James Shanahan (born 6 December 1967) is a 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 ...

er who played for St Kilda and

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

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 career

He played with

Hobart Hobart ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the island state of Tasmania, Australia. Located in Tasmania's south-east on the estuary of the River Derwent, it is the southernmost capital city in Australia. Despite containing nearly hal ...

in the

Tasmanian Football League The Tasmanian State League (TSL), colloquially known as the Tasmanian Football League (TFL), was the highest-level Australian rules football competition in the state of Tasmania. It disbanded following the end of the 2024 TSL season, 2024 season ...

from 1986 to 1990 and was in Hobart's 1990 TFL Premiership side, then also spent some time with Fitzroy pre-season in 1986 and had played with the Fitzroy reserves (at least one game at North Hobart) and became a police officer in Tasmania, when he was granted extended leave to play AFL.

St Kilda

Picked up as a late pick in the

1990 AFL Draft The 1990 AFL draft was the fifth annual draft of Australian rules footballers to the 14 clubs in the Australian Football League. It consisted of the national draft held at the end of the 1990 season, the pre-season draft held before the 1991 AF ...

(pick 92), Shanahan spent two seasons with St Kilda's reserves before debuting in 1992 with 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 ...

. Shanahan played in St Kilda's 1996 AFL Ansett Australia Cup winning side – the club's first AFL Cup win. He was a tall, solid defender and was valuable to the club. Shanahan played in 22 of 22 matches in the 1997 AFL Premiership Season home and away rounds in which St Kilda Football Club qualified in first position for the 1997 AFL Finals Series, winning the club's 2nd Minor Premiership and 1st McClelland Trophy. His peak came in 1997 with the Saints when he performed brilliantly at full-back, but during the 1997

AFL Grand Final The AFL Grand Final is an Australian rules football match to determine the premiers for the Australian Football League (AFL) season. Prior to 1990 it was known as the VFL Grand Final, as the league was then known as the Victorian Football Leag ...

he suffered from a goal onslaught by

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 ...

matchwinners

Darren Jarman Darren Robert Jarman (born 28 January 1967) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Hawthorn Football Club and Adelaide Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL), and for the North Adelaide Football Club in the ...

and Shane Ellen. Many St Kilda supporters still cringe at then-coach Stan Alves' refusal to move Shanahan off Jarman, who kicked five last quarter goals to win the Grand Final for Adelaide.

Melbourne

After the 1997 season had finished, Shanahan moved to 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 ...

due to the Saints not granting the then 30-year-old's request for a long-term contract. He played out his career at the Demons and played his last game at the end of 1999. He played at full back and did not score any goals in his career, only five behinds, one in 1996 and four in 1997.

References

External links

*
Demon Wiki profile
1967 births Living people Melbourne Football Club players St Kilda Football Club players Hobart Football Club players Australian police officers Australian rules footballers from Tasmania Tasmanian Football Hall of Fame inductees Allies State of Origin players Tasmanian State of Origin players 20th-century Australian sportsmen {{AFL-bio-1960s-stub