Troy Broadbridge

Troy Broadbridge
Personal information
Full nameTroy Broadbridge
Date of birth5 October 1980
Date of death26 December 2004 (aged 24)
Place of deathPhi Phi Islands, Thailand
Original teamPort Adelaide (SANFL)
Height/Weight191 cm / 90 kg
Playing career1
YearsClubGames (Goals)
2001–2004Melbourne40 (2)
1 Playing statistics correct to end of 2004 season.

Troy Broadbridge (5 October 1980 – 26 December 2004) was an Australian rules footballer with the Melbourne Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL).

AFL career

Melbourne career (2001–2004)

Broadbridge began his career as a defender with Port Adelaide in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL), and was drafted by the Melbourne Football Club at the beginning of the 2001 AFL season. He won the club's Most Improved Player award in 2001, and became a regular in the side, playing a total of 40 games over his three seasons.

His debut was for Melbourne was in Round 8, 2001, when they met Essendon for the first time since Melbourne's 2000 Grand Final loss. Melbourne lost this match by a kick. He played his final league game against Essendon as well, in the 2004 finals, and again Melbourne lost by under a kick.

Marriage and death

Broadbridge married Trisha Silvers on 18 December 2004. On 26 December, while spending their honeymoon in the Phi Phi Islands, Thailand, he drowned after being swept out to sea by the tsunami that followed the Indian Ocean earthquake, but Silvers survived. His father located his body in a Thai morgue on 3 January 2005.[1]

Legacy

Trisha wrote a book about the events, Beyond The Wave, and was named as the 2006 Young Australian of the Year for her volunteer work for various charities, including building a school on Phi Phi named in Troy Broadbridge's honor.[2]

In Melbourne's first match of the 2005 season, played against Essendon, the Demons all wore black armbands with number 20 sported on them in memory of Broadbridge. The Demons won that game and dedicated the win to him and his widow, Trisha. Broadbridge's number 20 jersey was retired for the following two seasons (2005–2006), and was revived in 2007 by new player Colin Garland.

Since 2007 the Troy Broadbridge Memorial Trophy has been awarded to any Melbourne-listed player that accumulates the most votes for their VFL affiliate.[3]

References

  1. ↑ AFL player's body found in Thailand ABC News, 3 January 2005
  2. ↑ A Future Beyond the Tsunami The Age, 29 October 2005
  3. ↑ Other awards : Demonwiki - The history of the Melbourne Football Club

External links