Michael Ross (born 16 September 1991) 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 played for the

Essendon Football Club The Essendon Football Club, nicknamed the Bombers, is a professional Australian rules football club. The club plays in the Australian Football League (AFL), the game's premier competition. The club was formed by the McCracken family in their A ...

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).

Junior career

Ross originally played for the

Warragul Warragul is a town in Victoria, Australia, south-east of Melbourne. Warragul lies between the Strzelecki Ranges to the south and the Mount Baw Baw Plateau of the Great Dividing Range to the north. As of the , the town had a population of 19,85 ...

and then the

Gippsland Power The Gippsland Power is an Australian rules football team in the NAB League, the top statewide under-18 competition in Victoria, Australia. Honours *Premierships (1): 2005 *Runners-up (3): 1999, 2010, 2012 *Wooden Spoons (1): 2003 *Morrish Medal ...

in the

TAC Cup The NAB League Boys (also referred to as simply the NAB League and formerly known as the TAC Cup) is an under-19 Australian rules football representative competition held in Australia. It is based on geographic regions throughout country Victo ...

. He played 40 matches for Gippsland Power and averaged 21.4 disposals per game from his 14 appearances in 2010, the third highest average at the club. He was used mainly in the backline with his 4.1 rebound 50s per game a club-high. He has exceptional speed over 20 metres and was described in the press as a 'classy' and 'dashing' defender who set up a lot of positive play. In the 2010 TAC Cup Grand Final against the

Calder Cannons The Calder Cannons is an Australian rules football club from Melbourne, Australia. The club competes in the NAB League, the Victorian Statewide Under-18s competition, and fields squads in the Under-15s, Under-16s and Under-18s. The club was forme ...

, Ross gathered 30 possessions and 14 handball receives off half back and was clearly the Power's best in a side in which future Essendon teammate,

Dyson Heppell Dyson Heppell (born 14 May 1992) is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). Heppell won the AFL Rising Star award in his first season in 2011, and won a Crich ...

, gathered 20 possessions. Ross was drafted by Essendon in the 2010 AFL Draft, at pick number 80. Ross was flying back from a three-week trip to Africa as the draft took place. "When I got back to Melbourne I turned the phone back on and was hoping for a message from Mum, but there was nothing. I walked off the plane ... and the whole family was standing there dressed in Bombers gear and cheering. It was pretty exciting."

AFL début

Ross made his debut against Collingwood at the

Melbourne Cricket Ground The Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), also known locally as "The 'G", is an Australian sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, Victoria. Founded and managed by the Melbourne Cricket Club, it is the largest stadiu ...

in Round 19,

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

securing 19 disposals (9 kicks and 10 handballs), 2 marks, 1 goal contribute and 1 goal assist. He was the substitute player, though he played most of the game after Prismall was carried off with a knee injury in the first 5 minutes. He was delisted by Essendon following the 2012 season.

Personal details

Ross comes from the town of Garfield in Gippsland and is the grandson of South Melbourne VFL player

Max Papley Maxwell William Papley (born 31 July 1940) is a former Australian rules footballer who represented in the Victorian Football League (VFL) and Moorabbin and Williamstown in the Victorian Football Association (VFA) during the 1950s and 1960s. ...

. His brother,

Ben Ross Benjamin David "Ben" Ross (born 23 May 1980) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 2000s and 2010s. A Queensland State of Origin representative forward, he played in the National Rugby League for the St ...

, played 14 games at

North Melbourne North Melbourne is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, north-west of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Melbourne local government area. North Melbourne recorded a population of 14,953 at the ...

and 4 games with

Hawthorn Hawthorn or Hawthorns may refer to: Plants * '' Crataegus'' (hawthorn), a large genus of shrubs and trees in the family Rosaceae * ''Rhaphiolepis'' (hawthorn), a genus of about 15 species of evergreen shrubs and small trees in the family Rosace ...

. His cousin,

Tom Papley Tom Papley (born 13 July 1996) is an Australian rules footballer playing for the Sydney Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He was drafted with pick 14 in the 2016 rookie draft. AFL career Papley made his AFL debut in rou ...

, currently plays for the

Sydney Swans The Sydney Swans are a professional Australian rules football club based in Sydney, New South Wales. The men's team competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), and the women's team in the AFL Women's (AFLW). The Swans also field a reser ...

. (subscription required) Michael is a keen supercoach player, finishing 14th overall in 2012.

Statistics

: ''Statistics are correct to end of 2012 season.'' , - style="background-color: #EAEAEA" ,

, , , , 38 , , 2 , , 0 , , 0 , , 10 , , 10 , , 20 , , 3 , , 1 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 5.0 , , 5.0 , , 10.0 , , 1.5 , , 0.5 , - ,

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 ...

, , , , 38 , , 0 , , 0 , , 0 , , 0 , , 0 , , 0 , , 0 , , 0 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , - class="sortbottom" ! colspan=3, Career ! 2 ! 0 ! 0 ! 10 ! 10 ! 20 ! 3 ! 1 ! 0.0 ! 0.0 ! 5.0 ! 5.0 ! 10.0 ! 1.5 ! 0.5

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ross, Michael Essendon Football Club players 1991 births Living people Gippsland Power players Australian rules footballers from Victoria (state) Bendigo Football Club players