Brayden Crossley (born 16 August 1999) 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 ...

er and the current co-captain of the Southport Football Club in the

Victorian Football League The Victorian Football League (VFL) is an Australian rules football competition in Australia operated by the Australian Football League (AFL) as a second-tier, regional, semi-professional competition. It includes teams from clubs based in east ...

(VFL), serving alongside Jacob Dawson. He previously played for the Gold Coast Suns 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).

Early life

Crossley was born and raised on the Gold Coast. His father, Troy, is a Southport Sharks dual premiership player and Hall of Fame inductee. Brayden grew up playing his junior football for the Burleigh Bombers before switching to Palm Beach Currumbin in the latter stages of his junior football. He attended Palm Beach Currumbin High School throughout his youth and joined Gold Coast Suns Academy in his teenage years. In October 2016, Crossley played a starring role for his high school when he led them to victory in the Queensland Schools Cup grand final and was subsequently named best on ground for his three-goal performance. In his final year of junior football, Crossley was selected to represent the Gold Coast in the Academy Series and the Allies in the

2017 AFL Under 18 Championships The 2017 NAB AFL Under 18 Championships was the 22nd edition of the AFL Under 18 Championships. For the previous two decades, the Under-18 Championships had been split into two divisions – with traditional football regions Vic Metro, Vic Cou ...

. He was subsequently named the Allies' MVP and the All-Australian ruckman. In November 2017, he was drafted by the Gold Coast Football Club with pick 52 in the 2017 AFL draft.

AFL career

Crossley made his AFL debut in round 7 of the 2018 AFL season against the

Western Bulldogs The Western Bulldogs are a professional Australian rules football club based in the Melbourne suburb of Footscray. The club competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's premier competition. Originally named the Footscray F ...

. He kicked a goal on debut and recorded thirteen disposals, seven hit outs and five tackles. On 25 May 2019, Crossley tested positive to cocaine by ASADA on a match day ahead of a NEAFL game between Gold Coast Suns and the Sydney Swans, in which he played in and kicked two goals. On 8 August, the news broke and Crossley now faces a ban of up to four-years under the Australian Football Anti-Doping Code. Crossley played for Southport in the club's six-point 2024 VFL grand final loss to .

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Crossley, Brayden 1999 births Living people Gold Coast Football Club players Southport Australian Football Club players Australian rules footballers from the Gold Coast, Queensland Doping cases in Australian rules football Australian sportspeople in doping cases People educated at Palm Beach Currumbin State High School