Shane Barry Crawford (born 9 September 1974) 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 ...

player, television media personality and author. He played 305 senior games for the

Hawthorn Football Club The Hawthorn Football Club, nicknamed the Hawks, is a professional Australian rules football club based in Mulgrave, Victoria, that competes in the Australian Football League (AFL). The club was founded in 1902 in the inner-east suburb of Hawth ...

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). During his AFL career he became captain of Hawthorn in 1999 and that season also won the AFL's top individual honours, the Brownlow Medal and the

Leigh Matthews Trophy The Leigh Matthews Trophy is an annual award given by the AFL Players Association to the Most Valuable Player in the Australian Football League. It is named in honour of Leigh Matthews, who won the first MVP award in 1982, when the league was s ...

. He is a four-time

All-Australian The All-Australian team is an all-star team of Australian rules football in Australia, Australian rules footballers, selected by a panel at the end of each season. It represents a complete team, including an interchange bench, of the best-perfo ...

player and played in three

International Rules International rules football (; also known as international rules in Australia and compromise rules or Aussie rules in Ireland) is a team sport consisting of a hybrid of football codes, which was developed to facilitate international represe ...

series for Australia. He has won four Hawthorn Best & Fairest Awardand was a member of Hawthorn's 2008 premiership side. Crawford is currently the head coach with the Ardmona Cats.

Early life

Crawford was born in

Mount Barker, South Australia Mount Barker is a city in South Australia. Located approximately 33 kilometres (21 miles) from the Adelaide city centre, it is home to 21,554 residents (2021). It is the seat of the District Council of Mount Barker, the largest town in the Adela ...

.Cycle of a Champion - Hawthorn Football Club
/ref> He spent his childhood in

Finley, New South Wales Finley is a town in the Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia. It is the largest town in the Berrigan Shire Local government in Australia, local government area. At the 2021 Australian census, 2016 census, Finley had a population of 2, ...

, and played his junior football with the Finley Football Club. While attending boarding school at Assumption College in

Kilmore, Victoria Kilmore () is a town in the Australian state of Victoria. Located north of Melbourne, it is the oldest inland town in Victoria by the combination of age and physical occupation, and because it had unique agricultural attributes to drive that ...

, he was selected by Hawthorn with the 13th pick in the 1991 AFL Draft before graduating in 1992.

AFL Career

He made his AFL debut in

1993 The United Nations General Assembly, General Assembly of the United Nations designated 1993 as: * International Year for the World's Indigenous People The year 1993 in the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands had only 364 days, since its ...

. In his first match he kicked a goal and had 19 possessions, including 8 marks. He was nominated for the League's Rising Star award in Round 2 with a stunning 5-goal performance of 23 possessions, including nine marks. In 1995 and 1996, he was runner-up club champion for Hawthorn and received his first

selection in

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

. In 1998, he received another All-Australian nod, which earned him a spot in the side to compete against

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

in the

1998 International Rules series The 1998 International Rules Series was the fifth annual series between Gaelic footballers from the Gaelic Athletic Association and Australian rules footballers from the Australian Football League and the first since it was cancelled in 1990. It ...

. He was named captain in 1999; however, he stepped down from the Hawthorn captaincy after the 2004 season in which he broke his arm, and the Hawks finished second-last on the AFL ladder. He regained some form in the 2005 season, during which he played his 250th AFL game against 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 ...

the Gabba The Brisbane Cricket Ground, commonly known as the Gabba, is a major sports stadium in Brisbane, the capital of Queensland, Australia. The nickname Gabba derives from the suburb of Woolloongabba, in which it is located. Over the years, the Gab ...

, and he was again one of the league's leading possession-winners. He played his 300th game for Hawthorn against the

in Round 19 in 2008 in Launceston, where Hawthorn defeated the Lions by 69 points. On 27 September 2008, Crawford won his first premiership in his 305th AFL match, aged 34. He played more AFL games before receiving his first premiership medal than any other player in the history of the VFL/AFL. Crawford was offered another year with the Hawks, but he announced his retirement, wanting to go out on a high note. He ended his career after Hawthorn won the 2008 Grand Final and is now remembered as one of the greatest midfielders in the modern era of AFL football. In 2012, Crawford was inducted in the

Australian Football Hall of Fame The Australian Football Hall of Fame was established in 1996, the 1996 AFL season, centenary year of the Australian Football League, to help recognise the contributions made to the sport of Australian rules football by players, umpires, media pe ...

