Georgia Bevan (born 11 June 1993) is an Australian rules footballer who played for Adelaide and the Gold Coast in the AFL Women's (AFLW) competition. After playing softball as a teenager she changed sports to football. After playing for Morphettville Park Football Club in the South Australian Women's Football League and winning three consecutive premierships with the club, she was drafted by Adelaide in the inaugural AFLW draft and was a member of their premiership winning team in the 2017 AFL Women's Grand Final. In 2021 she was signed as an injury replacement player by the Gold Coast and was delisted at the end of the season.

Georgia Bevan
Bevan playing for Adelaide in January 2018
Personal information
Date of birth (1993-06-11) 11 June 1993 (age 31)
Original team(s) Morphettville Park (SAWFL)
Draft No. 42, 2016 AFL Women's draft
Debut Round 1, 2017, Adelaide vs. Greater Western Sydney, at Thebarton Oval
Height 161 cm (5 ft 3 in)
Position(s) Midfielder
Playing career1
Years Club Games (Goals)
2017–2018 Adelaide 13 (1)
2021 Gold Coast 03 (0)
Total 16 (1)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of the 2021 season.
Career highlights
Source: AustralianFootball.com

Early life

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Bevan was born into a sporting family. Her mother played softball for Australia and her sister (12 years older) and brother (8 years older) played softball and baseball respectively.[1] Bevan played a number of sports in her childhood, including softball, in which she represented her home state of South Australia multiple times.[2] Bevan also played Australian rules football, and represented South Australia in 2010 at the inaugural women's under-18 national championships. She was selected in the team of the carnival.[3]

Bevan started playing club football in 2013 and in 2014 she was selected to play for a South Australian team. Despite only being 20 years old she was made the vice-captain of the team.[1] She enjoyed success in football in South Australia for Morphettville Park, with whom she won three consecutive premierships in the South Australian Women's Football League (SAWFL) from 2014 to 2016.[3] She also played in the 2016 All Stars Women's Exhibition match and was named best-on-ground.[2]

AFLW career

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Bevan was drafted by Adelaide with their sixth selection and forty-second overall in the 2016 AFL Women's draft.[4] She made her debut in the thirty-six point win against Greater Western Sydney at Thebarton Oval in the opening round of the 2017 season.[5] She played one of her best matches of the season in Adelaide's Grand Final win over Brisbane by six points at Metricon Stadium, with 13 disposals, four inside 50s and five tackles as the Crows became the inaugural AFLW premiers.[2][6][7] She played every match in her debut season to finish with eight matches.[8]

Adelaide signed Bevan for the 2018 season during the trade period in May, 2017.[9] She was delisted by Adelaide at the end of the 2018 season.[10]

In January 2021, following a couple of seasons playing for Sturt in the SANFL Women's League (SANFLW), Bevan was signed as an injury replacement player by Gold Coast after Jacqui Yorston was placed on the inactive list due to an anterior cruciate ligament injury.[11][12] At the end of the season, Bevan was delisted by the club after making 3 appearances during the season.[13]

Player profile

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Bevan is a ball-winning midfielder who excels at stoppages. She also plays a role linking defence and attack, and in the 2017 AFLW season she was one of the top ten players in the competition for inside 50s. She always wears a red ribbon while playing, making her stand out on the field.[2]

Personal life

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Bevan works as a accredited sports dietitian and nutritionist and is also the club president of the Morphettville Park Football Club.[2]

References

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  1. ^ a b Williams, Paul (19 April 2016). "Former softball star Georgia Bevan sets her sights on AFL". sbs.com.au. Retrieved 5 February 2018.
  2. ^ a b c d e "Georgia Bevan". AFC.com.au. Bigpond. Retrieved 5 February 2018.
  3. ^ a b Conlon, Matilda (2 November 2016). "Georgia's recipe for success". AFC.com.au. Bigpond. Retrieved 5 February 2018.
  4. ^ "Crows welcome first women's draft class". AFC.com.au. Bigpond. 12 October 2016. Retrieved 23 May 2017.
  5. ^ "AFLW Teams Round 1: Full sides named for inaugural round of AFL Women's competition". Fox Sports. News Corp Australia. 3 February 2017. Retrieved 23 May 2017.
  6. ^ "AFLW: Grand Final teams revealed". AFL.com.au. Bigpond. 23 March 2017. Retrieved 23 May 2017.
  7. ^ David, Greg (25 March 2017). "Adelaide Crows defeat Brisbane Lions by six points in AFLW grand final". The Courier-Mail. News Corp Australia. Retrieved 23 May 2017.
  8. ^ "Georgia Bevan". AustralianFootball.com. Retrieved 23 May 2017.
  9. ^ "AFLW: All the clubs' full lists after trade period - AFL.com.au". AFL.com.au. Bigpond. 26 May 2017. Retrieved 26 May 2017.
  10. ^ Black, Sarah (7 June 2018). "AFLW: Delisted Docker goes coast to coast". AFL.com.au. Telstra Media. Archived from the original on 22 September 2018. Retrieved 25 June 2018.
  11. ^ "SUNS sign Georgia Bevan as AFLW injury replacement player". Gold Coast Suns. Telstra Media. 25 January 2021.
  12. ^ Milbank, Zac (27 January 2021). "Bevan and Pope receive late AFLW lifelines". SANFL.
  13. ^ "SUNS make AFLW list changes". Gold Coast. Telstra. 28 April 2021.
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