Robert "Robbie" Gray (born 30 March 1988) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the

Port Adelaide Football Club Adelaide Football Club is a professional Australian rules football club based in Alberton, South Australia. The club's senior men's team plays in the Australian Football League (AFL), where they are nicknamed the Power, whilst its reserv ...

in the Australian Football League (AFL). He was recruited with the 55th overall selection in the 2006 national draft. Gray is often considered to be amongst Port Adelaide's greatest ever players.

Early life

The son of Robert Snr and Sue, Robbie Gray spent his early years with his two older sisters and parents in

Bairnsdale Bairnsdale () ( Ganai: ''Wy-yung'') is a city in East Gippsland, Victoria, Australia in a region traditionally owned by the Tatungalung clan of the Gunaikurnai people. The estimated population of Bairnsdale urban area was 15,411 at ...

. They moved to

Blackburn Blackburn () is an industrial town and the administrative centre of the Blackburn with Darwen borough in Lancashire, England. The town is north of the West Pennine Moors on the southern edge of the Ribble Valley, east of Preston and nort ...

when Robbie turned 10. Gray impressed in 2006 with TAC Cup club

Oakleigh Chargers The Oakleigh Chargers is an Australian rules football club playing in the NAB League, the top statewide under-18 competition in Victoria, Australia. They are based at Warrawee Park in Oakleigh, Victoria, representing the southeastern suburb ...

, kicking 56 goals. He also played for the Victoria Metro's under 18 side, in a team composed of fellow AFL draftees Bachar Houli,

Matthew Kreuzer Matthew Kreuzer (born 13 May 1989) is a retired professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Carlton Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He was selected first overall pick in the 2007 AFL Draft. He announced ...

, Tom Hawkins and David Mackay. Despite this, Gray was not seen as a fancied draft option, due to his unfashionable style of play. His chances took a hit when he missed a draft camp due to injury. He did, however, attract interest from Port Adelaide after impressing their recruiters. Head recruiter at the time, Mick Moylan was impressed with his off-field discipline, with Gray maintaining an 8 and a half-hour job. Subsequently, Gray was picked by Port Adelaide in the 2006 draft who used their fourth pick, becoming the 55th pick overall.

AFL career

After showing strong form in the

SANFL The South Australian National Football League, or SANFL ( or ''S-A-N-F-L''), is an Australian rules football league based in the Australian state of South Australia. It is also the state's governing body for the sport. Originally formed as th ...

with West Adelaide, Gray was given his AFL debut, along with fellow draftee Justin Westhoff. Gray contributed with 13 disposals and 4 marks and 2 behinds. In Round 12 of the 2007 Season, he kicked 4 goals in a match against Essendon, in which Port Adelaide won by 31 points. He received the round 12

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 ...

nomination for his efforts. During these games Robbie Gray consolidated his place in the Power line up until a calf injury relapse against the Richmond Tigers at the MCG kept Gray out. Gray started the 2008 pre-season strongly, suggesting he was over chronic soft tissue injuries and ready to have a larger impact. Fellow team-mate Brett Ebert said "Robbie's great. He's stronger and fitter than ever before and we saw last year just how clever he is in front of goals. Robbie's worked hard over the summer and if he can stay fit, I think he'll be in for a big year." Soft tissue injuries have restricted Gray to forward roles, though he is hoping to play more of a midfield role in the future. He also signed a new contract for Port Adelaide, which will keep him at the club until 2010. Gray missed the start of the season through injury and only received his first senior game for the year in round 7, after showing good form for West Adelaide. Gray played all matches until round 14, before injuring his ankle at training, with his best performance being a 20 possession and 12 mark game against Hawthorn. He also impressed in Ports hefty Round 16 loss to Geelong after being moved into the midfield. He returned for two matches late in the 2008 season and played a pivotal role in Port Adelaide's surprise defeat of North Melbourne, by scoring 3 goals. Gray had an outstanding year for Port Adelaide, despite the club having a difficult year. He was Port's most valuable player according to an AFL poll, proving he is a fan favourite. He was also rated by the club's staff, who awarded him the 2009 most improved award, to go with his 4th placing in the John Cahill Medal. Gray kicked 30 goals in 2009, as well as 23 goal assists - top 6 in the AFL. He also received 6

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 ...

votes, despite never polling previously. His standout performance of the year was against Hawthorn, where he kicked 4 goals in a tight win to the Power, earning 3 Brownlow votes for his efforts. In Round 6 2010, Gray won the Showdown Medal for a five-goal effort against

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater A ...

