William Gerald Minson (born 11 April 1985) is a former 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 who played 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).

Early life

Minson grew up in

Norwood, South Australia Norwood is a suburb of Adelaide, about east of the Adelaide city centre. The suburb is in the City of Norwood Payneham & St Peters, whose predecessor was the oldest South Australian local government municipality. History Before British colonis ...

and played football with the

Norwood Football Club Norwood Football Club, nicknamed the Redlegs, is an Australian rules football club competing in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL) in the state of South Australia. Its home ground is Coopers Stadium (Norwood Oval), which is ...

up until the under 18's. He was a student at

St Peter's College, Adelaide , other_name = The Collegiate School of St Peter , seal_image = St Peter's College, Adelaide Logo.svg , seal_size = 150 , image = SPSC chapel and memorial hall.jpg , image_size ...

, where he played the majority of his junior football, while also playing as a junior footballer at Walkerville FC.

AFL career

The

recruited Minson in the 2002 AFL Draft at pick number 20. He made his debut with the club in

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 6 ...

. He was known for his physical presence, being suspended for striking

Geelong Geelong ( ) (Wathawurrung: ''Djilang''/''Djalang'') is a port city in the southeastern Australian state of Victoria, located at the eastern end of Corio Bay (the smaller western portion of Port Phillip Bay) and the left bank of Barwon River, ...

star

Cameron Ling Cameron Ling (born 27 February 1981) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Geelong Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). A tagger at and , Ling is a premiership-winning captain at the club. He is now a c ...

in just his second game. In round 14 2008, with the Bulldogs playing Port Adelaide in their annual game in Darwin, Minson was involved in a confrontation with

Kane Cornes Kane Graham Cornes (born 5 January 1983) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Port Adelaide Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). Early life A product of Sacred Heart College and Glenelg in the SANFL, ...

, a Port Adelaide midfielder. Minson appeared two days later in an interview with the

Foxtel Foxtel is an Australian pay television company—operating in cable television, direct broadcast satellite television, and IPTV streaming services. It was formed in April 2018, superseding an earlier company from 1995. The service was establi ...

AFL program On the Couch, apologising on the couch for a derogatory comment made to Cornes. The actual comment is said to have concerned or been directed towards Kane's newborn son who has suffered from health problems, and in particular questioning Kane's priorities in choosing to play football in Darwin that weekend, rather than being back in Adelaide in support of his wife and son. Minson claimed that what was said was in "the heat of battle". In round 12 2012, following the Western Bulldogs' victory over Port Adelaide, Minson was again embroiled in a controversy over allegedly sledging

Danyle Pearce Danyle Pearce (born 7 April 1986) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Port Adelaide Football Club and Fremantle Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He played for the Port Adelaide betwe ...

, another Port Adelaide player. The comments, which are said to have concerned Pearce's mother, were made in the final quarter of the match, immediately after the two were wrestling at a stoppage and during a subsequent melee. Whilst the incident was not elevated to the AFL tribunal, the Western Bulldogs fined Minson and imposed a one-week suspension on him as punishment for the silly indiscretion. Because of the prior incident with Kane Cornes, a media frenzy ensued. In a press conference two days after the game, Minson said he was "deeply regretful for any comments that were made", and that he had "no intention of ever putting anyone through that again". In October 2016, Minson announced he would no longer be playing for the Western Bulldogs and he would explore his options during the free-agency period. After failing to find a new club during the free-agency period, he was subsequently delisted by the Western Bulldogs.

Statistics

: , - style="background-color: #EAEAEA" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

, , 27 , , 5 , , 1 , , 1 , , 10 , , 7 , , 17 , , 4 , , 4 , , 37 , , 0.2 , , 0.2 , , 2.0 , , 1.4 , , 3.4 , , 0.8 , , 0.8 , , 7.4 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

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 discovered in ...

, , 27 , , 17 , , 4 , , 4 , , 86 , , 64 , , 150 , , 33 , , 52 , , 207 , , 0.2 , , 0.2 , , 5.1 , , 3.8 , , 8.8 , , 8.8 , , 1.9 , , 12.2 , - style="background-color: #EAEAEA" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

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 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

, , 27 , , 13 , , 8 , , 4 , , 58 , , 46 , , 104 , , 25 , , 24 , , 131 , , 0.6 , , 0.3 , , 4.5 , , 3.5 , , 8.0 , , 1.9 , , 1.8 , , 10.1 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...

