Michael S. Gardiner
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| Personal Info | |
|---|---|
| Birth | July 5, 1979, |
| Recruited from | Claremont Football Club (WAFL) |
| Height/Weight | 199cm / 99kg |
| Playing Career¹ | |
| Debut | Round 4, April 19, 1997, West Coast Eagles vs. Hawthorn, at Subiaco Oval |
| Team(s) | West Coast Eagles (1997-2006)
126 games, 86 goals St Kilda (2007-) |
| ¹ Statistics to end of 2005 season | |
| Career Highlights | |
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Michael Gardiner (born July 5, 1979) is an Australian rules footballer in the Australian Football League and plays for the St. Kilda Football Club.
[edit] AFL career
No.1 draft pick in the 1996 National Draft, Gardiner debuted in 1997 at only 17 years of age, there were big raps on Gardiner as an emerging ruckman/forward. He did not disappoint, winning a Rising Star nomination in 1997 and continuing to improve.
In 2003 he won All-Australian selection but since then his career has taken a turn for the worst. His chronic knee injuries have set him back, to the point where he missed most of the 2004 season. 2005 was not much better for Gardiner, with his poor season culminating in a much-maligned 2005 AFL Grand Final performance, where he consistently dropped marks and was slow on the lead, as well as his inaccurate goalkicking.
From the heights of his All-Australian selection where he was considered one of the AFL's premier ruckman, the injury-prone Gardiner has slid to the point where he is no longer a first-choice player at the West Coast Eagles. He has been overtaken in the ruck department by Dean Cox who was the leading ruckman in the competition winning All Australian selection in 2005 and also Mark Seaby a young ruckman who has turned in consistently solid performances.
After the 2006 season, the Eagles traded Gardiner to St Kilda for their third round draft pick (number 43 overall). He currently has a one-year contract with the Saints.
[edit] Off-field dramas
During the 2005 season he was criticised for his involvement with Ben Cousins and a group of Perth gangsters. Allegedly the two Eagles players received phone calls from gangland figures both before and after a shooting at the Metro City nightclub.
Gardiner's off-field lifestyle has been seen as detrimental to the West Coast playing group, and in February 2006, in the midst of the Ben Cousins booze bus incident, he was dropped to the Western Australian Football League side Claremont indefinitely on grounds of poor performance and poor off-field behaviour. However, on 2006-04-21 he rejoined the Eagles.
On July 18, 2006, Gardiner's playing contract was suspended indefinitely and he was fined $5000[1] following his involvement in a traffic accident in a Perth suburb overnight. He escaped the accident with only minor injuries. West Coast Eagles chief executive Trevor Nisbett said that it was highly unlikely the club would renew his contract at the end of the year. The latest incident may mark the end of Gardiner's controversial career, with the West Coast Eagles at least.
The controversies surrounding Michael Gardiner have been frequently known to spark debate as to whether an athlete's off field behaviour should have an impact on their on-field selection. Chris Judd himself, captain of the West Coast Eagles has commented in his column (though not necessarily in specific reference to Gardiner) that players ought not be role models for children, as the public rarely has an idea of the character of players. Some commentators such as Mark Duffield have expressed disagreement with this view, citing the fact that players accept large salaries and thus accept taking on the job of role models. Other commentators such as Sam Newman, Doovie Cohen, as well as (prominent physician and Eagles supporter) Steven David have been vocal in stating that parents ought to be role models themselves, and opining that the likes of Michael Gardiner should be left to doing what they do best - playing football.
On October 13 2006, Gardiner was traded to the St. Kilda Football Club.
