Liam Patrick (born 4 March 1988) 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 who was picked up by

Gold Coast Gold Coast may refer to: Places Africa * Gold Coast (region), in West Africa, which was made up of the following colonies, before being established as the independent nation of Ghana: ** Portuguese Gold Coast (Portuguese, 1482–1642) ** Dutch G ...

as a zone selection after the 2009 National Draft. He made his debut against

Essendon Essendon may refer to: Australia *Electoral district of Essendon *Electoral district of Essendon and Flemington *Essendon, Victoria **Essendon railway station **Essendon Airport *Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League United King ...

in round 6 of 2011 season.

Early life

Patrick was born in Lajamanu, Northern Territory into an indigenous family and is the second eldest of three children. Upon moving to the

at the end of 2009 at the age of 21 he left behind his girlfriend and son to chase his dream of becoming an AFL player.

Junior Football

Patrick began playing junior football at the Lajamanu Football Club who compete in the

Katherine District Football League The Big Rivers Australian Football League (formerly the Katherine District Football League) is an Australian rules football competition in the Northern Territory, Australia based in the Katherine region. Current clubs Previous clubs Prem ...

. After being a part of the premiership winning team at the Lajamanu Swans in 2008 he began playing for the

Wanderers Football Club The Wanderers Football Club, nicknamed, Eagles, is an Australian rules football club, currently playing in the Northern Territory Football League (NTFL). The club was formed in 1916 as a founding member of the NTFL. It has produced Australi ...

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 ...

in 2009. Despite not being drafted in the 2009 AFL draft he was signed by the Gold Coast Football Club as a zone selection and competed in the

2010 VFL season The 129th season of the Victorian Football League was held in 2010. The North Ballarat Football Club won the premiership, its third flag in a row. Teams This season featured the addition of the Queensland-based Gold Coast Football Club to the ...

for the newly formed club. He finished the 2010 season with 9 goals from 9 games and proved enough to be a part of the inaugural AFL season for the Gold Coast.

AFL career

Patrick made his AFL debut in round 6 of the

2011 AFL season The 2011 AFL season was the 115th season of the Australian Football League (AFL), the highest level senior Australian rules football competition in Australia, which was known as the Victorian Football League until 1989. The season featured s ...

. In his second game for the Gold Coast he kicked two goals in the Suns victory over the Brisbane Lions in the first

QClash The QClash is the name given to the Australian rules football rivalry match between the Brisbane Lions and Gold Coast Suns, who both participate in the Australian Football League (AFL). The first QClash was held in 2011, with Gold Coast winning ...

. He would only manage one more AFL game for the year and spent the rest of the 2011 season in the reserves. His 2012 season also began in the reserves but after a mid-season trip home to Lajamanu Patrick would play in 8 consecutive games for the Suns before a hamstring injury ended his season. In October 2012 he was offered a one-year extension at the Gold Coast Suns.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Patrick, Liam 1988 births Living people Gold Coast Football Club players Indigenous Australian players of Australian rules football Australian rules footballers from the Northern Territory Wanderers Football Club players Northern Territory Football Club players Warlpiri people