Andrew Gaff (born 16 June 1992) is a former professional

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 ...

er who played for the

West Coast Eagles The West Coast Eagles are a professional Australian rules football club based in Perth, Western Australia. The club was founded in 1986 and first competed in 1987 as one of two expansion teams in the Australian Football League (AFL), then known ...

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 played predominantly as a midfielder. Gaff was recruited from the

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

with the fourth pick in the 2010 National Draft. He made his debut in round one of the 2011 season, and later in the year 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 ...

. Gaff was a regular in the West Coast line-up since his debut, and in 2015 played in the club's grand final loss to Hawthorn. He won the

John Worsfold Medal The John Worsfold Medal is an Australian rules football award presented annually to the player(s) adjudged the best and fairest at the West Coast Eagles throughout the Victorian Football League/Australian Football League (VFL/AFL) season. Sixt ...

as West Coast's

best and fairest In Australian sport, the best and fairest award recognises the player(s) adjudged to have had the best performance in a game or over a season for a given sporting club or competition. The awards are sometimes dependent on not receiving a suspensi ...

player that year, and was also named in the

2015 All-Australian team The 2015 Virgin Australia All-Australian team represents the best performed Australian Football League (AFL) players during the 2015 season. It was announced on 22 September as a complete Australian rules football team of 22 players. The team is ...

. Gaff placed equal fourth in the

2016 Brownlow Medal The 2016 Brownlow Medal was the 89th year the award was presented to the player adjudged the fairest and best player during the Australian Football League (AFL) home and away season. Patrick Dangerfield of the Geelong Football Club won the meda ...

. He was named in the 2018 All-Australian team.

Early life

Gaff attended Kew East Primary School until 2004 and

Carey Baptist Grammar School Carey Baptist Grammar School, commonly known as Carey, is an private school, independent, co-educational, Baptists, Baptist day school in Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. The school has five campuses: Kew, Victoria, Kew (ELC to Year ...

in his high school years. He starred in the Carey First XVIII football team as a hard-running midfielder who proved to be a prolific goalkicker. Originally from the Kew Comets Junior Football Club in the

Yarra Junior Football League The Yarra Junior Football League (YJFL) is the largest junior Australian rules football competition in Australia. The league has a total of 30 clubs, who are based around northern, eastern and north-eastern Melbourne, Victoria, Melbourne. There is ...

, Gaff played 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

. before being selected with the fourth pick overall in the 2010 National Draft by the

. Recognised as one of the best prospects in his draft year, Gaff was renowned for his endurance, work ethic, kicking and ability to accumulate possessions. Growing up, Gaff supported the

Melbourne Football Club The Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed the Demons or colloquially the Dees, is a professional Australian rules football club based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's premier comp ...

, and attended the

2000 AFL Grand Final The 2000 AFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Essendon Football Club and the Melbourne Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 2 September 2000 rather than in its usual last Sa ...

as a spectator in which they lost to by 60 points.

AFL career

Gaff played his first game for the Eagles in the pool round of the 2011 NAB Cup, playing against and gathering six possessions, before being rested in the second game against . He became the third player in the Eagles' history to wear the No. 3 jumper for the Eagles after Chris Mainwaring 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 ...

. The jumper was retired for three years following Mainwaring's death in October 2007 and Judd's departure from the club prior to the 2008 season. Gaff made his AFL debut in the opening round match against , replacing Chris Masten as the Eagles' first substitute player. Gaff was rewarded for his form by being nominated for the

2011 AFL Rising Star The NAB AFL Rising Star award is given annually to a young stand-out player in the Australian Football League. The 2011 award was won by Dyson Heppell of the Essendon Football Club, who received the Ron Evans Medal. Eligibility Every round, an ...

award in round 19, 2011. Gaff had an extremely consistent season in 2012, gathering a total of 591 disposals and booting 9 goals for the season. His 2013 season wasn't as consistent as the season previous, but he still played 22 games and gathered 437 disposals. In 2014, Gaff had further improved season, gathering 534 disposals and kicking 10 goals for the year, he also played 22 games. 2015 saw Andrew become a truly elite player in the competition, he amassed 738 disposals and kicked 11 goals for the season. Including a season highlight of 36 disposals and 3 goals against

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

in Round 15. As of the end of round 18, 2015, Gaff was having a career best year. He is ranked equal fifth in the AFL Coaches Association voting, and averages 29.9 touches a game, including a remarkable run of five straight games where he collected more than 30 disposals. Andrew Gaff kicking

At the conclusion of the 2015 season, he was awarded the

as the club's best-and-fairest player. His outstanding form was recognised league-wide as he was named on the wing in the

. Gaff had another consistent year in 2016, despite being knocked unconscious in round 9 by Port Adelaide's Tom Jonas, causing him to miss a week and dip in form, albeit slightly. He rebounded strongly in the last month of the year as the Eagles found some stunning form. He had a career best 38 disposals in a clinical win over Hawthorn at Subiaco in round 22, and then set a new career-best tally with 41 disposals the next week against Adelaide at Adelaide Oval, as the Eagles entered the finals as the form team of the competition. He was rewarded with a place in the 40 person All-Australian squad, but was left out of the final 22-man team. In 2018, Gaff was referred to the

AFL Tribunal The AFL Tribunal is the disciplinary tribunal of the Australian Football League (AFL), an Australian rules football competition. The Tribunal regulates the conduct of players, umpires, and other officials associated with the AFL and its clubs. ...

after an off-the-ball strike on

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 ...

player

Andrew Brayshaw Andrew Brayshaw (born 8 November 1999) is a professional Australian rules footballer and the co-vice-captain of the Fremantle Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). Early career Andrew was born in Adelaide, South Australia to p ...

which left Brayshaw with a

broken jaw Mandibular fracture, also known as fracture of the jaw, is a break through the mandibular bone. In about 60% of cases the break occurs in two places. It may result in a decreased ability to fully open the mouth. Often the teeth will not feel ...

and three dislodged teeth. He was subsequently suspended for eight AFL matches leading to him missing out on playing in West Coast's premiership. In October, Gaff, a

restricted free agent A restricted free agent (RFA) is a type of free agent in some sports leagues, such as the National Football League (NFL), National Hockey League (NHL), and National Basketball Association (NBA). Such players have special restrictions on the term ...

