Australian Football

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Key Facts

Full name
Lindsay Gilbee

Known as
Lindsay Gilbee

Born
8 July 1981 (age 42)

Ethnicity
Indigenous Australian

Age at first & last AFL game
First game: 19y 280d
Last game: 31y 21d

Height and weight
Height: 180 cm
Weight: 83 kg

Senior clubs
Werribee; Western Bulldogs; Australia; Williamstown

Jumper numbers
Western Bulldogs: 29, 9

Recruited from
Eastern Ranges (2000)

Lindsay Gilbee

ClubLeagueCareer spanGamesGoalsAvgWin %AKIAHBAMKBV
WerribeeVFL2000-200444501.14
Western BulldogsAFL2001-20122061190.5850%12.256.104.5815
AustraliaIR2005-2006300.00
WilliamstownVFL2011-201213100.77
VFL2000-2004, 2011-201257601.05
AFL2001-20122061190.5850%12.256.104.5815
IR2005-2006300.00
Total2000-20122661790.67

AFL: 11,112th player to appear, 595th most games played, 896th most goals kickedWestern Bulldogs: 889th player to appear, 24th most games played, 48th most goals kicked

Drafted from under 18s club the Eastern Ranges, Lindsay Gilbee was a fine player over 12 seasons with the Western Bulldogs.  Selected by the Dogs with pick 43 in the 1999 National Draft, Gilbee made a name for himself as a running defender whose long, penetrating and accurate kicks saw him ranked among many pundits as one of the greatest disposers of the ball by foot in the modern era.

After making his debut in round three, 2001, Gilbee played a further eight games in that season before establishing himself as a regular over the next ten seasons. His long, accurate kicks made him a powerful weapon in turning defence into attack. He could also drift forward and was renowned for receiving a handball from a teammate and kicking a goal from outside the 50-metre arc.

Gilbee was a vital cog in the Western Bulldogs ultimately vain attempts at premiership glory in 2008, 2009 and 2010. In each of those seasons the Dogs fell one game short of making a Grand Final but Gilbee was amongst the best players more often than not in each of those three finals campaigns. 

In 2011 Gilbee lost form and favour and was dropped to the Bulldogs' VFL affiliate, Williamstown, on two occasions. He again started the 2012 season with Williamstown and received a knee injury that further hampered his attempts to return to the Dogs' senior side. Late in the year he managed to play four final games, putting in typically solid displays before hanging up the boots with 206 games to his credit, including 11 finals. 

Gilbee later rejected offers to try out as an NFL punter in the US. He was part of ABC radio's football commentary team for several seasons and was a development coach at St Kilda. 

Author - Andrew Gigacz

Sources

Wikipedia

Footnotes

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