Max Gawn facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Max Gawn |
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Gawn playing for Melbourne in April 2018
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| Personal information | |||
| Full name | Max Gawn | ||
| Date of birth | 30 December 1991 | ||
| Original team | Sandringham Dragons (TAC Cup) | ||
| Draft | No. 34, 2009 national draft | ||
| Debut | Round 11, 2011, Melbourne v. Essendon, at MCG |
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| Position(s) | Ruck | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | Melbourne | ||
| Number | 11 | ||
| Career highlights | |||
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Max Gawn (born 30 December 1991) is a professional Australian rules football player. He plays for the Melbourne Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). Max is a ruckman, which means he's usually the tallest player on the field. He is 209 cm tall and weighs 111 kg. He can play both in the ruck and in the forward line.
Max played basketball and rugby union when he was younger. But he chose to focus on Australian rules football. He was picked by the Melbourne Football Club in the 2009 AFL draft. He played his first AFL game in the 2011 AFL season. For his first four seasons, injuries to his knee and hamstring made it tough for him. But in 2015, he became Melbourne's main ruckman. In 2016, he was chosen for the 2016 All-Australian team, which is a team of the best players in the league.
Max became the captain of Melbourne at the start of the 2020 AFL season. In 2021, he led his team to win their first championship (called a premiership) since 1964.
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Max's Early Life and Sports
Max Gawn was born in Australia. When he was three, his family moved to New Zealand for a few years. Later, they settled in Melbourne, Australia. His dad, who used to play rugby, suggested Max try rugby union. He played in the Under-10s for a club called Powerhouse RUFC. Max also played basketball when he was young.
But Australian rules football was always his favorite sport. He went to McKinnon Secondary College and played junior football for the Ormond Football Club. In 2009, he played for the Sandringham Dragons in a league called the TAC Cup. Sadly, he tore a major knee ligament (called an ACL) during a game. This injury meant he missed the rest of the year.
Max's AFL Journey
Starting Out: Injuries and Debut (2010–2013)
The Melbourne Football Club picked Max in the 2009 AFL draft. He was the second-tallest player in the league at the time. After his knee surgery in 2009, he missed most of the 2010 season. He played a few games for Melbourne's reserve team, the Casey Scorpions, in the VFL Development League.
In 2011, after playing well for Casey, Max made his first AFL game. It was in Round 11 against Essendon at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. He played mostly as a forward in that game. A special moment was when Jim Stynes, a famous Melbourne player, gave Max his number 37 jumper. Max only played four games in his first season.
More injuries followed. In 2012, another knee injury, including another ACL tear, meant he missed the whole 2012 season. He also had a hamstring injury in 2013. He finally played his first AFL game of 2013 in Round 4. He helped Melbourne win by kicking two goals in the last quarter. He played 13 games that year.
Becoming a Star: All-Australian Selection (2014–2016)
In 2014, Max also coached a junior team at his old club, Ormond. He even started a small business making tables! He played nine AFL games that year. While playing for Casey in the VFL, he set a record for the most "hitouts" in a VFL game with 80. A hitout is when a ruckman taps the ball from a stoppage. At the end of 2014, he changed his jumper number from 37 to 11. This was the same number worn by Jim Stynes, the famous ruckman.
In 2015, Max started to shine. He played his first senior game of the year in Round 10. In Round 12, he helped Melbourne beat Geelong in Geelong for the first time in ten years. He had 44 hitouts, 19 disposals (getting the ball), and eight marks. People said it was his best game ever. He played every game for the rest of the season and was called the most improved ruckman.
Max's great form continued into 2016. He was added to Melbourne's leadership group. In one game, he had 63 hitouts, which was one of the highest totals ever in an AFL match. Many people started to say he was the best ruckman in the league. In the special Queen's Birthday game against Collingwood, Max was named the best player on the field. He had 27 disposals, three goals, and 31 hitouts.
Max became known for his ability to tap the ball, kick goals, and take strong marks. He played every game in 2016 and had the most hitouts in the league with 928. He also set a record for the most hitouts that went directly to a teammate. His amazing season led to him being chosen as the ruckman in the 2016 All-Australian team. He also finished third in Melbourne's best and fairest award.
Continuing Success: Captaincy and Premiership (2017–Present)
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After his All-Australian year in 2016, everyone had high hopes for Max. He was still in Melbourne's leadership group for 2017. In the first game of 2017, he had 49 hitouts, helping Melbourne win. But in Round 3, he got another serious hamstring injury. This needed surgery and kept him out for ten weeks.
When he came back, Max found it hard to get back to his best form. He even had to change how he played in the ruck because umpires were giving him free kicks against him. He worked hard to adapt. In October, he signed a contract to stay with Melbourne until the end of 2021.
In 2018, Max played every game, including three finals. He won his first club best and fairest award, the Keith 'Bluey' Truscott Trophy. This showed he was the best player at Melbourne that year.