, announced he would turn down a contract with

North Melbourne North Melbourne is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, north-west of Melbourne's Melbourne central business district, Central Business District, located within the City of Melbourne Local government ar ...

, reportedly for seven years and worth around $8 million, to stay at West Coast. On August 7, 2024, Gaff announced that he will be playing his final two games before retiring at the conclusion of the

2024 AFL season The 2024 AFL season was the 128th season of the Australian Football League (AFL), the highest-level senior men's Australian rules football competition in Australia. The season featured 18 clubs and ran from 7 March to 28 September, comprising ...

.https://www.afl.com.au/news/1190537/west-coast-eagles-veteran-andrew-gaff-announces-retirement-from-the-afl

Statistics

: ''Statistics are correct to the end of Round 22 2022'' , - style="background:#eaeaea;" ! scope="row" , , , , 3 , , 17 , , 7 , , 7 , , 172 , , 130 , , 302 , , 75 , , 19 , , 0.4 , , 0.4 , , 10.1 , , 7.6 , , 17.8 , , 4.4 , , 1.1 , , 4 , - ! scope="row" , , , , 3 , , 24 , , 9 , , 13 , , 374 , , 217 , , 591 , , 114 , , 34 , , 0.4 , , 0.5 , , 15.6 , , 9.0 , , 24.6 , , 4.8 , , 1.4 , , 4 , - , - style="background:#eaeaea;" ! scope="row" , , , , 3 , , 22 , , 5 , , 9 , , 266 , , 171 , , 437 , , 76 , , 40 , , 0.2 , , 0.4 , , 12.1 , , 7.8 , , 19.9 , , 3.5 , , 1.8 , , 2 , - ! scope="row" , , , , 3 , , 22 , , 10 , , 2 , , 344 , , 190 , , 534 , , 120 , , 54 , , 0.4 , , 0.1 , , 15.6 , , 8.6 , , 24.3 , , 5.5 , , 2.4 , , 6 , - style="background:#eaeaea;" ! scope="row" , , , , 3 , , 25 , , 11 , , 8 , , 415 , , 323 , , 738 , , 111 , , 62 , , 0.4 , , 0.3 , , 16.6 , , 12.9 , , 29.5 , , 4.4 , , 2.5 , , 17 , - ! scope="row" , , , , 3 , , 22 , , 7 , , 6 , , 372 , , 285 , , 657 , , 81 , , 27 , , 0.3 , , 0.3 , , 16.9 , , 13.0 , , 29.9 , , 3.7 , , 1.2 , , 21 , - style="background:#eaeaea;" ! scope="row" , , , , 3 , , 24 , , 6 , , 6 , , 414 , , 299 , , 713 , , 127 , , 49 , , 0.2 , , 0.2 , , 17.2 , , 12.5 , , 29.7 , , 5.3 , , 2.0 , , 9 , - ! scope="row" , , , , 3 , , 19 , , 12 , , 4 , , 339 , , 244 , , 583 , , 100 , , 56 , , 0.6 , , 0.2 , , 17.8 , , 12.8 , , 30.7 , , 5.3 , , 3.0 , , 16 , - style="background:#eaeaea;" ! scope="row" , , , , 3 , , 22 , , 3 , , 1 , , 437 , , 265 , , 702 , , 141 , , 52 , , 0.1 , , 0.0 , , 19.9 , , 12.0 , , 31.9 , , 6.4 , , 2.4 , , 13 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

, , , 3 , , 18 , , 5 , , 4 , , 251 , , 186 , , 437 , , 81 , , 42 , , 0.3 , , 0.2 , , 13.9 , , 10.3 , , 24.3 , , 4.5 , , 2.3 , , 8 , - style="background-color: #EAEAEA" ! scope="row" , , , , 3 , , 21 , , 3 , , 1 , , 343 , , 234 , , 577 , , 140 , , 35 , , 0.1 , , 0.0 , , 16.3 , , 11.1 , , 27.5 , , 6.7 , , 1.7 , , 9 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

, , , 3 , , 16 , , 2 , , 3 , , 191 , , 192 , , 383 , , 72 , , 38 , , 0.1 , , 0.1 , , 11.9 , , 12.0 , , 23.9 , , 4.5 , , 2.3 , , 1 , - style="background:#eaeaea;" , - class="sortbottom" ! colspan=3, Career ! 252 ! 80 ! 64 ! 3918 ! 2736 ! 6654 ! 1238 ! 508 ! 0.3 ! 0.2 ! 15.5 ! 10.8 ! 26.4 ! 4.9 ! 2.0 ! 110 Notes

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gaff, Andrew 1992 births Living people West Coast Eagles players Oakleigh Chargers players South Fremantle Football Club players All-Australians (AFL) People educated at Carey Baptist Grammar School Australian rules footballers from Melbourne John Worsfold Medal winners Australia international rules football team players 21st-century Australian sportsmen