. He finished the 2011 season on 32 goals, making him the leading goalkicker, a goal ahead of

Jay Schulz Jay Schulz (born 18 April 1985) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Port Adelaide Football Club in the Australian Football League from 2010 to 2016. A high marking forward, he previously played for Rich ...

. In Round 4, 2012, Gray hyper extended his knee in the dying seconds of the game against Collingwood, requiring a

knee reconstruction Anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACL reconstruction) is a surgical tissue graft replacement of the anterior cruciate ligament, located in the knee, to restore its function after an injury. The torn ligament can either be removed fr ...

and missing the remainder of the season. At the start of 2013 Gray decided to change his number from 17 to 9. The number 9 was his junior number. He also wanted to start again after his knee reconstruction. Gray had his breakout season in 2014, averaging 25 possessions and six clearances a match, while also kicking 42 goals and leading the league in goal assists. He polled votes in 18 of 22 games to win the AFL Coaches' Association (AFLCA) Champion player award and was named in the 2014 All-Australian team, as well as winning his first John Cahill Medal. Gray backed up his break out 2014 campaign with another outstanding season in 2015. He averaged 26 disposals, almost 8 clearances and more than a goal a game. In one of his best games for 2015, he won his second Showdown Medal in the first Showdown against the

Adelaide Crows The Adelaide Crows (officially the Adelaide Football Club) are a professional Australian rules football team based in Adelaide, South Australia. Founded in 1990. The Crows has fielded a men's team in the Australian Football League (AFL) sinc ...

. At season's end, he was selected in the

All-Australian team 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 by ...

for the second consecutive year as well as winning his second consecutive John Cahill Medal. In 2016, Grey was awarded the

Merv Agars Medal The Merv Agars Medal is an award given by the Adelaide Advertiser to the player judged by journalists of the newspaper to the seasons best player from both the South Australian clubs competing in the Australian Football League (AFL), and . Prior ...

as the best performed South Australian based AFL player. In October 2017, Port Adelaide FC released the news that Gray had been diagnosed with testicular cancer after the end of their finals campaign. Gray returned to pre-season training late in 2017 and played the entire 2018 AFL season. In Showdown 44, Gray kicked six goals, 5 of them were in the third quarter. He eventually won the Showdown Medal as being the best player on the ground. He is currently Port Adelaide's 2nd leading AFL goalkicker, behind Warren Tredrea. Gray played game 250 in 2021 against the Gold Coast Suns, but injured his ankle in the same game. As a result, Gray would miss 6 weeks of the season. Persistent knee niggles kept Gray to only 16 games in the 2022 season. He announced his retirement on 16th August 2022, and would fittingly play his retirement game in Showdown LII.

Statistics

: ''Statistics are correct as of the end of the 2019 season''Robbie Gray's player profile at AFL Tables
/ref> : , - style="background-color: #EAEAEA" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 17 , , 5 , , 7 , , 6 , , 33 , , 19 , , 52 , , 18 , , 7 , , 1.4 , , 1.2 , , 6.6 , , 3.8 , , 10.4 , , 3.6 , , 1.4 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 17 , , 10 , , 15 , , 12 , , 76 , , 55 , , 131 , , 52 , , 12 , , 1.5 , , 1.2 , , 7.6 , , 5.5 , , 13.1 , , 5.2 , , 1.2 , - style="background-color: #EAEAEA" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 17 , , 20 , , 30 , , 19 , , 157 , , 166 , , 323 , , 77 , , 62 , , 1.5 , , 1.0 , , 7.9 , , 8.3 , , 16.2 , , 3.9 , , 3.1 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 17 , , 11 , , 18 , , 12 , , 81 , , 79 , , 160 , , 34 , , 36 , , 1.6 , , 1.1 , , 7.4 , , 7.2 , , 14.5 , , 3.1 , , 3.3 , - style="background-color: #EAEAEA" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" , 2011 , style="text-align:center;", , 17 , , 22 , , 32 , , 14 , , 216 , , 179 , , 395 , , 81 , , 85 , , 1.5 , , 0.6 , , 9.8 , , 8.1 , , 18.0 , , 3.7 , , 3.9 , - ! 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 gather ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 17 , , 2 , , 2 , , 4 , , 13 , , 16 , , 29 , , 6 , , 9 , , 1.0 , , 2.0 , , 6.5 , , 8.0 , , 14.5 , , 3.0 , , 4.5 , - style="background-color: #EAEAEA" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

