Adam McPhee (born 6 October 1982) is an

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 Australian rules football playing field, oval field, often a modified ...

player who played for the

Fremantle Football Club The Fremantle Football Club, nicknamed the Dockers or colloquially Freo, is a professional Australian rules football club competing in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's elite competition. The team was founded in 1994 to represen ...

and the

Essendon Football Club The Essendon Football Club, nicknamed the Bombers or colloquially the Dons, is a professional Australian rules football club that plays in the Australian Football League (AFL), the game's premier competition. The club was formed by the McCrac ...

in the

Australian Football League The Australian Football League (AFL) is the pre-eminent professional sports, professional competition of Australian rules football. It was originally named the Victorian Football League (VFL) and was founded in 1896 as a breakaway competition ...

(AFL). He is a versatile player who has played both as a forward, defender and tagging role, with high-profile clashes with Gary Ablett, Jr. and

Chris Judd Christopher Dylan Judd (born 8 September 1983) is a former professional Australian rules footballer and captain of both the West Coast Eagles and Carlton Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He is regarded as one of the grea ...

in 2010.

Australian Football League career

First stint at Fremantle

McPhee was originally recruited by

Fremantle Fremantle () () is a port city in Western Australia located at the mouth of the Swan River (Western Australia), Swan River in the metropolitan area of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth. The Western Australi ...

from the

Dandenong Stingrays The Dandenong Southern Stingrays are an Australian rules football team in the Talent League, the Victorian statewide under-18s competition. 1992 saw the birth of the Southern Stingrays, developed under the leadership of Steve Kennedy (Regiona ...

in the

TAC Cup The Talent League (also known as the Coates Talent League under naming rights and previously as the NAB League and TAC Cup) is an under-19 Australian rules football representative competition based in Melbourne and run by the Australian Foot ...

with the 39th selection in the

2000 AFL Draft The 2000 AFL draft was the annual draft of talented Australian rules football players by teams that participate in the Australian Football League. It consisted of a pre-season draft, a national draft, a trade period and a rookie elevation. In ...

. He made his AFL debut in 2001 and was nominated for the

AFL Rising Star award 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 AFL Rising Star, 1993 season, and ...

that year. By the end of 2002, McPhee played 25 games in total for the Dockers. He was then traded to Essendon in his home state of

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

in a three-way deal also involving

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

. Essendon had previously hoped to draft him late in the 2000 draft, but Fremantle had picked him ahead of where Essendon had expected him to be taken.

Essendon years

In McPhee's first year at Essendon he played every game and his tough approach earned him the club's "most courageous player" award. However it was in 2004 that McPhee really made his mark as an

AFL AFL may refer to: Education * Angel Foundation for Learning, a Canadian Roman Catholic charity * Ankara Science High School, a high school in Ankara, Turkey, natively referred to as ''Ankara Fen Liesi'' * Assessment for learning Military * ...

player. In that year he was selected on the half-back flank in the

All-Australian team The All-Australian team is an all-star team of Australian rules football in Australia, 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-perfo ...

, won the

W.S. Crichton Medal The Crichton Medal is the name given to the best and fairest award for the Australian rules football team the Essendon Football Club. Since 1959 or 1960, it has been known officially as the W. S. Crichton Medal. The naming of the award is in hon ...

as Essendon's best and fairest player and was Essendon's highest vote getter 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 the f ...

. In 2005, McPhee was restricted to only 14 games through injury and could not repeat his feats of 2004. On 30 July 2006, McPhee played his 100th senior game at the Telstra Dome. It was capped off with a win over the

Brisbane Lions The Brisbane Lions are a professional Australian rules football in Australia, Australian rules football club based in Brisbane, Queensland, that compete in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's elite competition. Brisbane are the ...

which broke, what was at the time, the club's longest streak without a win in its history, when he took a spectacular mark and also kicked a magnificent goal on the run. He missed out on the honour the previous week because of a one match suspension served for striking St Kilda's Robert Harvey in an attempted spoil. On 25 April 2009, in the Anzac Day match, McPhee celebrated his 150th game with a five-point victory over Collingwood.

Return to Fremantle

After long discussions about a new contract with the Bombers, McPhee did not sign a new contract with Essendon by the 2.00pm deadline on 10 November 2009. Many believe McPhee left Essendon due to a fall out with the Coach of Essendon at the time,

Matthew Knights Matthew Knights (born 5 October 1970) is an Australian rules football coach and former player who is currently serving as an assistant coach with the West Coast Eagles. Knights played in the midfield for the Richmond Football Club from 1988 t ...