Media career

Crawford was a regular panel member of the sports program ''

The AFL Footy Show ''The Footy Show'' was an Australian sports and variety entertainment television program which aired on the Nine Network. The show was dedicated to the Australian Football League (AFL) and Australian rules football. The show featured a panel ...

'' (from 2009 until its axing in 2019), a presenter on holiday and destination programs '' Getaway'' and ''

Postcards A postcard or post card is a piece of thick paper or thin Card stock, cardboard, typically rectangular, intended for writing and mailing without an envelope. Non-rectangular shapes may also be used but are rare. In some places, one can send a ...

'' (since 2008), and a presenter on the children's program ''

Kids' WB Kids' WB (stylized as Kids' WB!) was an American children's programming block that originally aired on The WB from September 9, 1995, to September 16, 2006, and later on The CW from September 23, 2006, to May 17, 2008. Initially launched as a co ...

'' (since 2014). In 2011, he was a contestant on the first season of Channel 9's series ''

The Celebrity Apprentice ''The Celebrity Apprentice'' is an American television reality competition series. It is a variation of '' The Apprentice'' series hosted by real estate developer Donald Trump from 2008 to 2015, and actor and former California Governor Arnold Sc ...

'', on which celebrities compete for charities of their choosing. Crawford raised $49,311 for his charity, the Breast Cancer Network Australia. He finished third overall, behind dance guru Jason Coleman and actor/comedian

Julia Morris Julia Carolyn Margaret Morris is an Australian comedian, television presenter, and actress. She has worked extensively in Australian television and radio, touring the country with her solo comedy shows. She relocated to the United Kingdom in ...

. In 2020, he became a stand-in presenter in the 4th season of ''

Australian Ninja Warrior ''Australian Ninja Warrior'' is a sports entertainment competition spin-off of the Japanese television series '' Sasuke'' which premiered on 9 July 2017 on the Nine Network. It features hundreds of competitors attempting to complete series of o ...

'' and was the main sideline presenter in the 2021 season with a guest appearance from tennis player

Nick Kyrgios Nicholas Hilmy Kyrgios ( ; ; born 27 April 1995) is an Australian professional tennis player. Kyrgios has been ranked as high as world No. 13 in singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), achieved on 24 October 2016. He has won se ...

. In 2022, Crawford made his musical theatre debut in ''

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat ''Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat'' is a sung-through musical with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Tim Rice, based on the character of Joseph from the Bible's Book of Genesis. This was the first Lloyd Webber and Rice ...

'' in Melbourne, playing the role of 'Pharaoh'. Crawford competed on Channel 7's 2024 season of ''Dancing With The Stars''. He was eliminated in equal-sixth place out of 12 contestants. In March 2025, it was announced that Crawford would co-host the Seven Network’s ''House of Wellness'' alongside

Melissa Doyle Melissa Jane Doyle (born 10 February 1970) is an Australian television presenter, author and journalist. She was previously co-host of the Seven Network's breakfast television program ''Sunrise'' from 2002 to 2013 alongside David Koch and h ...

. Airing every Friday, the show combines discussions, humour, and wellness advice, featuring a dynamic lineup of experts, personalities, and special guests.

World records

In 2009, Crawford set five

Guinness world records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a British reference book published annually, list ...

during broadcasts of ''The Footy Show''. The records were as follows: * Having 157 live golden silk orb-weavers on his body inside a large tank for 30 seconds. * Kissing 96 people on the face in a minute. * By putting on 180 pairs of underwear, surpassing the former world record of 150."The Grand Final Footy Show"(Nine Network) 24 September 2009 * Crawford and previous

Stawell Gift The Stawell Gift is Australia's oldest and richest short-distance running race. It is the main event in an annual carnival held on Easter weekend by the Stawell Athletic Club, with the main race finals on the holiday Monday, at Central Park, S ...

winner Adrian Mott broke the world record for the 100-metre sprint while both inside a single

pantomime horse A pantomime horse is a theatrical representation of a horse or other quadruped by two actors in a single costume who cooperate and synchronize their movements. One actor plays the front end, including the horse's head and its front legs, in a mor ...

costume. * Cracked 90 eggs with his head in a minute. In 2010, powerlifter

Derek Boyer Derek Boyer (born 14 June 1969) is a Fijian-Australian world champion powerlifter, former professional strongman competitor and actor. Strongman and powerlifting Boyer has competed seven times in the World's ...

broke the record for the most bench presses of a person (weighing 105 kg or more) in 60 seconds, achieving the feat during the

2010 AFL Grand Final The 2010 AFL Grand Final was a series of two Australian rules football matches between the Collingwood Football Club and the St Kilda Football Club. They are considered the 114th and 115th AFL Grand Final, grand finals of the Australian Football ...

edition of the ''Footy Show'' by using Shane Crawford as the weight. At 114 kg, Crawford was well over the minimum weight requirement. In 2018, he set a world record by putting on 32 swimming goggles in one minute.

