Shane Barry Crawford (born 9 September 1974) 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 ...

player, television media personality and author. He played 305 senior games for the Hawthorn Football Club in the

Australian Football League The Australian Football League (AFL) is the only fully professional sports, 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 ...

(AFL) and won the

Brownlow Medal The Charles Brownlow Trophy, better known as the Brownlow Medal (and informally as "Charlie"), is awarded to the "best and fairest" player in the Australian Football League (AFL) during the home-and-away season, as determined by votes cast by t ...

in 1999. Crawford is currently the head coach with the Ardmona Cats.

AFL career

Crawford spent his childhood in

Finley, New South Wales Finley '' Macquarie Dictionary, Fourth Edition'' (2005). Melbourne, The Macquarie Library Pty Ltd. is a town in the Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia. It is the largest town in the Berrigan Shire local government area. At the 2 ...

, and played his junior football with the

Finley Football Club The Finley Football Club, nicknamed the ''Cats'', is an Australian rules football and netball club based in the town of Finley located in the Riverina district of New South Wales. The club's football and netball teams currently play in the play ...

. He attended boarding school at Assumption College in Kilmore, Victoria and was selected by Hawthorn with the 13th pick in the 1991 AFL Draft. He made his debut in 1993. Crawford played 305 career AFL games. He is also a four-time

All-Australian The All-Australian team is an all-star team of Australian rules footballers, selected by a panel at the end of each season. It represents a complete team, including an interchange bench, of the best-performed players during the season, led by ...

player and played in three International Rules series for Australia. He became captain of Hawthorn in 1999 and that season also won the AFL's top individual honours, the Brownlow Medal and the Leigh Matthews Trophy. He has won four Hawthorn ''Best & Fairest Awards'' (1998, 1999, 2002, 2003) and came equal fourth in the Brownlow in 2003, losing to the winners by one vote. He was also a member of Hawthorn's 2008 premiership side. Crawford stepped down from the Hawthorn captaincy after the 2004 season, in which he broke his arm and the Hawks finished second last on the AFL ladder. He regained some form in the 2005 season, during which he played his 250th AFL game against the

Brisbane Lions The Brisbane Lions is a professional Australian rules football club based in Brisbane, Queensland, that plays in the Australian Football League (AFL). The club was formed in late 1996 via a merger of the Melbourne-based 1883 foundation VFL c ...

at the Gabba, and was again one of the league's leading possession winners. He played his 300th game for Hawthorn against the

in Round 19 in 2008 in Launceston when Hawthorn defeated the Lions by 69 points. On 27 September 2008, Crawford won his first premiership in his 305th AFL match, aged 34. He played more AFL games before receiving his first premiership medal than any other player. Crawford was offered another year with the Hawks, but he announced his retirement, wanting to go out on a high note. He ended his career after Hawthorn won the 2008 Grand Final and is now remembered as one of the greatest midfielders in the modern era of AFL football. In 2012, Crawford was inducted in the

Australian Football Hall of Fame The Australian Football Hall of Fame was established in 1996, the Centenary year of the Australian Football League, to help recognise the contributions made to the sport of Australian rules football by players, umpires, media personalities, coac ...

Media career

Crawford was a regular panel member of the sports program '' The AFL Footy Show'' (from 2009 until its axing in 2019), a presenter on holiday and destination programs ''Getaway'' and ''Postcards'' (since 2008), and a presenter on the children's program ''Kids' WB'' (since 2014). In 2011, he was also a contestant on the first season of Channel 9's series '' The Celebrity Apprentice'', on which celebrities compete for charities of their choosing. Crawford raised $49,311 for his charity, the

Breast Cancer Network Australia Breast Cancer Network Australia (BCNA) is a not-for-profit organisation that supports Australians affected by breast cancer. BCNA aims to ensure that Australians affected by breast cancer receive support, information, treatment and care approp ...

. He finished third overall behind dance guru Jason Coleman and actor/comedian

Julia Morris Julia Carolyn Margaret Morris (born 20 April 1968) is an Australian comedian, television presenter and actress who has worked extensively in Australian television and radio, touring the country with her solo comedy shows. She relocated to the Un ...

. In 2020, he became a stand-in presenter in the 4th season of ''

Australian Ninja Warrior ''Australian Ninja Warrior'' is a sports entertainment competition spin-off of the Japanese television series '' Sasuke'' which premiered on 9 July 2017 on the Nine Network. It features hundreds of competitors attempting to complete series of ...

'' and was the main sideline presenter in the 2021 season with a guest appearance from tennis player

Nick Kyrgios Nicholas Hilmy Kyrgios ( ; born 27 April 1995) is an Australian professional tennis player. In singles, Kyrgios' career-high Association of Tennis Professionals, ATP singles ranking of world No. 13 was achieved on 24 October 2016. He has won sev ...

