Aaron Davey

Aaron Davey (born 10 June 1983) is a former Australian Football League (AFL) who represented the Melbourne Football Club between 2004 and 2013. He is currently the Senior Coach of the Cairns City Lions, where he also served as a Player-Coach.

Aaron Davey
Photographed in March 2007
Personal information
Full name	Aaron Davey
Date of birth	(1983-06-10) 10 June 1983
Place of birth	Darwin, Northern Territory
Original team(s)	Port Melbourne (VFL)
Draft	No. 3, 2004 Rookie Draft, Melbourne
Height	177 cm (5 ft 10 in)
Weight	74 kg (163 lb)
Position(s)	Midfielder
Playing career1
Years	Club	Games (Goals)
2004–2013	Melbourne	178 (174)
Representative team honours
Years	Team	Games (Goals)
2005–2009	Indigenous All-Stars	3
International team honours
2005–2006	Australia	4
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 2013. 2 State and international statistics correct as of 2006.
Career highlights
Keith 'Bluey' Truscott Medal 2009 Harold Ball Memorial Trophy: 2004 AFL Rising Star nominee: 2004 Fothergill–Round–Mitchell Medal: 2003
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

Davey was the runner-up in the AFL Rising Star award in 2004 and represented Australia in the International Rules Series against Ireland in 2005 and 2006.

Early years

Davey, who is of Indigenous Australian ancestry with roots in the Kokatha people of South Australia, was raised in Darwin, Northern Territory. He is one of five siblings, including his brother Alwyn, who played for Essendon.

Davey began playing football in the Northern Territory Football League for the Palmerston Football Club. He later moved to Melbourne to pursue an AFL career and trialled with the Port Melbourne Football Club in the Victorian Football League.

In 2003, Davey was overlooked in the AFL draft but was selected by the Melbourne Football Club with Pick No. 3 in the rookie draft.

AFL career

Debut Season: 2004

Davey made his AFL debut for Melbourne in the 2004 season, where he quickly gained attention with a goal and 13 possessions in his first match. His performances throughout the season earned him an AFL Rising Star nomination, though a hamstring injury sidelined him for four games before returning for the finals.

At the end of the season, he won the AFLPA best first year player.

Season 2005

In 2005, Davey played all 22 games and represented Australia in the International Rules Series. He finished third in Melbourne's Best and Fairest award and won the AFLPA Marn grook Award for Best Emerging Indigenous Player.

Season 2006

Davey played across multiple positions, including forward, midfield, and backline. He gained attention for his pace and versaitility and earned three Goal of the Year nominations, including two consecutive, soccer-style goals.

Seasons 2007-2010

In 2007, Davey was suspeneded for two games for striking. He struggled with injuries in 2008 but had a standout 2009 season after being moved into the midfield under new coach Dean Bailey. That year, he won Melbourne's Best and Fairest award, the Keith 'Bluey' Truscott Medal. In 2010, Davey finished fourth in Melbourne's Best and Fairest and was Melbourne's equal leading vote-getter at the Brownlow Medal.

Retirement

Davey announced his retirement on 20 August 2013 and played his final AFL game on 1 September 2013 against the Western Bulldogs.

Statistics

Season	Team	No.	Games	Totals							Averages (per game)							Votes
				G	B	K	H	D	M	T	G	B	K	H	D	M	T
2004	Melbourne	36	19	28	20	131	50	181	21	50	1.5	1.1	6.9	2.6	9.5	1.1	2.6	0
2005	Melbourne	36	23	30	32	198	81	279	49	71	1.3	1.4	8.6	3.5	12.1	2.1	3.1	0
2006	Melbourne	36	22	37	15	253	74	327	79	63	1.7	0.7	11.5	3.4	14.9	3.6	2.9	2
2007	Melbourne	36	18	24	13	200	58	258	57	70	1.3	0.7	11.1	3.2	14.3	3.2	3.9	2
2008	Melbourne	36	15	11	10	164	73	237	48	44	0.7	0.7	10.9	4.9	15.8	3.2	2.9	0
2009	Melbourne	36	22	9	8	357	147	504	60	90	0.4	0.4	16.2	6.7	22.9	2.7	4.1	6
2010	Melbourne	36	20	8	9	289	98	387	45	75	0.4	0.5	14.5	4.9	19.4	2.3	3.8	10
2011	Melbourne	36	11	5	7	127	50	177	29	31	0.5	0.6	11.5	4.5	16.1	2.6	2.8	0
2012	Melbourne	36	8	7	3	51	33	84	13	37	0.9	0.4	6.4	4.1	10.5	1.6	4.6	0
2013	Melbourne	36	20	15	12	162	53	215	39	42	0.8	0.6	8.1	2.7	10.8	2.0	2.1	2
Career			178	174	129	1932	717	2649	440	573	1.0	0.7	10.9	4.0	14.9	2.5	3.2	22

Honours and achievements

• Individual
  • Keith 'Bluey' Truscott Medal: 2009
  • AFL Rising Star Runner-up: 2004
  • AFL Rising Star Nominee: 2004 (Round 1)
  • Australian Representative Honours in International Rules Football: 2005, 2006, 2013
  • Harold Ball Memorial Trophy: 2004
  • AFLPA Marn Grook Award: 2005
  • Indigenous All-Stars Representative Honours: 2007, 2009, 2013

Media appearances

Davey made an appearance on the AFL Players Revue of the Grand Final edition of The AFL Footy Show doing a Michael Jackson impersonation.

In 2009, Davey appeared alongside other AFL footballers in an AFL television advertisement titled "AFL: In a League of its Own”, which featured prominent AFL players playing Australian rules football at famous sporting venues around the world, and in the middle of other sports being played, including basketball, Association football and American football. In the advertisement, Davey receives a handball from Brett Deledio on a basketball court, before proceeding to kick the ball to Chris Judd.

Davey is a frequent panellist on The Marngrook Footy Show.

Personal life and family

Davey is the older brother of Alwyn Davey, who played for Essendon, and is related to Brownlow Medallist, Gavin Wanganeen, and NBA player Patrick Mills.

His sister, Bronwyn, was part of the first AFL Women's Draft, playing for the Melbourne Football Club's women's team recruited from Greenacres, South Australia.

Charitable work

In 2005, Davey became an ambassador for The Fred Hollows Foundation. In 2013, he participated in Coastrek, running 50km to raise funds for the foundation and to raise awareness about the health issues affecting Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islander communities.

External links

• Aaron Davey's profile on the official website of the Melbourne Football Club
• Aaron Davey's playing statistics from AFL Tables
• Vibe article on Aaron Davey