Author

In 2010, Crawford released his autobiography, ''That's What I'm Talking About'', written in conjunction with Glenn McFarlane and released in soft-cover and eBook editions. A Junior Edition was released later. In March 2014, a series of children's books with football themes, co-authored by Crawford and Adrian Beck, were released. The books revolve around the character "Nick", who is the captain of the Cobar Creek Crocs football team. The four books, released in paperback and eBook formats, are ''Crawf's Kick it to Nick: The Cursed Cup'', ''Crawf's Kick it to Nick: Outbreak on the Oval'', ''Crawf's Kick it to Nick: Bugs from Beyond'', and ''Crawf's Kick it to Nick: Forward Line Freak''.

Breast cancer fundraising

On 16 September 2010, Crawford completed a 780 km run named "That's What I'm Walking About" from Rundle Mall in

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 ...

to the Channel 9 studio in

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 ...

to raise awareness for breast cancer. He took a total of 11 days to complete the run and, as a welcome into Melbourne, ran the final leg into the Channel 9 ''Footy Show's'' studio, where the panel and crowd awaited his arrival. Hundreds of "pink ladies" who were affected in some way by breast cancer showed their appreciation and support by making way for Crawford as he ran into the studio. Crawford appeared humbled and initially struggled to come to terms with what he had achieved and the stories that he had heard along the journey from breast cancer sufferers and family/friends of those with breast cancer. His efforts raised $500,000 for the cause. In June and July 2013, Crawford cycled 3,600 km from Melbourne to Perth in a fundraising event named "Tour de Crawf" that took place over 22 days. He averaged nearly 170 km per day, and in total he raised $1,328,249 for the Breast Cancer Network Australia.

Honours

In October 2000, Crawford was awarded the Australian Sports Medal for services to Australian football.

Personal life

Crawford and his longtime partner Olivia Anderson have four sons: Charlie (born 2006), Benjamin (born 2008), and twins Jack and Harry (born 2011). He has two brothers, Andrew and

Justin Justin may refer to: People and fictional characters * Justin (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Justin (historian), Latin historian who lived under the Roman Empire * Justin I (c. 450–527) ...

. Crawford's interests outside football are diverse, including his passion for horse racing. In 2011, he launched his children's wear range, Kiniki, onto the market.

Statistics

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1992 1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General. * January 6 ** The Republ ...

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1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...

, , , , 9 , 22 , , 19 , , 10 , , 270 , , 195 , , 465 , , 96 , , 45 , , 0.9 , , 0.5 , , 12.3 , , 8.9 , , 21.1 , , 4.4 , , 2.0 , , 7 , - ,

1995 1995 was designated as: * United Nations Year for Tolerance * World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...

, , , , 9 , 16 , , 18 , , 9 , , 188 , , 145 , , 333 , , 76 , , 38 , , 1.1 , , 0.6 , , 11.8 , , 9.1 , , 20.8 , , 4.8 , , 2.4 , , 10 , - style=background:#EAEAEA ,

, , , , 9 , 22 , , 16 , , 10 , , 343 , , 194 , , 537 , , 108 , , 55 , , 0.7 , , 0.5 , , 15.6 , , 8.8 , , 24.4 , , 4.9 , , 2.5 , , 11 , - ,

1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...

, , , , 9 , 13 , , 5 , , 4 , , 136 , , 99 , , 235 , , 50 , , 26 , , 0.4 , , 0.3 , , 10.5 , , 7.6 , , 18.1 , , 3.8 , , 2.0 , , 3 , - style=background:#EAEAEA ,

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

, , , , 9 , 21 , , 13 , , 9 , , 350 , , 156 , , 506 , , 81 , , 52 , , 0.6 , , 0.4 , , 16.7 , , 7.4 , , 24.1 , , 3.9 , , 2.5 , , 16 , - ,

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

, , , , 9 , 22 , , 14 , , 9 , , 388 , , 252 , , 640 , , 102 , , 35 , , 0.6 , , 0.4 , , 17.6 , , 11.5 , , 29.1 , , 4.6 , , 1.6 , , bgcolor=98FB98, 28^± , - style=background:#EAEAEA ,

