William Thursfield (born 19 April 1986) 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 ...

er who played for the

Richmond Football Club The Richmond Football Club, nicknamed the Tigers, is an Australian rules football team playing in the Australian Football League (AFL). Between its inception in the Melbourne suburb of Richmond in 1885 and 1907, the club competed in the Victo ...

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). Known as a courageous backman who has stood some of the more notable forwards of the current game. He is an elevated rookie. Thursfield was born in

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, moving to Australia at age 3. Will attended Brighton Grammar and in years 8–10 and played in the 1st XVII. In 2003 he played in the combined

APS APS or Aps or aps or similar may refer to: Education * Abbottabad Public School * Adarsh Public School, a public school in New Delhi, India * Alamogordo Public Schools * Albuquerque Public Schools, New Mexico, US school district * Allendale Publ ...

team against AGS (Associated Grammar Schools). 2004 saw Will play for the

Sandringham Dragons The Sandringham Dragons are an Australian rules football club playing in the NAB League, the top statewide under-18 competition in Victoria, Australia. They are based at the Trevor Barker Oval in Sandringham, Victoria, representing the southern ...

Under 18s

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 ...

team as vice-captain. Thursfield made his debut in round 14, 2005 against eventual premiers Sydney. His first assignment was handling key-forward Michael O'Loughlin. He impressed straight away by keeping the Swans forward to 1 goal, as the Tigers upset Sydney by a solitary point. Thursfield retired at the end of the 2011 season, having played ten senior matches for the year. He stated that, although he was "proud to have played the game at the highest level over the past seven seasons", there were "some other avenues in islife" that he was "keen to pursue".

References

External links

* Richmond Football Club players Living people English emigrants to Australia VFL/AFL players born in England 1986 births People educated at Brighton Grammar School Australian rules footballers from Victoria (state) Ormond Amateur Football Club players Coburg Football Club players Sandringham Dragons players Sportspeople from Oxford {{AFL-bio-1980s-stub