World records

In 2009 Crawford set five

Guinness world records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...

during broadcasts of ''The Footy Show''. * Having 157 live Golden Orb spiders on his body inside a large tank for 30 seconds. * Kissing 96 people on the face in a minute. * By putting on 180 pairs of underwear, surpassing the former world record of 150."The Grand Final Footy Show"(Nine Network) 24 September 2009 * Crawford and previous

Stawell Gift The Stawell Gift is Australia's oldest and richest short-distance running race. It is the main event in an annual carnival held on Easter weekend by the Stawell Athletic Club, with the main race finals on the holiday Monday, at Central Park, ...

winner Adrian Mott broke the world record for the 100m sprint while both inside a single pantomime horse costume. * Cracked 90 eggs with his head in a minute.

Author

In 2010, Crawford released his autobiography, ''That's What I'm Talking About'', written in conjunction with Glenn McFarlane and released in soft-cover and eBook editions. A Junior Edition was released later. In March 2014, a series of children's books with football themes, co-authored by Crawford and Adrian Beck were released. The books revolve around the character "Nick" who is the captain of the Cobar Creek Crocs football team. The four books, released in paperback and eBook formats, are: ''Crawf's Kick it to Nick: The Cursed Cup'', ''Crawf's Kick it to Nick: Outbreak on the Oval'', ''Crawf's Kick it to Nick: Bugs from Beyond'' and ''Crawf's Kick it to Nick: Forward Line Freak''.

Breast cancer fundraising

On 16 September 2010, Crawford completed a 780 km run named "That's What I'm Walking About" from Rundle Mall in

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 ...

to the Channel 9 studio in

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 metro ...

to raise awareness for breast cancer. He took a total of 11 days to complete the run and, as a welcome into Melbourne, ran the final leg into the Channel 9 ''Footy Show's'' studio where the panel and crowd awaited his arrival. Hundreds of "pink ladies" who were affected in some way by breast cancer showed their appreciation and support by making way for Crawford as he ran into the studio. Crawford appeared humbled and initially struggled to come to terms with what he had achieved and the stories that he had heard along the journey from breast cancer sufferers and family/friends of those with breast cancer. His efforts raised $500,000 for the cause. In June and July 2013, Crawford cycled 3,600 km from Melbourne to Perth in a fundraising event named "Tour de Crawf" that took place over 22 days. He averaged nearly 170 km per day and in total he raised $1,328,249 for the Breast Cancer Network Australia.

Honours

In October 2000, Crawford was awarded the Australian Sports Medal for services to Australian football.

Personal life

Crawford and his longtime partner Olivia Anderson have four sons: Charlie (born 2006), Benjamin (born 2008), and twins Jack and Harry (born 2011). He has two brothers, Andrew and Justin. Crawford's interests outside football are diverse, including his passion for horse racing. In 2011, he launched his children's wear range, Kiniki, onto the market. In 2022, Crawford made his musical theatre debut in ''

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat ''Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat'' (often colloquially known as ''Joseph'') is a sung-through musical with lyrics by Tim Rice and music by Andrew Lloyd Webber, based on the character of Joseph from the Bible's Book of Genesis. ...

'' in Melbourne, playing the role of 'Pharaoh'.

Statistics

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1992 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment building in Amsterdam after two of its engin ...

, , , , 9 , 0 , , — , , — , , — , , — , , — , , — , , — , , — , , — , , — , , — , , — , , — , , — , , 0 , - , 1993 , , , , 9 , 20 , , 16 , , 13 , , 181 , , 122 , , 303 , , 57 , , 47 , , 0.8 , , 0.7 , , 9.1 , , 6.1 , , 15.2 , , 2.9 , , 2.4 , , 7 , - style=background:#EAEAEA ,

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which sank in the Baltic Sea; Nels ...

, , , , 9 , 22 , , 19 , , 10 , , 270 , , 195 , , 465 , , 96 , , 45 , , 0.9 , , 0.5 , , 12.3 , , 8.9 , , 21.1 , , 4.4 , , 2.0 , , 7 , - ,

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The Great Hanshin earthquake str ...

, , , , 9 , 16 , , 18 , , 9 , , 188 , , 145 , , 333 , , 76 , , 38 , , 1.1 , , 0.6 , , 11.8 , , 9.1 , , 20.8 , , 4.8 , , 2.4 , , 10 , - style=background:#EAEAEA ,

1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 800, causing the plane to crash and killing everyone o ...

, , , , 9 , 22 , , 16 , , 10 , , 343 , , 194 , , 537 , , 108 , , 55 , , 0.7 , , 0.5 , , 15.6 , , 8.8 , , 24.4 , , 4.9 , , 2.5 , , 11 , - ,

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; '' Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of ...

, , , , 9 , 13 , , 5 , , 4 , , 136 , , 99 , , 235 , , 50 , , 26 , , 0.4 , , 0.3 , , 10.5 , , 7.6 , , 18.1 , , 3.8 , , 2.0 , , 3 , - style=background:#EAEAEA , 1998 , , , , 9 , 21 , , 13 , , 9 , , 350 , , 156 , , 506 , , 81 , , 52 , , 0.6 , , 0.4 , , 16.7 , , 7.4 , , 24.1 , , 3.9 , , 2.5 , , 16 , - ,

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shoot ...

