Brendon Gale (born 18 July 1968) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Richmond Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL).
| Brendon Gale | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Gale in his role as club CEO at the unfurling of Richmond's 2017 AFL Premiership flag. | |||
| Personal information | |||
| Date of birth | 18 July 1968 | ||
| Place of birth | Burnie, Tasmania | ||
| Original team(s) | Burnie Hawks | ||
| Draft | No. 27, 1987 national draft | ||
| Debut | Round 1, 31 March 1990, Richmond vs. Brisbane, at Carrara Stadium | ||
| Height | 198 cm (6 ft 6 in) | ||
| Weight | 102 kg (225 lb) | ||
| Position(s) | Centre Half-Forward / Ruckman | ||
| Playing career1 | |||
| Years | Club | Games (Goals) | |
| 1990–2001 | Richmond | 244 (209) | |
|
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 2001. | |||
| Career highlights | |||
| Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com | |||
As a qualified lawyer, he practised law with a commercial law firm for some time after his retirement from football, and then served as CEO of the AFL Players' Association from 2005 to 2009. On In 2009, he was appointed CEO of Richmond.
Early life and education edit
Brendon Gale was born on 18 July 1968.[1]
He first studied law at Monash University in Melbourne, graduating with Bachelor of Laws. In 2019 he received a Master of Arts degree.[2]
Playing career edit
Gale played for the Richmond Football Club from 1990 to 2001 as a centre half-forward and later ruckman. For five seasons he played alongside his older brother, Michael, who was a very skilled football player some may say even amazing, who transferred from the Fitzroy Football Club at the end of the 1993 season. Michael was also a very skilled pianist and flutist. Brendon was appointed vice-captain of the club between 1994 and 1997. Their father, Don Gale, was a champion Tasmanian footballer who became the first player from the NWFU to achieve All Australian selection. Their grandfather, Jack Gale, played three games for Richmond in 1924.
For a period during his playing days Gale played guitar in a small band called Trial By Video, which included other footballers Mark Zanotti, Tony Woods, and Paul Bulluss.[3]
Post-football career edit
After his AFL playing career, Gale practised law with commercial law firm King Wood Mallesons, until serving as chief executive officer of the AFL Players' Association from 2005 to 2009.[4][2]
He was also a member of the AFL's "Laws of the Game" or Rules Committee.[citation needed]
In 2009, he was appointed CEO of Richmond, leading over 150 people. Under his leadership, the team's Punt Road Oval headquarters was transformed into a high-performance facility, with the club growing extensively both commercially and in fan numbers. It has been competing in most of the AFL finals series, and won the Premiership in 2017.[2]
Other activities edit
Gale is a director on several boards, and advocates for diversity. From 2009 until 2013, he served on the board of the Victorian Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission, and has been involved in the "Male Champions of Change" program.[2]
In media edit
Gale features in the 2021 fly-on-the-wall documentary TV series Making Their Mark, which showed the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on several AFL clubs, players, and staff.[5][6] Players Nic Naitanui, Eddie Betts, Stephen Coniglio, and Rory Sloane were featured, as well as Gold Coast Suns football club coach Stuart Dew, and staff leaders Peggy O'Neal, Damien Hardwick, and Gale.[7][8]
