Gilbert McAdam (born 30 March 1967 in

Alice Springs Alice Springs () is a town in the Northern Territory, Australia; it is the third-largest settlement after Darwin, Northern Territory, Darwin and Palmerston, Northern Territory, Palmerston. The name Alice Springs was given by surveyor William ...

) is an

Indigenous Australian Indigenous Australians are people with familial heritage from, or recognised membership of, the various ethnic groups living within the territory of contemporary Australia prior to History of Australia (1788–1850), British colonisation. The ...

former

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 and one of three McAdam brothers to play 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).

Playing career

Early career

McAdam grew up in

, where his father was president of the South Alice Football Club. McAdam is of

Arrernte Arrernte (also spelt Aranda, etc.) is a descriptor related to a group of Aboriginal Australian peoples from Central Australia. It may refer to: * Arrernte (area), land controlled by the Arrernte Council (?) * Arrernte people, Aboriginal Australi ...

heritage through his mother, and Gija heritage through his father. His older brother, Greg McAdam, had earlier found his way to the

St Kilda Football Club The St Kilda Football Club, nicknamed the Saints, is a professional Australian rules football club based in Melbourne, Victoria. The club plays in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's premier league. The club's name originates fro ...

via

North Adelaide North Adelaide is a predominantly residential precinct (Australia), precinct and suburb of the City of Adelaide in South Australia, situated north of the River Torrens and within the Adelaide Park Lands. Laid out in a grid plan in three section ...

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 sports governing body, governing body for the sport. ...

. McAdam moved to Darwin to play in the

Northern Territory Football League The Northern Territory Football League (NTFL) is an Australian rules football competition, operating in Greater Darwin, Northern Territory, Darwin and the Northern Territory, formerly run by the Northern Territory Football League Incorporated a ...

(NTFL) with the Southern Districts Football Club when he was just 11 years old. In 1979, Gilbert McAdam was chosen as the 12-year-old schoolboys Northern Territory captain who captained the team to victory to become the first Northern Territory team to win a national title. The stand out players were McAdams and Scott Parker who was the youngest competitor to have played in the carnival. In 1986, McAdam played 3 games for Claremont in the

West Australian Football League The West Australian Football League (WAFL "waffle" or "W-A-F-L") is an Australian rules football league based in Perth, Western Australia. The league currently consists of ten teams, which play each other in a 20-round season usually lasting f ...

(WAFL) before returning home to Darwin. After a few seasons he went on to play in the

South Australian National Football League 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 sports governing body, governing body for the sport. ...

(SANFL) with

Central District Football Club Central District Football Club is an Australian rules football club that plays in the South Australian National Football League. Based in Elizabeth in the City of Playford, about 25 km north of Adelaide, the club's development zones include th ...

, taking out the 1989

Magarey Medal The Magarey Medal is an Australian rules football honour awarded annually since 1898 to the fairest and most brilliant player in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL), as judged by field umpires. The award was created by Willi ...

. McAdam was the first Indigenous player to take out the award.

AFL career

McAdam was drafted number 17 in the 1989 VFL Draft by

. He kicked five goals in the famous 1993 game against Collingwood at Victoria Park, after he and

Nicky Winmar Neil Elvis "Nicky" Winmar (born 25 September 1965) is a former Australian rules footballer best known for his career for and the in the Australian Football League (AFL), as well as in the West Australian Football League. An Indigenous Austra ...

were racially vilified by Magpies fans while warming up. In April 2023, the weekend before the 30th anniversary of the game, the Collingwood Football Club formally apologised to Winmar and McAdam for the incident. After three years and 53 games for the Saints, McAdam headed north to play for the

Brisbane Bears The Brisbane Bears were a professional Australian rules football club based in Brisbane, Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, now known as the Brisbane Lions. Granted a Australian Football League, Victorian Football League (VFL), licence in 1986, ...

. He played 58 games between 1994 and 1996 and kicked 41 goals before returning to the

for the 1998 SANFL season. McAdam retired from football in 1999.

Coaching career

McAdam returned to Alice Springs and coached South Alice to a premiership. In 2006, he moved back to Darwin to coach the

Darwin Football Club The Darwin Football Club, nicknamed, Buffaloes, is an Australian rules football club, playing in the Northern Territory Football League. It is the third oldest football club in the Northern Territory. Darwin has won the second most premiership ...

Post-football career

In 2007, McAdam took up a position with the Academy of Sport, Health and Education in

Shepparton, Victoria Shepparton () ( Yortayorta: ''Kanny-goopna'') is a city located on the floodplain of the Goulburn River in northern Victoria, Australia, approximately north-northeast of Melbourne. As of the 2021 census, the estimated population of Shepparton ...

. The academy uses participation in sport as an avenue for Indigenous people to undertake education and training within a trusted and culturally appropriate environment. His role with the academy is as a sports and personal development officer. He co-hosts the TV program ''

The Marngrook Footy Show ''The Marngrook Footy Show'' was a sport panel show broadcast in Australia focusing on Australian rules football and aimed at Indigenous viewers. Debuting on television in 2007 after 10 years on radio, the show first aired on NITV and on Chan ...

'' with Grant Hansen, currently screening on NITV on Thursday nights. He also hosts the TV program "Kickin' Back with Gilbert McAdam" on

NITV National Indigenous Television (NITV) is an Australian free-to-air television channel that broadcasts programming produced and presented largely by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. It includes the six-day-a-week ''NITV News Updat ...

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:McAdam, Gilbert Brisbane Bears players St Kilda Football Club players 1967 births Living people Southern Districts Football Club players North Adelaide Football Club players Claremont Football Club players Central District Football Club players Indigenous Australian players of Australian rules football Magarey Medal winners Australian rules footballers from Darwin, Northern Territory