Natalie "Nat" Grider (born 10 October 2000) 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 playing for

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

in the

AFL Women's AFL Women's (AFLW) is Australia's national semi-professional Australian rules football in Australia, Australian rules football competition for women's Australian rules football, female players. The 2017 AFL Women's season, first season of the l ...

competition (AFLW).

Junior and state football

Grider was raised in

Brisbane, Queensland Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

and began playing Australian rules football as a teenager with the junior Jindalee Jags club in suburban Jindalee. She was also a member of the

Brisbane Lions The Brisbane Lions are a professional Australian rules football in Australia, Australian rules football club based in Brisbane, Queensland, that compete in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's elite competition. Brisbane are the ...

Academy and excelled for the club in the 2018 Winter Series against

Greater Western Sydney Greater Western Sydney (GWS) is a large region of the metropolitan area of Greater Sydney, New South Wales (NSW), Australia that generally embraces the north-west, south-west, central-west, far western and the Blue Mountains sub-regions with ...

and Gold Coast. After three years at Jindalee Jags, in 2017, Grider joined the

University of Queensland The University of Queensland is a Public university, public research university located primarily in Brisbane, the capital city of the Australian state of Queensland. Founded in 1909 by the Queensland parliament, UQ is one of the six sandstone ...

in the

AFL Queensland Women's League The Queensland Australian Football League Women's (QAFLW) is the highest-ranked Australian rules football women's league in Queensland. It provides elite women footballers the opportunity to play in a semi-professional environment. Many players ...

(QWAFL). In the 2018 season she won the QWAFL Rising Star Award, was selected in the QWAFL Team of the Year, and shared the club'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 ...

award with Megan Hunt and

Jane Childes Jane may refer to: * Jane (given name), a feminine given name including list of persons and characters with the name * Jane (surname), related to the given name including list of persons and characters with the name Film and television * ''Jan ...

. In 2019, she was selected again for the QWAFL Team of the Year. Grider represented Queensland in the

AFL Women's Under 18 Championships The NAB AFL Women's Under-18 Championships are the annual national Australian rules football championships for women players aged 18 years or younger. The competition is seen as one of the main pathways towards being drafted into a team in the p ...

. In the

2018 AFL Women's Under 18 Championships The 2018 NAB AFL Women's Under-18 Championships was played between May and July 2018, with six teams competing in the main 'Series 2' round robin tournament and with a further four playing in a two-match on-on-one exhibition as the competition's ...

she led the team as captain, was selected for the All-Australian team, and was selected as Queensland's

most valuable player In team sports, a most valuable player (MVP) award is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particular competition, or ...

AFLW career

Grider was drafted to the

(AFLW) by

with the 22nd pick in the

2018 AFL Women's draft The 2018 AFL Women's (AFLW) draft consisted of the various periods when the ten clubs in the Australian rules football women's competition could recruit players prior to the competition's 2019 season. As in the previous season, all player con ...

, joining her long-time teammate

Gabby Collingwood Gabrielle "Gabby" Collingwood (born 15 January 1999) is an Australian rules footballer who played for the Brisbane Lions in the AFL Women's (AFLW). Junior and state football Collingwood started playing Australian rules football in May 2011, wi ...

. She made her AFLW debut in the Lions' round 4 game against

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 ...

Whitten Oval Whitten Oval (also known as Mission Whitten Oval under a naming rights agreement) is a stadium in the inner-western suburbs of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, located in Barkly Street, Footscray. It is the training and administrative headquart ...

on 23 February 2019 as a late replacement for captain

Leah Kaslar Leah Kaslar (born 11 September 1985) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for Brisbane and Gold Coast in the AFL Women's (AFLW), captaining both teams. Early life Kaslar was born in 1985 in Caringbah, New South Wales and moved w ...

. She played two games in her debut season. In April 2019, Grider re-committed to Brisbane for the 2020 season. She played every game of the season, shutting down small forwards and steadily disposing the ball out of the back-line. She raised her game every week and culminated the season with the club nominating her for the 2020 AFLW Players' Association's Most Valuable Player Award along with

Emily Bates Emily Bates (born 18 October 1995) is an Australian rules footballer playing for the Hawthorn Football Club in the AFL Women's (AFLW). She previously played for the Brisbane Lions from 2017 to season 7. Bates was selected by the Western Bulldog ...

and

Kate Lutkins Kate Lutkins (born 31 May 1988) is an Australian rules footballer playing for the Brisbane Lions in the AFL Women's. She was the "best player on the ground" at the 2021 AFL Women's Grand Final. Early life Lutkins was born in 1988 in Brisbane, ...

. The

2021 AFL Women's season The 2021 AFL Women's season was the fifth season of the AFL Women's (AFLW) competition, the highest-level senior women's Australian rules football competition in Australia. The season featured 14 clubs and ran from 28 January to 17 April, compr ...

saw Grider rapidly improve, besting her averages in disposals, kicks, handballs, marks and tackles. She received a 2021 AFL Women's Rising Star nomination in the third round of the season after an impressive game against where she collected 16 disposals, 7 marks and 2 tackles. The first three rounds of the season saw her become the Lions' leading disposal getter. Grider signed on with for one more year on 15 June 2021.

Statistics

:''Statistics correct to the end of round 3, 2021. , - style=background:#EAEAEA , scope=row ,

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

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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 ...

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2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

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Playing style

Grider can play as a half-back or as a

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

and demonstrates athleticism and strong marking skills.

Personal life

Grider was born and raised in

. She is a supporter of

, despite her mum supporting St Kilda and her dad supporting Carlton. She studied at the

and received a Bachelor of Exercise and

Sports Science Sports science is a discipline that studies how the healthy human body works during exercise, and how sports and physical activity promote health and performance from cellular to whole body perspectives. The study of sports science traditionally i ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Grider, Nat 2000 births Living people Sportswomen from Queensland Brisbane Lions (AFLW) players 21st-century Australian sportswomen Australian rules footballers from Brisbane University of Queensland alumni