. McPhee was expected to nominate to be drafted to another club and as expected, his former club

selected him with their selection in the pre-season draft. The possible move to Fremantle had been heavily criticised in some circles, partly as a result of the club's recent history in drafting mature-age recruits, but it has been applauded in other circles as the club gave up virtually nothing to land him. His first match against his old club Essendon saw him hit the post twice, drop marks and kick out of bounds on the full right in front of Bombers fans who booed him consistently throughout the match. Despite his clangers, Fremantle managed to upset Essendon by 44 points. After McPhee's tough start in his return to Fremantle, he improved as the season went on after a change in role. McPhee played his best football for the Dockers towards the end of the season as a run-with player (tagger), a role which requires stopping the influence of the opposition team's most damaging players. McPhee's best game came against Hawthorn in the Elimination final, keeping Hawks champion Luke Hodge to just 13 disposals, and only 5 in the first three quarters. In 2012 McPhee returned to the backline under new coach

Ross Lyon Ross Lyon (born 8 November 1966) is a former Australian rules football player and the current senior coach of the St Kilda Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He previously coached St Kilda from 2007 to 2011 and the Fremantle ...

, but mainly played on the smaller forwards. At the end of the 2012 season, a month after signing a one-year contract extension, McPhee retired from AFL football for family reasons. While there was much speculation he would return to his former club, the

, he returned to Melbourne to work for his father-in-law's company. He continues to play football and as of 2015 is playing for St Mary's in the

Geelong Football League The Geelong Football Netball League is an Australian rules football and netball league in Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. It is widely regarded as the highest-standard Australian rules football league in regional Victoria, with sever ...

Statistics

: , - , - style="background-color: #EAEAEA" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 17 , , 14 , , 5 , , 3 , , 116 , , 65 , , 181 , , 61 , , 32 , , 0.4 , , 0.2 , , 8.3 , , 4.6 , , 12.9 , , 4.4 , , 2.3 , , 0 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 17 , , 11 , , 4 , , 1 , , 71 , , 37 , , 108 , , 46 , , 17 , , 0.4 , , 0.1 , , 6.5 , , 3.4 , , 9.8 , , 4.2 , , 1.5 , , 0 , - style="background-color: #EAEAEA" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 33 , , 24 , , 10 , , 7 , , 177 , , 140 , , 317 , , 98 , , 67 , , 0.4 , , 0.3 , , 7.4 , , 5.8 , , 13.2 , , 4.1 , , 2.8 , , 0 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 33 , , 21 , , 15 , , 9 , , 237 , , 125 , , 362 , , 125 , , 56 , , 0.7 , , 0.4 , , 11.3 , , 6.0 , , 17.2 , , 6.0 , , 2.7 , , 12 , - style="background-color: #EAEAEA" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 33 , , 14 , , 9 , , 4 , , 185 , , 72 , , 257 , , 113 , , 32 , , 0.6 , , 0.3 , , 13.2 , , 5.1 , , 18.4 , , 8.1 , , 2.3 , , 6 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 33 , , 20 , , 8 , , 9 , , 234 , , 113 , , 347 , , 142 , , 56 , , 0.4 , , 0.5 , , 11.7 , , 5.7 , , 17.4 , , 7.1 , , 2.8 , , 0 , - style="background-color: #EAEAEA" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 33 , , 22 , , 7 , , 4 , , 279 , , 166 , , 445 , , 181 , , 68 , , 0.3 , , 0.2 , , 12.7 , , 7.5 , , 20.2 , , 8.2 , , 3.1 , , 6 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 33 , , 20 , , 18 , , 12 , , 188 , , 119 , , 307 , , 143 , , 55 , , 0.9 , , 0.6 , , 9.4 , , 6.0 , , 15.4 , , 7.2 , , 2.8 , , 1 , - style="background-color: #EAEAEA" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 33 , , 21 , , 16 , , 8 , , 207 , , 164 , , 371 , , 136 , , 55 , , 0.8 , , 0.4 , , 9.9 , , 7.8 , , 17.7 , , 6.5 , , 2.6 , , 1 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 9 , , 23 , , 9 , , 17 , , 179 , , 140 , , 319 , , 95 , , 107 , , 0.4 , , 0.7 , , 7.8 , , 6.1 , , 13.9 , , 4.1 , , 4.7 , , 0 , - style="background-color: #EAEAEA" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 9 , , 12 , , 9 , , 12 , , 86 , , 61 , , 147 , , 40 , , 33 , , 0.8 , , 1.0 , , 7.2 , , 5.1 , , 12.3 , , 3.3 , , 2.8 , , 0 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 9 , , 21 , , 2 , , 0 , , 235 , , 109 , , 344 , , 124 , , 36 , , 0.1 , , 0.0 , , 11.2 , , 5.2 , , 16.4 , , 5.9 , , 1.7 , , 0 , - class="sortbottom" ! colspan=3, Career ! 223 ! 112 ! 86 ! 2194 ! 1311 ! 3505 ! 1304 ! 614 ! 0.5 ! 0.4 ! 9.8 ! 5.9 ! 15.7 ! 5.8 ! 2.8 ! 26

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:McPhee, Adam 1982 births Living people All-Australians (AFL) Essendon Football Club players Australian rules footballers from Melbourne Fremantle Football Club players South Fremantle Football Club players East Fremantle Football Club players Crichton Medal winners Dandenong Stingrays players St Mary's Sporting Club Inc players Australia international rules football team players 21st-century Australian sportsmen