Statistics edit
Player statistics for Brendon Gale:[1]
G
|
Goals | K
|
Kicks | D
|
Disposals | T
|
Tackles |
B
|
Behinds | H
|
Handballs | M
|
Marks | H/O
|
Hit-outs |
| Season | Team | No. | Games | Totals | Averages (per game) | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | B | K | H | D | M | T | H/O | G | B | K | H | D | M | T | H/O | ||||
| 1990 | Richmond | 25 | 22 | 21 | 22 | 150 | 75 | 225 | 100 | 24 | 14 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 6.8 | 3.4 | 10.2 | 4.5 | 1.1 | 0.6 |
| 1991 | Richmond | 25 | 21 | 16 | 15 | 159 | 104 | 263 | 118 | 16 | 39 | 0.8 | 0.7 | 7.6 | 5.0 | 12.5 | 5.6 | 0.8 | 1.9 |
| 1992 | Richmond | 25 | 18 | 7 | 9 | 162 | 112 | 274 | 103 | 15 | 51 | 0.4 | 0.5 | 9.0 | 6.2 | 15.2 | 5.7 | 0.8 | 2.8 |
| 1993 | Richmond | 25 | 16 | 26 | 21 | 162 | 91 | 253 | 134 | 10 | 64 | 1.6 | 1.3 | 10.1 | 5.7 | 15.8 | 8.4 | 0.6 | 4.0 |
| 1994 | Richmond | 25 | 21 | 27 | 24 | 191 | 101 | 292 | 144 | 14 | 62 | 1.3 | 1.1 | 9.1 | 4.8 | 13.9 | 6.9 | 0.7 | 3.0 |
| 1995 | Richmond | 25 | 24 | 30 | 15 | 210 | 95 | 305 | 133 | 28 | 117 | 1.3 | 0.6 | 8.8 | 4.0 | 12.7 | 5.5 | 1.2 | 4.9 |
| 1996 | Richmond | 25 | 22 | 34 | 25 | 178 | 88 | 266 | 129 | 20 | 42 | 1.5 | 1.1 | 8.1 | 4.0 | 12.1 | 5.9 | 0.9 | 1.9 |
| 1997 | Richmond | 25 | 19 | 12 | 8 | 168 | 93 | 261 | 102 | 26 | 206 | 0.6 | 0.4 | 8.8 | 4.9 | 13.7 | 5.4 | 1.4 | 10.8 |
| 1998 | Richmond | 25 | 21 | 4 | 1 | 191 | 144 | 335 | 128 | 22 | 393 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 9.1 | 6.9 | 16.0 | 6.1 | 1.0 | 18.7 |
| 1999 | Richmond | 25 | 18 | 6 | 3 | 137 | 77 | 214 | 93 | 17 | 297 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 7.6 | 4.3 | 11.9 | 5.2 | 0.9 | 16.5 |
| 2000 | Richmond | 25 | 20 | 22 | 3 | 165 | 86 | 251 | 107 | 15 | 239 | 1.1 | 0.2 | 8.3 | 4.3 | 12.6 | 5.4 | 0.8 | 12.0 |
| 2001 | Richmond | 25 | 22 | 4 | 1 | 102 | 149 | 251 | 92 | 24 | 308 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 4.6 | 6.8 | 11.4 | 4.2 | 1.1 | 14.0 |
| Career | 244 | 209 | 147 | 1975 | 1215 | 3190 | 1383 | 231 | 1832 | 0.9 | 0.6 | 8.1 | 5.0 | 13.1 | 5.7 | 0.9 | 7.5 | ||
References edit
- ^ a b "Brendon Gale". AFL Tables. Retrieved 30 March 2024.
- ^ a b c d "Brendon Gale". Alumni. 2 November 2022. Retrieved 30 March 2024.
- ^ "Gale on The Front Bar" (Video). richmondfc.com.au. Seven Network. 22 March 2018. Retrieved 14 August 2018.
- ^ Ryan, Peter (17 March 2011). "Breaking the cycle". Richmond Football Club.
- ^ Bilton, Dean (16 March 2021). "Making Their Mark, Amazon's AFL documentary, offers genuine insight into the faults and fears of modern professional athletes". ABC News. Retrieved 29 March 2024.
- ^ Baum, Greg (9 March 2021). "AFL 2021: Amazon documentary reveals the tension of Richmond Tigers' premiership season". The Age. Retrieved 29 March 2024.
- ^ Knox, David (15 February 2021). "Making Their Mark: trailer". TV Tonight. Retrieved 30 March 2024.
- ^ "Richmond president won't set expectations of another Tiger flag in 2021". 3AW. 12 March 2021. Retrieved 30 March 2024.
Further reading edit
External links edit
- Brendon Gale's playing statistics from AFL Tables
- Brendon Gale at AustralianFootball.com
- Top 10 Tiger draftees: No. 5 – Brendon Gale, by Tony Greenberg, 18 November 2012
