Brandon Ellis (born 3 August 1993) is a professional Australian rules footballer currently playing for the Gold Coast Suns in the Australian Football League (AFL). He previously played 176 matches over eight seasons at , including in the 2017 and 2019 premierships.

Early life and junior football

Ellis was raised in the inner-suburb of Carlton North, four kilometres north of

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 met ...

. He first played football in the Auskick program in Brunswick at the age of four. At age seven he began playing with the under 10s side at West Coburg where he won the best and fairest award despite being many years younger than most of his teammates. Ellis quit football temporarily in year 10 in the aftermath of his father's terminal cancer diagnoses. He later played representative football with 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 ...

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 Vict ...

where he played 29 games across his bottom and top aged seasons. Ellis represented the Victorian Metro side at the 2010 Under 18 national championships. He recorded a 76 per cent disposal efficiency and the most score involvements of any defender in the competition. He earned All-Australian selection for his performances. He attended high school at

Princes Hill Secondary College , established = 1889 , principal = Trevor Smith , years = 7-12 , enrollment = 850 , streetaddress = Arnold Street, Princes Hill , city = Melbourne , state = Victoria , postcode = 3054 , coordina ...

in the Melbourne suburb of North Carlton.

AFL career

Richmond (2012–2019)

Ellis was drafted to Richmond with the 15th selection in 2011 National Draft. He debuted on Round 1 the following season, in a 44-point loss to traditional rivals . He was nominated for the 2012 AFL Rising Star award in Round 17 after recording 21 disposals and 5 marks in Richmond's close loss to . In Round 8,

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 fa ...

Ellis recorded a career-best 39 disposals in Richmond's 34-point victory over . Ellis placed equal fifth at the club in 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 ...

tally that year, recording 5 votes. The same year he was selected in the inaugural

AFL Players Association The AFL Players Association (AFL PA, also simply known as AFL Players) is the representative body for all current and past professional Australian Football League (AFL) and AFL Women's (AFLW) players. The AFL PA promotes and protects its membe ...

'' 22under22'' team, as one of the best young players in the league. Ellis received the Jack Titus medal in 2014, for finishing second in the Richmond Best-and-Fairest count. He led the club in disposals and rebound 50s and placed fourth in the club at the Brownlow Medal. He was also nominated to the

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 b ...

squad of 40 but was ultimately not selected to the final side. That same year he earned his second selection to the AFLPA's '' 22under22'' team. Ellis had another strong season in 2015, relishing his role as the club's number one outside midfielder. He topped the club for uncontested possessions and ranked second for total disposals. He failed to make an impact in Richmond's losing elimination final however, recording only 10 disposals on the day. Between round 4 2014 and round 18 2015, Ellis recorded a club record streak of 27 straight matches with 20 or more disposals. He played his 100th AFL game in Round 12, 2016, against the Gold Coast Suns at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. He finished the season ranked 3rd at the club for disposals in 2016. In 2017 he changed roles, shifting from the wing and into Richmond's half back line. After 111 consecutive matches played at AFL level, Ellis was omitted from the Richmond side to face in round 6, 2018. It was his first missed match since round 12, 2013. He returned to senior football in round 10, after spending four weeks with the club's reserves side at VFL level. Ellis played the 150th AFL match of his career in round 20's win over at the MCG. After playing in each of the final 13 matches of the season, Ellis was dropped from the club's side for the Qualifying final against in order to make way from the injury return of All-Australian squad member Kane Lambert. In 2019 Ellis returned to a role on the wing. He finished the 2019 season by playing in a winning grand final, his second premiership in three seasons at Richmond. He had played 176 games over eight seasons at Richmond.

Gold Coast (2020–)

On the opening day of the 2019 free agency period, Ellis signed a five-year contract with , officially moving when Richmond declined to match the Suns offer despite his status as a restricted free agent. Ellis played in 16 of a possible 17 games in his COVID-19 pandemic affected first season at Gold Coast, placing fifth in the club's best and fairest award.

