Travis Boak

Travis Boak
Personal information
Full nameTravis Boak
Date of birth1 August 1988
Original teamGeelong Falcons (TAC Cup)
Draft#5, 2006 National Draft, Port Adelaide
Height/Weight183cm / 83kg
Position(s)Midfielder
Club information
Current clubPort Adelaide
Number1
Playing career1
YearsClubGames (Goals)
2007–Port Adelaide155 (93)
1 Playing statistics correct to end of 2014 season.
Career highlights

Travis Boak (born 1 August 1988) is an Australian rules footballer and the current captain of the Port Adelaide Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He was Port Adelaide's first selection and fifth overall in the 2006 AFL Draft from the Geelong Falcons in the TAC Cup.

AFL career

Boak made his AFL debut in a 31 point victory in Round 12, 2007 against Essendon. Boak continued to rise since his debut, having 23 possessions against the Western Bulldogs in only his third match. The following week, against Richmond, Boak kicked his first ever AFL goal. Boak's greatest individual achievement came in Round 19, 2007 against Carlton when he earned a NAB Rising Star nomination for his 28 possessions and 2 goals. Boak's first season of AFL football was also memorable in the fact that he was part of the Port Adelaide team which competed in the 2007 AFL Grand Final against Geelong. Unfortunately for Boak, he was unable to become a Premiership player in his first season of AFL football as Port Adelaide were convincingly beaten in the Grand Final. He finished the year ranking third in rising star nominations in handballs.

2008

At the start of 2008, Boak picked up where he left off, playing a greater role in the Power midfield alongside senior players such as Domenic Cassisi, Kane Cornes and Shaun Burgoyne. He played in 17 games and averaged 20.1 disposals.

2009

Boak continued to improve in 2009 winning the Gavin Wanganeen Medal and averaging 23.7 disposals for the season. In round 18 against Hawthorn, Boak totaled a career high of 35 possessions in the Power's win.

2010

Boak re-committed to the Power midway through the season and continued to show just how good he could be with a high average of 23 possessions per game. His season ended with a flourish when he kicked three goals in each of the final two rounds. He also adapted to being the first-tagged player in the Port Adelaide midfield but his form seemed to improve with the pressure and he finished the season with 16 Brownlow votes.

2011

The 2011 season saw Boak play in 21 games and leading club in disposals (458), clearances (79) and inside 50s (85). He along with Jackson Trengove were jointly crowned the John Cahill Medallist, the first time that there had been a tie at the club's best and fairest award.[1]

2012

Travis Boak has had massive wraps on him even before Port Adelaide recruited him with pick 5 in the 2006 National Draft, that culminated in him finishing 10th in the Brownlow Medal count in 2010. After receiving heavy tags throughout the last few years as arguably Port’s best and most important midfielder, it was hoped that Boak could break out in 2012 to move into the elite class of midfielders. Although not a prolific ball-winner in terms of numbers over his career (Boak had fewer than 20 possessions 4 times in 2012) his season was highlighted with 31 and 32 disposals against two of the best midfields in the competition in Collingwood and Hawthorn, respectively. Although against relatively weaker opposition in the Gold Coast, Boak led the way for Port with a 28 possession 3 goal effort where he demonstrated how dangerous he can be if left unchecked in clearance situations.

It was later revealed that Boak had been fighting with plantar fasciitis, which he had surgery to repair following the round 10 win over Carlton. Boak missed 4 weeks due to the surgery, but came back strong averaging a little over 25 possessions, an extra tackle per match and kicking a further 5 goals for the remaining 8 games of the season. While not quite living up to his potential in 2012, Boak averaged a respectable 23.6 disposals, 3.7 tackles and kicking 9 goals and also averaged 5.4 inside 50’s per game which was 4th best in the league in 2012.

After much talk in 2012 of Boak moving back to his native Victoria at the end of the season, it was announced shortly after Port’s final game of the year that Travis Boak had re-signed with Port Adelaide.[2]

2013

For the 2013 season, Boak was announced as the captain of the club, therefore replacing his number #10 guernsey with #1 as is the Port Adelaide tradition.[3] 2013 was considered to be Boak's best AFL season up to that point, with an average of 25.3 disposals a game, and kicking a season best of 20 goals. He was named in the 2013 All-Australian team.

2014

Boak continued where he left off in 2013, averaging a career best 26.6 disposals a game. For the second consecutive season he was named in the All-Australian team.

Statistics

Statistics are correct to the end of the 2014 season [4]
Legend
 G  Goals  B  Behinds  K  Kicks  H  Handballs  D  Disposals  M  Marks  T  Tackles
Season Team # Games G B K H D M T G B K H D M T
Totals Averages (per game)
2007 Port Adelaide 10 14 4 3 101 124 225 51 38 0.3 0.2 7.2 8.9 16.1 3.6 2.7
2008 Port Adelaide 10 17 9 4 175 167 342 88 64 0.5 0.2 10.3 9.8 20.1 5.2 3.8
2009 Port Adelaide 10 18 7 5 223 204 427 81 73 0.4 0.3 12.4 11.3 23.7 4.5 4.1
2010 Port Adelaide 10 20 13 12 247 207 454 70 122 0.7 0.6 12.4 10.4 22.7 3.5 6.1
2011 Port Adelaide 10 21 12 6 236 222 458 76 98 0.6 0.3 11.2 10.6 21.8 3.6 4.7
2012 Port Adelaide 10 18 9 11 239 186 425 47 66 0.5 0.6 13.3 10.3 23.6 2.6 3.7
2013 Port Adelaide 1 23 20 13 315 266 581 99 96 0.9 0.6 13.7 11.6 25.3 4.3 4.2
2014 Port Adelaide 1 24 19 6 266 378 644 88 92 0.8 0.3 11.1 15.8 26.8 3.7 3.8
Career 155 93 60 1802 1754 3556 600 649 0.6 0.4 11.6 11.3 22.9 3.9 4.2

Honours and achievements

Brownlow Medal votes
Season Votes
2007 —
2008 2
2009 5
2010 16
2011 4
2012 6
2013 13
2014 21
Total 67
Key:
Green / Bold = Won
* = joint winner
Red / Italics = Ineligible

Individual

References

  1. ↑ "Historic Tie in Medal". Port Adelaide. 16 September 2011. Retrieved 20 July 2010.
  2. ↑ "Travis Boak signs new two-year deal with Port Adelaide". 6 September 2012.
  3. ↑ "Boak to lead new era at Port Adelaide". 30 January 2013. Retrieved August 16, 2013.
  4. ↑ Travis Boak's player profile at AFL Tables

External links

Sporting positions
Preceded by
Domenic Cassisi		 Port Adelaide Football Club captain
2013-present 		Succeeded by
Incumbent
Awards
Preceded by
Kane Cornes		 Port Adelaide Best and Fairest
2011
tied with Jackson Trengove 		Succeeded by
Kane Cornes