, , 27 , , 6 , , 0 , , 1 , , 26 , , 22 , , 48 , , 8 , , 13 , , 73 , , 0.0 , , 0.2 , , 4.3 , , 3.7 , , 8.0 , , 1.3 , , 2.2 , , 12.2 , - style="background-color: #EAEAEA" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

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; ...

, , 27 , , 25 , , 19 , , 11 , , 175 , , 91 , , 266 , , 88 , , 58 , , 313 , , 0.8 , , 0.4 , , 7.0 , , 3.6 , , 10.6 , , 3.5 , , 2.3 , , 12.5 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

, , 27 , , 25 , , 16 , , 4 , , 143 , , 165 , , 308 , , 89 , , 70 , , 365 , , 0.6 , , 0.2 , , 5.7 , , 6.6 , , 12.3 , , 3.6 , , 2.8 , , 14.6 , - style="background-color: #EAEAEA" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

, , 27 , , 15 , , 8 , , 7 , , 88 , , 75 , , 163 , , 48 , , 32 , , 197 , , 0.5 , , 0.5 , , 5.9 , , 5.0 , , 10.9 , , 3.2 , , 2.1 , , 13.1 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

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 ...

, , 27 , , 9 , , 6 , , 2 , , 62 , , 49 , , 111 , , 32 , , 23 , , 167 , , 0.7 , , 0.2 , , 6.9 , , 5.4 , , 12.3 , , 3.6 , , 2.6 , , 18.6 , - 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 ...

, , 27 , , 21 , , 4 , , 6 , , 138 , , 154 , , 292 , , 57 , , 67 , , bgcolor="CFECEC", 667 , , 0.2 , , 0.3 , , 6.6 , , 7.3 , , 13.9 , , 2.7 , , 3.2 , , 31.8 , - ! 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 ...

, , 27 , , 22 , , 7 , , 5 , , 152 , , 168 , , 320 , , 40 , , 81 , , bgcolor="DD6E81", 860 , , 0.3 , , 0.2 , , 6.9 , , 7.6 , , 14.5 , , 1.8 , , 3.7 , , bgcolor="DD6E81", 39.1 , - 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 , , 21 , , 4 , , 6 , , 144 , , 108 , , 252 , , 33 , , 81 , , 757 , , 0.2 , , 0.3 , , 6.9 , , 5.1 , , 12.0 , , 1.6 , , 3.9 , , 36.0 , - ! 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 , , 10 , , 3 , , 3 , , 62 , , 40 , , 102 , , 17 , , 41 , , 265 , , 0.3 , , 0.3 , , 6.2 , , 4.0 , , 10.2 , , 1.7 , , 4.1 , , 26.5 , - 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 , , 2 , , 1 , , 0 , , 9 , , 5 , , 14 , , 1 , , 6 , , 32 , , 0.5 , , 0.0 , , 4.5 , , 2.5 , , 7.0 , , 0.5 , , 3.0 , , 16.0 , - class="sortbottom" ! colspan=3, Career ! 191 ! 81 ! 54 ! 1153 ! 994 ! 2147 ! 475 ! 552 ! 4071 ! 0.4 ! 0.3 ! 6.0 ! 5.2 ! 11.2 ! 2.5 ! 2.9 ! 21.3

Personal life

Minson has a younger brother, Hugh, who formerly played in the

with

Port Adelaide Port Adelaide is a port-side region of Adelaide, approximately northwest of the Adelaide CBD. It is also the namesake of the City of Port Adelaide Enfield council, a suburb, a federal and state electoral division and is the main port for the ...

before being forced to retire through injury. Off the field, Minson is known for his multi-faceted abilities - he plays

saxophone The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to pr ...

, speaks fluent

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

and studied

civil engineering Civil engineering is a professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including public works such as roads, bridges, canals, dams, airports, sewage ...

at the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb nor ...

.Football is not the limit of player skills
/ref> He is also heavily involved with the charity Red Dust, which operates sporting and lifestyle clinics in remote aboriginal communities and, more recently, in very poor areas of India.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Minson, Will 1985 births People educated at St Peter's College, Adelaide Living people Western Bulldogs players Norwood Football Club players Australian people of German descent Australian rules footballers from South Australia All-Australians (AFL)