Statistics

: ''Statistics are correct to the end of the 2022 season'' , - ! 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 gat ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 42 , , 21 , , 2 , , 8 , , 183 , , 147 , , 330 , , 80 , , 36 , , 0.1 , , 0.4 , , 8.7 , , 7.0 , , 15.7 , , 3.8 , , 1.7 , , 0 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

, style="text-align:center;", , 5 , , 21 , , 14 , , 7 , , 246 , , 144 , , 390 , , 124 , , 45 , , 0.7 , , 0.3 , , 11.7 , , 6.9 , , 18.6 , , 5.9 , , 2.1 , , 5 , - ! 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 ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 5 , , 23 , , 10 , , 11 , , 355 , , 246 , , 601 , , 126 , , 56 , , 0.4 , , 0.5 , , 15.4 , , 10.7 , , 26.1 , , 5.5 , , 2.4 , , 9 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" , 2015 , style="text-align:center;", , 5 , , 23 , , 8 , , 11 , , 342 , , 252 , , 594 , , 146 , , 77 , , 0.4 , , 0.5 , , 14.9 , , 11.0 , , 25.8 , , 6.3 , , 3.3 , , 7 , - ! 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 of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 5 , , 22 , , 5 , , 9 , , 290 , , 230 , , 520 , , 134 , , 56 , , 0.2 , , 0.4 , , 13.2 , , 10.5 , , 23.6 , , 6.1 , , 2.5 , , 3 , - , bgcolor=F0E68C ,

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a s ...

^# , style="text-align:center;", , 5 , , 25 , , 7 , , 4 , , 331 , , 226 , , 557 , , 126 , , 51 , , 0.3 , , 0.2 , , 13.2 , , 9.0 , , 22.3 , , 5.0 , , 2.0 , , 1 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the Unit ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 5 , , 18 , , 3 , , 4 , , 202 , , 154 , , 356 , , 87 , , 38 , , 0.2 , , 0.2 , , 11.2 , , 8.6 , , 19.8 , , 4.8 , , 2.1 , , 0 , - , bgcolor=F0E68C ,

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

^# , style="text-align:center;", , 5 , , 23 , , 9 , , 3 , , 269 , , 216 , , 485 , , 116 , , 57 , , 0.4 , , 0.1 , , 11.7 , , 9.4 , , 21.1 , , 5.0 , , 2.5 , , 0 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in t ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 4 , , 16 , , 5 , , 3 , , 194 , , 99 , , 293 , , 68 , , 42 , , 0.3 , , 0.2 , , 12.1 , , 6.2 , , 18.3 , , 4.3 , , 2.6 , , 0 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October 2021 coup in Sudan; Crowd shortly after t ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 4 , , 18 , , 5 , , 2 , , 273 , , 150 , , 423 , , 130 , , 47 , , 0.3 , , 0.1 , , 15.2 , , 8.3 , , 23.5 , , 7.2 , , 2.6 , , 5 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretariat; The global monkeypo ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 4 , , 21 , , 9 , , 6 , , 314 , , 146 , , 460 , , 115 , , 47 , , 0.4 , , 0.3 , , 15.0 , , 7.0 , , 21.9 , , 5.5 , , 2.2 , , 5 , - , - class="sortbottom" ! colspan=3, Career ! 231 ! 77 ! 68 ! 2999 ! 2010 ! 5009 ! 1252 ! 552 ! 0.3 ! 0.3 ! 13.0 ! 8.7 ! 21.7 ! 5.4 ! 2.4 ! 35 Notes

Honours and achievements

Team * 2× AFL premiership player ():

McClelland Trophy The McClelland Trophy is an Australian rules football trophy which has been awarded each year since 1951 by the Australian Football League (known prior to 1990 as the Victorian Football League) to the best-performing club in the home-and-away sea ...

():

Individual *

AFL Rising Star The AFL Rising Star is an Australian rules football award presented annually to the player adjudged the best young player in the Australian Football League (AFL) for the year. It was first presented in the 1993 season, and was won by Nathan Buc ...

nominee:

* Yiooken Award: 2015 * Jack Titus Medal (2nd RFC B&F): 2014 *5th place, Gold Coast B&F: 2020 *3× 22under22 team: 2013, 2014, 2015

Personal life

His father was treated for kidney cancer when Ellis was a child and in 2009, also received a terminal throat cancer diagnoses but overcame the illness through six months of extensive radiation and

chemotherapy Chemotherapy (often abbreviated to chemo and sometimes CTX or CTx) is a type of cancer treatment that uses one or more anti-cancer drugs ( chemotherapeutic agents or alkylating agents) as part of a standardized chemotherapy regimen. Chemothe ...

. As a child, Ellis grew up and lived in a housing commission flat in Melbourne's inner north. As a teenager he was frequently exposed to the crime prevalent in the area including regular incidents of his clothes being stolen from the flat's shared clothesline, himself thieving clothes from city retailers and watching friends stabbed and assaulted in front of him.

References

External links

* *
Brandon Ellis's statistics
from Footy Wire {{DEFAULTSORT:Ellis, Brandon Living people 1993 births Calder Cannons players Australian rules footballers from Melbourne Richmond Football Club players Richmond Football Club Premiership players Gold Coast Football Club players Two-time VFL/AFL Premiership players