John Gastev (born 11 August 1964) is a former Australian rules footballer in the VFL/AFL.
A cult figure and "crowd favourite" standing at only 177cm and weighing just 73kg, Gastev debuted with the West Coast Eagles in their inaugural season in 1987 after playing for West Perth. After only two seasons and 30 games, Gastev was dumped and joined the Brisbane Bears in 1989.
In his first year at the Bears he won the best and fairest, repeating the feat in 1992. His other honours include playing for Western Australia in State of Origin. Gastev's main roles were as a tagger, and he played 113 games for the Bears before retiring in 1994. Gastev was probably best known for some of the massive hits he copped during his career and his trademark beard. Many players did not like his negative approach to the game and as such opted to make him a target, resulting in many significant blows that contributed to his early retirement.
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