Emma Grant (footballer)

Emma Grant (born 22 July 1989) is a retired Australian rules footballer who played for Collingwood in the AFL Women's (AFLW).

Emma Grant
Grant playing for Collingwood in February 2019
Personal information
Full name Emma Grant
Date of birth (1989-07-22) 22 July 1989
Place of birth Gisborne, Victoria
Original team(s) Bendigo (VWFL)
Draft No. 91, 2016 national draft
Debut Round 1, 2017, Collingwood vs. Carlton, at IKON Park
Height 166 cm (5 ft 5 in)
Position(s) Utility
Playing career
Years Club Games (Goals)
2017–2020 Collingwood 20 (2)
Source: AustralianFootball.com

Early life and state football

Grant grew up in Gisborne and played her junior football at Gisborne from under-9s to under-12s, being the first girl to play at the club. At the age of 12 she had to stop playing football due to league rules and switched to netball. After moving to Bendigo for her university studies, she joined VWFL club Bendigo Thunder in 2011 as a foundation player. She captained them in the 2016 season, when they were unbeaten until losing the premier division grand final to Deer Park, and won the best and fairest award by 10 votes. During the season she also represented Melbourne in two exhibition matches.[1][2]

During the off-season between the 2017 and 2018 AFLW seasons, Grant played for Diamond Creek in the VFLW, helping them to the grand final,[3] but they lost the premiership match to Darebin Falcons.[4]

AFL Women's career

After being drafted by Collingwood, Grant impressed in a practice match 10 point win over the Western Bulldogs, playing each quarter in a different position.[5] She made her debut in round 1, 2017, in the inaugural AFLW match at IKON Park against Carlton, in which she left the field in the second quarter after Brianna Davey's arm hit her in a tackle. She did not return to the field after failing a concussion test.[6]

After playing all 7 matches in the inaugural season and placing 4th in the best and fairest, Collingwood re-signed Grant for the 2018 season during the trade period in May 2017.[7]

Collingwood re-signed Grant for the 2019 season during the trade period in June 2018.[8]

In March 2020, following the 2020 season in which she didn't play due to a head concussion she got in pre-season, Grant announced her retirement.[9]

Personal life

Apart from her sports career, Grant worked as a PE and Grade 1-2 teacher at Bendigo Violet Street Primary School and then at Moonee Ponds Primary School.[1] Currently Grant is teaching PE at Bendigo South East College.

In March 2023, Grant initiated a civil lawsuit in the County Court of Victoria against the Collingwood Football Club due to concussion-related injuries that she suffered during her playing career which resulted in her early retirement.[10][11]

Statistics
Statistics are correct to the end of the 2020 season.[12]
Legend
  G  
 Goals
  K  
 Kicks
  D  
 Disposals 
  T  
 Tackles
  B  
 Behinds 
  H  
 Handballs 
  M  
 Marks
Season Team No. Games Totals Averages (per game)
G B K H D M T G B K H D M T
2017 Collingwood 571035104517230.10.05.01.46.42.43.3
2018 Collingwood 570043196217180.00.06.12.78.92.42.6
2019 Collingwood 56102517429120.20.04.22.87.01.52.0
2020 Collingwood 50——————————————
Career 20 2 0 103 46 149 43 53 0.1 0.0 5.2 2.3 7.5 2.2 2.7

References
  1. West, Luke (13 January 2017). "Grant ready to swoop with Magpies in AFLW". Bendigo Advertiser.
  2. Swersky, Tiarne (1 February 2017). "AFLW: Taking nothing for granted". Collingwood. Telstra Media.
  3. Swersky, Tiarne (19 September 2017). "Four Pies into VFLW Grand Final". Collingwood. Telstra Media. Archived from the original on 10 November 2017. Retrieved 18 November 2017.
  4. Prime, Toby (24 September 2017). "Darebin Falcons capture fifth straight VFL Women's premiership over Diamond Creek". Herald Sun.
  5. West, Luke (27 January 2017). "Emma Grant impresses for Collingwood in AFLW warm-up game". Bendigo Advertiser.
  6. Guthrie, Ben (3 February 2017). "Blue ribbon day for AFLW as Carlton downs Collingwood". AFL. Telstra Media.
  7. "Collingwood AFLW team re-sign Emma Grant for second season". Bendigo Advertiser. 19 May 2017.
  8. Lechucki, Meagan (4 June 2018). "AFLW: Pies pocket early picks". Collingwood. Telstra Media. Archived from the original on 8 June 2018. Retrieved 4 June 2018.
  9. Wood, Lauren (25 March 2020). "AFLW: Magpie Chloe Molloy says Carlton better than undefeated Dockers, Emma Grant forced to retire due to concussion". The Daily Telegraph.
  10. Ryan, Peter (5 April 2023). "Former Cat Rooke to lead concussion class action against AFL in Supreme Court". The Age. Retrieved 14 March 2023.
  11. Vinall, Marnie. "Former AFLW star files lawsuit against Collingwood over concussion". The Age. Retrieved 25 April 2023.
  12. "Emma Grant - Player Stats By Season". Australian Football. Retrieved 29 March 2020.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Emma Grant (footballer).
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.