Max Bailey

Max Bailey
Personal information
Full nameMax Bailey
Date of birth23 October 1986
Original teamWest Perth (WAFL)
Draft#18, 2005 National Draft, Hawthorn
Height/Weight206cm / 101kg
Position(s)Ruckman
Club information
Current clubRetired
Playing career1
YearsClubGames (Goals)
2006–2013Hawthorn43 (10)
1 Playing statistics correct to end of 2013 season.
Career highlights

Max Bailey (born 23 October 1986) is a retired Australian rules footballer with the Hawthorn Football Club of the Australian Football League.

Drafted 18th overall by the Hawks in the 2005 AFL Draft, the ruckman from West Perth made his AFL debut in Round 18 of the 2006 season. However, he would miss the 2007 season after suffering a right knee ACL injury during training before the season started.[1]

Max returned to the Box Hill Hawks Reserves team for a game in June 2008, only to rupture his right ACL again which required another knee reconstruction. Max postponed the surgery to concentrate on his study then when the timing was right went under the knife. In May 2009 Max resumed training and was expected to play at the Box Hill Hawks in the later part of the season.

However he made his return in Round 21, 2009 and had 23 hit outs in a win over Richmond. The following week against Essendon, Bailey suffered another ACL injury after he landed awkwardly and badly twisted his good left knee 5 minutes into the game and had to be helped from the ground. He sat on the bench in frustration and missed the 2010 season.

Throughout his succession of knee injuries, the Hawthorn Football Club kept the faith, retaining him on the senior list despite his first five years at the club yielding just 6 senior appearances.

Max Bailey returned in Round 9 of 2011 in a win over Sydney. Looking finally free of the injury curse, Bailey made a total of 16 senior appearances in the side that year. By trading 2008 premiership ruck Brent Renouf to Port Adelaide at the end of the 2011 season, the club effectively endorsed Bailey and the other rucks on the list to carry the mantle in 2012 and beyond. This plan struck a snag during the 2012 pre-season, when Bailey aggravated a wrist injury, which was set to keep him on the sidelines for around 12 weeks.

During the 2013 season Bailey managed to cement a spot in the Hawthorn side, after playing well in round 1 in the Hawks loss to Geelong.

Bailey's football career ended in the pinnacle of sporting achievements, being a member of Hawthorn's 2013 Premiership side. Former captain Sam Mitchell referred to Bailey as "the greatest story of the 2013 Premiership," in a speech at the club's best and fairest, where Bailey ended his AFL career, retiring after 43 games due continued problems with his right knee. [2]He joined the Richmond football club as an development coach on October 10 2013(source RFC website).

Statistics

[3]
Legend
 D  Disposals  K  Kicks  H  Handballs  M  Marks  T  Tackles  H/O  Hit-outs  G  Goals  B  Behinds
Year Team # Games D K H M T H/O G B D K H M T H/O G B
Totals Averages (per game)
2006 Hawthorn 36 4 20 5 15 10 5 23 0 0 5.0 1.3 3.8 2.5 1.3 5.8 0.0 0.0
2007 Hawthorn 36 0 — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
2008 Hawthorn 36 0 — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
2009 Hawthorn 1 2 9 3 6 1 6 25 0 0 4.5 1.5 3.0 0.5 3.0 12.5 0.0 0.0
2010 Hawthorn 1 0 — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
2011 Hawthorn 39 16 170 88 82 35 58 328 3 3 10.6 5.5 5.1 2.2 3.6 20.5 0.2 0.2
2012 Hawthorn 39 2 12 3 9 3 8 51 0 0 6.0 1.5 4.5 1.5 4.0 25.5 0.0 0.0
2013 Hawthorn 39 19 169 88 81 41 52 396 7 1 8.9 4.6 4.3 2.2 2.7 20.8 0.4 0.1
Career 43 380 187 193 90 129 823 10 4 8.8 4.3 4.5 2.1 3.0 19.1 0.2 0.1

References

  1. ↑ Connolly, R., Hawk giant big on clinching the top ruck spot, Real Footy, 10 February 2007. Retrieved on 27 April 2007.
  2. ↑
  3. ↑ Max Bailey's player profile at AFL Tables

External links