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Key Facts

Full name
Drew Banfield

Known as
Drew Banfield

Born
27 February 1974 (age 49)

Age at first & last AFL game
First game: 19y 141d
Last game: 32y 215d

Height and weight
Height: 184 cm
Weight: 89 kg

Senior clubs
Subiaco; West Coast

Jumper numbers
West Coast: 31, 6

Drew Banfield

Advanced stats
ClubLeagueCareer spanGamesGoalsAvgWin %AKIAHBAMKBV
SubiacoWAFL1992-1993, 2002, 2004, 200632110.34—————
West CoastAFL1993-2006265760.2958%8.826.762.7521
Total1992-2006297870.29—————

AFL: 10,441st player to appear, 198th most games played, 1,437th most goals kickedWest Coast: 84th player to appear, 9th most games played, 45th most goals kicked

Durable all-rounder who has lived up to expectations following his selection as the No. 1 overall at the 1992 national draft. A big weight to carry, but he has shouldered it better than most of the other first selections. Plays it hard over a wide area, with concentration on the midfield, and has much more to offer.¹

After playing for Subiaco in 1992 Drew Banfield was taken by West Coast as pick one at that year's AFL Draft. He soon developed into a mainstay of the team, and if he lacked the extravagant talents of some of his team mates he was always in the thick of the action and capable of picking up significant disposal stats. Once he got the ball, he almost invariably used it effectively. A career highlight came in 1994 when he helped the Eagles to an 80 point grand final annihilation of Geelong.

Used as a tagger early on, Banfield developed into a damaging, forceful, free running midfielder who liked to take the play on. He won a club best and fairest award in 1996 and was still playing ten years later when the Eagles again won a premiership, this time at the expense of Sydney. No other player was a member of both the 1994 and 2006 flag-winning combinations.

Shortly after the 2006 grand final Drew Banfield announced his retirement as a player after 265 AFL games and 76 goals. He also played 32 WAFL games and kicked 11 goals for Subiaco.

Author - John Devaney

Footnotes

1. 1999 Select AFL card number 84.

Sources

Encyclopedia of AFL Footballers by Russell Holmesby & Jim Main; Wikipedia article, Crème de la Crème

Footnotes

* Behinds calculated from the 1965 season on.
+ Score at the end of extra time.