wales * Victoria Park, Adelaide, a park and racecourse * Victoria Park, Brisbane, a public park and former golf ...

, after he and

Nicky Winmar Neil Elvis "Nicky" Winmar (born 25 September 1965) is a former Australian rules footballer, best known for his career for and the in the Australian Football League (AFL), as well as in the West Australian Football League. Growing up in Pin ...

were racially vilified by Magpies fans while warming up. In April 2023, the weekend before the 30th anniversary of the game, the Collingwood Football Club formally apologised to Winmar and McAdam for the incident. After three years and 53 games for the Saints, McAdam headed north to play for the

Brisbane Bears The Brisbane Football Club, nicknamed the Bears, was a professional Australian rules football club based in Queensland on the Gold Coast (relocated to Brisbane in 1993). The club participated in the Victorian/Australian Football League (VFL/A ...

. He played 58 games between 1994 and 1996 and kicked 41 goals before returning to the

for the 1998 SANFL season. McAdam retired from football in 1999.

Coaching career

McAdam returned to Alice Springs and coached South Alice to a premiership. In 2006, he moved back to Darwin to coach the

Darwin Football Club The Darwin Football Club, nicknamed, Buffaloes, is an Australian rules football club, playing in the Northern Territory Football League. It is the third oldest football club in the Northern Territory. Darwin has won the second most premierships ...

Post-football career

In 2007, McAdam took up a position with the Academy of Sport, Health and Education in

Shepparton, Victoria Shepparton () ( Yortayorta: ''Kanny-goopna'') is a city located on the floodplain of the Goulburn River in northern Victoria, Australia, approximately north-northeast of Melbourne. As of the 2021 census, the estimated population of Shepparton, ...

. The academy uses participation in sport as an avenue for Indigenous people to undertake education and training within a trusted and culturally appropriate environment. His role with the academy is as a sports and personal development officer. He co-hosts the TV program ''

The Marngrook Footy Show ''The Marngrook Footy Show'' was a sport panel show broadcast in Australia focusing on Australian rules football and aimed at Indigenous viewers. Debuting on television in 2007 after 10 years on radio, the show first aired on NITV and on Channe ...

'' with

Grant Hansen Grant Hansen is an Australian Indigenous musician and broadcaster who has worked as a host of the Marngrook footy show, broadcast on National Indigenous TV network as well as Channel 31, Foxtel, ABC and SBS . He has worked as a radio announcer / ...

, currently screening on NITV on Thursday nights.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McAdam, Gilbert Brisbane Bears players St Kilda Football Club players 1967 births Living people Southern Districts Football Club players North Adelaide Football Club players Claremont Football Club players Central District Football Club players Indigenous Australian players of Australian rules football Magarey Medal winners Australian rules footballers from the Northern Territory