A very exciting moment happened before the 2021 finals. Melbourne needed to beat Geelong at their home ground to finish first on the ladder. Max led an amazing comeback after his team was seven goals behind. He took a mark and kicked a goal after the siren to win the game! This meant Melbourne finished top of the ladder for the first time since 1964.
On 25 September 2021, Max Gawn was the captain when Melbourne won their first AFL Premiership in 57 years! It was a huge moment for the club and for Max.
Max Gawn's Statistics
Updated to the end of 2024.
| G | Goals | B | Behinds | K | Kicks | H | Handballs | D | Disposals | M | Marks | T | Tackles | H/O | Hit-outs |
| Season | Team | No. | Games | Totals | Averages (per game) | Votes | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | B | K | H | D | M | T | H/O | G | B | K | H | D | M | T | H/O | |||||
| 2010 | Melbourne | 37 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2011 | Melbourne | 37 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 15 | 14 | 29 | 12 | 12 | 65 | 0.3 | 0.5 | 3.8 | 3.5 | 7.3 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 16.3 | 0 |
| 2012 | Melbourne | 37 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2013 | Melbourne | 37 | 13 | 7 | 2 | 48 | 68 | 116 | 38 | 31 | 242 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 3.7 | 5.2 | 8.9 | 2.9 | 2.4 | 18.6 | 0 |
| 2014 | Melbourne | 37 | 9 | 4 | 5 | 39 | 56 | 95 | 38 | 11 | 133 | 0.4 | 0.6 | 4.4 | 6.2 | 10.6 | 4.2 | 1.2 | 14.8 | 0 |
| 2015 | Melbourne | 11 | 13 | 6 | 4 | 72 | 104 | 176 | 58 | 29 | 485 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 5.5 | 8.0 | 13.5 | 4.5 | 2.2 | 37.3 | 4 |
| 2016 | Melbourne | 11 | 22 | 16 | 11 | 154 | 164 | 318 | 91 | 80 | 928† | 0.7 | 0.5 | 7.0 | 7.5 | 14.5 | 4.1 | 3.6 | 42.2† | 16 |
| 2017 | Melbourne | 11 | 13 | 4 | 4 | 77 | 83 | 160 | 46 | 36 | 466 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 5.9 | 6.4 | 12.3 | 3.5 | 2.8 | 35.8 | 3 |
| 2018 | Melbourne | 11 | 25 | 13 | 12 | 204 | 192 | 396 | 113 | 57 | 1119† | 0.5 | 0.5 | 8.2 | 7.7 | 15.8 | 4.5 | 2.3 | 44.8† | 20 |
| 2019 | Melbourne | 11 | 21 | 7 | 7 | 253 | 119 | 372 | 102 | 51 | 829 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 12.0 | 5.7 | 17.7 | 4.9 | 2.4 | 39.5 | 17 |
| 2020 | Melbourne | 11 | 14 | 1 | 1 | 142 | 80 | 222 | 63 | 35 | 458 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 10.1 | 5.7 | 15.9 | 4.5 | 2.5 | 32.7† | 13 |
| 2021# | Melbourne | 11 | 25 | 16 | 17 | 316 | 147 | 463 | 131 | 71 | 804† | 0.6 | 0.7 | 12.6 | 5.9 | 18.5 | 5.2 | 2.8 | 32.2 | 16 |
| 2022 | Melbourne | 11 | 22 | 13 | 14 | 287 | 130 | 417 | 122 | 40 | 596 | 0.6 | 0.6 | 13.0 | 5.9 | 19.0 | 5.5 | 1.8 | 27.1 | 12 |
| 2023 | Melbourne | 11 | 22 | 10 | 14 | 228 | 144 | 372 | 102 | 44 | 565 | 0.5 | 0.6 | 10.4 | 6.5 | 16.9 | 4.6 | 2.0 | 25.7 | 7 |
| 2024 | Melbourne | 11 | 21 | 11 | 9 | 235 | 166 | 401 | 110 | 54 | 713 | 0.5 | 0.4 | 11.2 | 7.9 | 19.1 | 5.2 | 2.6 | 34.0 | |
| Career | 224 | 109 | 102 | 2070 | 1467 | 3537 | 1026 | 552 | 7401 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 9.2 | 6.5 | 15.8 | 4.6 | 2.5 | 33.0 | 108 | ||
Notes
Max Gawn's Awards and Achievements
Team Awards
- AFL Premiership Player (Melbourne): 2021 (as captain)
- McClelland Trophy (Melbourne): 2021 (as captain) (This award is for finishing top of the ladder)
Individual Awards
- AFL Premiership Captain: 2021
- Frank 'Checker' Hughes Medal: 2024
- Melbourne Captain: 2020–present
- AFLCA Champion Player of the Year Award: 2018 (Voted best player by coaches)
- 6× All-Australian team: 2016, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 (as captain), 2022 (Chosen as one of the best players in the league)
- 2× Keith 'Bluey' Truscott Trophy: 2018, 2019 (Melbourne's Best and Fairest award)
- Neale Daniher Trophy: 2016 (Award for best player in the Queen's Birthday game)