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 ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 9 , , 20 , , 15 , , 15 , , 187 , , 150 , , 337 , , 62 , , 72 , , 0.8 , , 0.8 , , 9.4 , , 7.5 , , 16.9 , , 3.1 , , 3.6 , - ! 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;", , 9 , , 25 , , 42 , , 33 , , 302 , , 320 , , 622 , , 97 , , 69 , , 1.7 , , 1.3 , , 12.1 , , 12.8 , , 24.9 , , 3.9 , , 2.8 , - style="background-color: #EAEAEA" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the April ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 9 , , 21 , , 25 , , 12 , , 252 , , 300 , , 552 , , 60 , , 91 , , 1.2 , , 0.6 , , 12.0 , , 14.3 , , 26.3 , , 2.9 , , 4.3 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" , 2016 , style="text-align:center;", , 9 , , 19 , , 25 , , 16 , , 237 , , 262 , , 499 , , 51 , , 91 , , 1.2 , , 0.8 , , 11.3 , , 12.5 , , 23.8 , , 2.4 , , 4.3 , - style="background-color: #EAEAEA" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

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 ser ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 9 , , 23 , , 47 , , 29 , , 232 , , 204 , , 436 , , 99 , , 58 , , 2.2 , , 1.4 , , 11.0 , , 9.7 , , 20.8 , , 4.7 , , 2.8 , - ! 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 United ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 9 , , 21 , , 36 , , 18 , , 193 , , 246 , , 439 , , 74 , , 67 , , 1.7 , , 0.9 , , 9.2 , , 11.7 , , 20.9 , , 3.5 , , 3.2 , - style="background-color: #EAEAEA" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

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;", , 9 , , 19 , , 24 , , 14 , , 189 , , 232 , , 421 , , 71 , , 42 , , 1.3 , , 0.7 , , 9.9 , , 12.2 , , 22.2 , , 3.7 , , 2.2 , - class="sortbottom" ! colspan=3, Career ! 218 ! 318 ! 204 ! 2168 ! 2228 ! 4396 ! 782 ! 701 ! 1.5 ! 0.9 ! 9.9 ! 10.2 ! 20.2 ! 3.6 ! 3.2 : :

Honours and achievements

Individual *

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 by ...

*AFLCA Champion Player of the Year Award: 2014 * Showdown Medal: 2010 (Round 6), 2015 (Round 5), 2018 (Round 8), 2018 (Round 20), 2019 (Round 16) * Australian Representative Honours in

International Rules Football International rules football ( ga, Peil na rialacha idirnáisiunta; also known as international rules in Australia and compromise rules or Aussie rules in Ireland) is a team sport consisting of a hybrid of football codes, which was develop ...

: 2011, 2014, 2015 * Port Adelaide F.C. Leading Club Goalkicker Award: 2011, 2018 * Port Adelaide F.C. Most Improved Player Award: 2009 * AFL Rising Star Nominee: 2007 (Round 12)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gray, Robbie 1988 births Living people Port Adelaide Football Club players Port Adelaide Football Club players (all competitions) Australian rules footballers from Melbourne West Adelaide Football Club players Oakleigh Chargers players All-Australians (AFL) John Cahill Medal winners Australia international rules football team players People from Blackburn, Victoria