, , , , 9 , 22 , , 14 , , 9 , , 388 , , 252 , , 640 , , 102 , , 35 , , 0.6 , , 0.4 , , 17.6 , , 11.5 , , 29.1 , , 4.6 , , 1.6 , , bgcolor=98FB98, 28^± , - style=background:#EAEAEA ,

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from S ...

, , , , 9 , 21 , , 24 , , 8 , , 237 , , 190 , , 427 , , 78 , , 59 , , 1.1 , , 0.4 , , 11.3 , , 9.0 , , 20.3 , , 3.7 , , 2.8 , , 5 , - ,

2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a multi-national coalition in an invasion of Afghanist ...

, , , , 9 , 21 , , 20 , , 8 , , 247 , , 195 , , 442 , , 89 , , 67 , , 1.0 , , 0.4 , , 11.8 , , 9.3 , , 21.0 , , 4.2 , , 3.2 , , 14 , - style=background:#EAEAEA ,

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

, , , , 9 , 22 , , 19 , , 16 , , 307 , , 226 , , 533 , , 89 , , 87 , , 0.9 , , 0.7 , , 14.0 , , 10.3 , , 24.2 , , 4.0 , , 4.0 , , 17 , - ,

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A ...

, , , , 9 , 22 , , 13 , , 9 , , 279 , , 237 , , 516 , , 65 , , 81 , , 0.6 , , 0.4 , , 12.7 , , 10.8 , , 23.5 , , 3.0 , , 3.7 , , 21 , - style=background:#EAEAEA ,

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight ...

, , , , 9 , 10 , , 6 , , 3 , , 118 , , 63 , , 181 , , 41 , , 38 , , 0.6 , , 0.3 , , 11.8 , , 6.3 , , 18.1 , , 4.1 , , 3.8 , , 2 , - ,

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; " Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discover ...

, , , , 9 , 21 , , 11 , , 5 , , 295 , , 207 , , 502 , , 133 , , 83 , , 0.5 , , 0.2 , , 14.0 , , 9.9 , , 23.9 , , 6.9 , , 4.0 , , 7 , - style=background:#EAEAEA ,

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro votes to declare independence from Serbia; The 2006 ...

, , , , 9 , 15 , , 15 , , 7 , , 196 , , 163 , , 359 , , 104 , , 24 , , 1.0 , , 0.5 , , 13.1 , , 10.9 , , 23.9 , , 6.9 , , 1.6 , , 5 , - ,

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple Inc., Apple's first iPhone (1st generation), iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakis ...

, , , , 9 , 23 , , 10 , , 9 , , 278 , , 261 , , 539 , , 122 , , 76 , , 0.4 , , 0.4 , , 12.1 , , 11.3 , , 23.4 , , 5.3 , , 3.3 , , 6 , - style=background:#EAEAEA , bgcolor=F0E68C ,

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

^# , , , , 9 , 14 , , 5 , , 3 , , 132 , , 178 , , 310 , , 68 , , 47 , , 0.4 , , 0.2 , , 9.4 , , 12.7 , , 22.1 , , 4.9 , , 3.4 , , 0 , - class="sortbottom" ! colspan=3, Career:Shane Crawford's player profile at AFL Tables
/ref> ! 305 !! 224 !! 132 !! 3945 !! 2883 !! 6828 !! 1359 !! 860 !! 0.7 !! 0.4 !! 12.9 !! 9.5 !! 22.4 !! 4.5 !! 2.8 !! 159

Honours and achievements

Team * AFL premiership player ():

* Pre-season premiership player ():

Individual *

* AFLPA MVP: 1999 * 4×

All-Australian team The All-Australian team is an all-star team of Australian rules footballers, selected by a panel at the end of each season. It represents a complete team, including an interchange bench, of the best-performed players during the season, led b ...

: 1996, 1998, 1999, 2002 * Hawthorn Captain: 1999–2004 * 4× Peter Crimmins Memorial Trophy: 1998, 1999, 2002, 2003 *

Alex Jesaulenko Medal The Alex Jesaulenko Medal refers to three unrelated medals in Australian rules football, all named in honour of Alex Jesaulenko, a legend in the Australian Football Hall of Fame. The medals are currently awarded annually to the best player in the ...

: 1998 * Herald Sun Player of the Year: 1999 * Media Association Player of the Year: 1999 * AFL Rising Star nominee: 1993 * 4× Australia international rules football team: 1998,

* Australia international rules football team captain:

* Hall of Fame * life member

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Crawford, Shane 1974 births Living people All-Australians (AFL) Australian rules footballers from New South Wales Brownlow Medal winners Leigh Matthews Trophy winners New South Wales Australian rules football State of Origin players Hawthorn Football Club players Hawthorn Football Club Premiership players Peter Crimmins Medal winners Allies State of Origin players The Apprentice Australia candidates Australian Football Hall of Fame inductees Sportsmen from New South Wales Australian game show hosts Aldinga Football Club players Australia international rules football team players I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! (Australian TV series) participants One-time VFL/AFL Premiership players