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

, , , , 9 , 21 , , 24 , , 8 , , 237 , , 190 , , 427 , , 78 , , 59 , , 1.1 , , 0.4 , , 11.3 , , 9.0 , , 20.3 , , 3.7 , , 2.8 , , 5 , - ,

2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

, , , , 9 , 21 , , 20 , , 8 , , 247 , , 195 , , 442 , , 89 , , 67 , , 1.0 , , 0.4 , , 11.8 , , 9.3 , , 21.0 , , 4.2 , , 3.2 , , 14 , - style=background:#EAEAEA ,

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

, , , , 9 , 22 , , 19 , , 16 , , 307 , , 226 , , 533 , , 89 , , 87 , , 0.9 , , 0.7 , , 14.0 , , 10.3 , , 24.2 , , 4.0 , , 4.0 , , 17 , - ,

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

, , , , 9 , 22 , , 13 , , 9 , , 279 , , 237 , , 516 , , 65 , , 81 , , 0.6 , , 0.4 , , 12.7 , , 10.8 , , 23.5 , , 3.0 , , 3.7 , , 21 , - style=background:#EAEAEA ,

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

, , , , 9 , 10 , , 6 , , 3 , , 118 , , 63 , , 181 , , 41 , , 38 , , 0.6 , , 0.3 , , 11.8 , , 6.3 , , 18.1 , , 4.1 , , 3.8 , , 2 , - ,

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

, , , , 9 , 21 , , 11 , , 5 , , 295 , , 207 , , 502 , , 133 , , 83 , , 0.5 , , 0.2 , , 14.0 , , 9.9 , , 23.9 , , 6.9 , , 4.0 , , 7 , - style=background:#EAEAEA ,

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

, , , , 9 , 15 , , 15 , , 7 , , 196 , , 163 , , 359 , , 104 , , 24 , , 1.0 , , 0.5 , , 13.1 , , 10.9 , , 23.9 , , 6.9 , , 1.6 , , 5 , - ,

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

, , , , 9 , 23 , , 10 , , 9 , , 278 , , 261 , , 539 , , 122 , , 76 , , 0.4 , , 0.4 , , 12.1 , , 11.3 , , 23.4 , , 5.3 , , 3.3 , , 6 , - style=background:#EAEAEA , bgcolor=F0E68C ,

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

^# , , , , 9 , 14 , , 5 , , 3 , , 132 , , 178 , , 310 , , 68 , , 47 , , 0.4 , , 0.2 , , 9.4 , , 12.7 , , 22.1 , , 4.9 , , 3.4 , , 0 , - class="sortbottom" ! colspan=3, Career:Shane Crawford's player profile at AFL Tables
/ref> ! 305 !! 224 !! 132 !! 3945 !! 2883 !! 6828 !! 1359 !! 860 !! 0.7 !! 0.4 !! 12.9 !! 9.5 !! 22.4 !! 4.5 !! 2.8 !! 159

Honours and achievements

Team * AFL premiership player ():

* Pre-season premiership player ():

Individual *

Brownlow Medal The Charles Brownlow Trophy, better known as the Brownlow Medal (and informally as Charlie), is awarded to the best and fairest player in the Australian Football League (AFL) during the home-and-away season, as determined by votes cast by the f ...

* AFLPA MVP: 1999 * 4×

All-Australian team The All-Australian team is an all-star team of Australian rules football in Australia, Australian rules footballers, selected by a panel at the end of each season. It represents a complete team, including an interchange bench, of the best-perfo ...

: 1996, 1998, 1999, 2002 * Hawthorn Captain: 1999–2004 * 4× Peter Crimmins Memorial Trophy: 1998, 1999, 2002, 2003 * Alex Jesaulenko Medal: 1998 * Herald Sun Player of the Year: 1999 * Media Association Player of the Year: 1999 * AFL Rising Star nominee:

* 4×

Australia international rules football team The Australia international rules football team is Australia's senior representative team in International rules football, a hybrid sport derived from Australian rules football and Gaelic football. The current team is solely made up of players ...

captain:

* Hall of Fame * life member

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Crawford, Shane 1974 births Living people All-Australians (AFL) Australian rules footballers from New South Wales Brownlow Medal winners Leigh Matthews Trophy winners New South Wales Australian rules football State of Origin players Hawthorn Football Club players Hawthorn Football Club premiership players Peter Crimmins Medal winners Allies State of Origin players Australian Football Hall of Fame inductees Sportsmen from New South Wales Australian game show hosts Aldinga Football Club players Australia international rules football team players VFL/AFL premiership players People educated at Assumption College, Kilmore