James Shanahan (born 6 December 1967) is a 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 ...

er who played for St Kilda and

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

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).

Early career

He played with

Hobart Hobart ( ; Nuennonne/Palawa kani: ''nipaluna'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Home to almost half of all Tasmanians, it is the least-populated Australian state capital city, and second-small ...

in the

Tasmanian Football League The Tasmanian State League (TSL), colloquially known as the "Tasmanian Football League (TFL)" (formerly known as the "Tasmanian Australian National Football League (TANFL)" and several other short-term names) is the highest ranked Australian ru ...

from 1986 to 1990 and was in Hobart's 1990 TFL Premiership side, then also spent some time with

Fitzroy Fitzroy or FitzRoy may refer to: People As a given name *Several members of the Somerset family (Dukes of Beaufort) have this as a middle-name: **FitzRoy Somerset, 1st Baron Raglan (1788–1855) ** Henry Charles FitzRoy Somerset, 8th Duke of Beau ...

pre-season in 1986 and had played with the Fitzroy reserves (at least one game at

North Hobart North Hobart is a suburb of the city of Hobart, Tasmania, Australia. As its name suggests, it lies directly north of the CBD. The main street of North Hobart is Elizabeth Street, which extends northward from the Elizabeth Street Mall in the ...

) and became a police officer in Tasmania, when he was granted extended leave to play AFL.

St Kilda

Picked up as a late pick in the

1990 AFL Draft The 1990 AFL draft was the 5th annual draft of Australian rules footballers to the 14 clubs in the Australian Football League. It consisted of the national draft held at the end of the 1990 season, the pre-season draft held before the 1991 AFL ...

(pick 92), Shanahan spent two seasons with St Kilda's reserves before debuting in 1992 with 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 ...

. Shanahan played in St Kilda's 1996 AFL Ansett Australia Cup winning side – the club's first AFL Cup win. He was a tall, solid defender and was valuable to the club. Shanahan played in 22 of 22 matches in the 1997 AFL Premiership Season home and away rounds in which St Kilda Football Club qualified in first position for the 1997 AFL Finals Series, winning the club's 2nd Minor Premiership and 1st McClelland Trophy. His peak came in 1997 with the Saints when he performed brilliantly at full-back, but during the 1997 AFL Grand Final he suffered from a goal onslaught by

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 ...

matchwinners Darren Jarman and

Shane Ellen Shane Ellen (born 1 January 1973) is a former Australian rules footballer who played in the Australian Football League (AFL). Bulldogs career Ellen, a Footscray local, made his debut with the Bulldogs in 1993, and when he left in 1995 he ha ...

. Many St Kilda supporters still cringe at then-coach

Stan Alves Neil Stanley "Stan" Alves, Order of Australia, OAM (born 22 May 1946) is a former Australian rules football player and coach. Playing career Melbourne Alves played 226 games and kicked a total of 160 goals for the Melbourne Football Club from ...

' refusal to move Shanahan off Jarman, who kicked five last quarter goals to win the Grand Final for Adelaide.

Melbourne

After the 1997 season had finished, Shanahan moved to the

Melbourne Football Club The Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed the Demons, is a professional Australian rules football club that competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's elite competition. It is based in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, ...

due to the Saints not granting the then 30-year-old's request for a long-term contract. He played out his career at the Demons and played his last game at the end of 1999. He played at full back and did not score any goals in his career, only five behinds, one in 1996 and four in 1997.

References

External links

*
Demon Wiki profile
1967 births Living people Melbourne Football Club players St Kilda Football Club players Hobart Football Club players Australian police officers Australian rules footballers from Tasmania Tasmanian Football Hall of Fame inductees Allies State of Origin players Tasmanian State of Origin players {{AFL-bio-1960s-stub