Joshua Bruce (born 8 June 1992) is a professional

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

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). He previously played for the

Greater Western Sydney Giants The Greater Western Sydney Giants (officially the Greater Western Sydney Football Club and colloquially known as the GWS Giants or simply GWS) are a professional Australian rules football team based in Sydney Olympic Park, which represents the ...

between 2012 and 2013 and the St Kilda Saints between 2014 and 2019. Bruce was St Kilda's leading goalkicker in 2015 and the Western Bulldogs' leading goalkicker in 2021.

Early life

Bruce was born in

Canberra Canberra ( ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...

Australian Capital Territory The Australian Capital Territory (commonly abbreviated as ACT), known as the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) until 1938, is a landlocked federal territory of Australia containing the national capital Canberra and some surrounding townships. ...

and attended St Edmund's College and Canberra Grammar School. His older brother, Aaron, was rookie-listed by in 2008. Bruce played junior football for the

Eastlake Football Club The Canberra Demons (formerly known as the Eastlake Football Club) is a semi-professional Australian rules football club based in the inner-south of Canberra, in the Australian Capital Territory. The senior team competed in the North East Austral ...

in the

AFL Canberra AFL Canberra is the name of the local governing body for and premier competition of Australian rules football in the Australian Capital Territory (and the Southern Tablelands of New South Wales). It acts as an umbrella to several competitions be ...

competition. drafted Bruce as an ACT zone selection to play with their TAC Cup team in 2010. He continued to play with the Giants in 2011 while the club was competing in the

North East Australian Football League The North East Australian Football League (NEAFL) was an Australian rules football league in New South Wales, Queensland, the Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory. The league was formed in November 2010, and its inaugural co ...

(NEAFL).

AFL career

Greater Western Sydney (2012–2013)

Bruce made his debut in round 5, 2012 against the at

Manuka Oval Manuka Oval is a sporting venue in Canberra, the capital of Australia. It is located in Griffith, in the area of that suburb known as Manuka. Manuka Oval has a seating capacity of 13,550 people and an overall capacity of 16,000 people, although ...

, in his home territory, as a late replacement for the injured

Chad Cornes Chad Studley Cornes (born 12 November 1979) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Port Adelaide Football Club and Greater Western Sydney Giants in the Australian Football League (AFL). He was a member of the Po ...

. Bruce played just the three games in his debut season, kicking two goals. Bruce played in eleven games for just the one win in 2013, playing mostly as a key defender. At the end of 2013, Bruce was traded to .

St Kilda (2014–2019)

Bruce played his first game for St Kilda in round 5, 2014 against . While quiet initially, he was tried as a forward in round 19 against . After a three-goal display, his next pre-season was spent training with the forwards. In 2015, he had a break-out year up forward, playing in all 22 games, and kicking a six-goal haul against Gold Coast and five-goal displays against Essendon (twice) and . He went on to become St Kilda's leading goalkicker for 2015, kicking 50 goals and finishing eighth in that year's

Coleman Medal The Coleman Medal is an Australian rules football award given annually to the Australian Football League (AFL) player who kicks the most goals in the home-and-away season. It is named after Essendon full-forward John Coleman, one of the most ...

tally. Bruce had a similarly consistent year in 2016; though he kicked less goals for the year, this still included another five-goal haul against Essendon. Bruce's output dropped slightly in the first half of the 2017 season, and he was dropped for the first time since 2014, having played every game in 2015–2016. Upon his return to the senior team, he kicked four goals against Adelaide and had an improved finish to the year. At the conclusion of the 2019 season Bruce requested a trade to the

. He was traded on 16 October.

Western Bulldogs (2020–)

After a mediocre 2020 AFL season, Bruce stamped his credentials as one of the competition's menacing key forwards when he kicked 10 goals against in the 3rd round of the

2021 AFL season The 2021 AFL season was the 125th season of the Australian Football League (AFL), the highest level senior men's Australian rules football competition in Australia, which was known as the Victorian Football League until 1989. The season featu ...

. Bruce enjoyed a consistent year in 2021, kicking 48 goals in 20 matches before his season was cut short by an ACL rupture.

Statistics

:''Statistics are correct to the end of round 3 2021.'' , - style="background-color:#EAEAEA" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

, , 47 , , 3 , , 2 , , 1 , , 16 , , 17 , , 33 , , 12 , , 2 , , 0.7 , , 0.3 , , 5.3 , , 5.7 , , 11.0 , , 4.0 , , 0.7 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

, , 47 , , 11 , , 1 , , 0 , , 85 , , 47 , , 132 , , 46 , , 27 , , 0.1 , , 0.0 , , 7.7 , , 4.3 , , 12.0 , , 4.2 , , 2.5 , - style="background-color:#EAEAEA" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

, , 27 , , 10 , , 4 , , 1 , , 69 , , 45 , , 114 , , 45 , , 16 , , 0.4 , , 0.1 , , 6.9 , , 4.5 , , 11.4 , , 4.5 , , 1.6 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

, , 27 , , 22 , , 50 , , 24 , , 165 , , 75 , , 240 , , 110 , , 56 , , 2.3 , , 1.1 , , 7.5 , , 3.4 , , 10.9 , , 5.0 , , 2.5 , - style="background-color:#EAEAEA" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

, , 27 , , 22 , , 38 , , 22 , , 127 , , 106 , , 233 , , 100 , , 59 , , 1.7 , , 1.0 , , 5.8 , , 4.8 , , 10.6 , , 4.5 , , 2.7 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

, , 27 , , 20 , , 36 , , 27 , , 143 , , 94 , , 237 , , 104 , , 41 , , 1.8 , , 1.4 , , 7.2 , , 4.7 , , 11.9 , , 5.2 , , 2.1 , - style="background-color:#EAEAEA" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

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 ...

, , 27 , , 3 , , 4 , , 0 , , 13 , , 22 , , 35 , , 12 , , 7 , , 1.3 , , 0.0 , , 4.3 , , 7.3 , , 11.6 , , 4.0 , , 2.3 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

, , 27 , , 22 , , 36 , , 20 , , 151 , , 109 , , 260 , , 96 , , 40 , , 1.6 , , 0.9 , , 6.7 , , 5.0 , , 11.8 , , 4.4 , , 1.8 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...

, , 17 , , 17 , , 14 , , 8 , , 55 , , 81 , , 136 , , 47 , , 28 , , 0.8 , , 3.2 , , 4.8 , , 8.0 , , 2.8 , , 1.6 , , 2.5 , - ! 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 ...

, , 17 , , 20 , , 48 , , 21 , , 138 , , 28 , , 221 , , 100 , , 26 , , 4.7 , , 0.7 , , 11.3 , , 3.7 , , 15.0 , , 8.7 , , 1.0 , -style="background:#EAEAEA; font-weight:bold; width:2em" , scope="row" text-align:center class="sortbottom" colspan=3 , Career , 133 , 199 , 105 , 858 , 607 , 1465 , 598 , 278 , 1.5 , 0.8 , 6.5 , 4.6 , 11.0 , 4.5 , 2.1 Notes

Honours and achievements

* Individual ** St Kilda leading goalkicker: 2015

Coaching

Bruce was appointed as the development coach of the Bulldogs' AFLW team in October 2021.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bruce, Josh 1992 births Living people Greater Western Sydney Giants players St Kilda Football Club players Australian rules footballers from the Australian Capital Territory Glenelg Football Club players Flagstaff Hill Football Club players People educated at Canberra Grammar School Sandringham Football Club players Western Bulldogs players