Brad Sheppard

DOB

23/5/1991

Height

186cm

Weight

80 kg

Junior club

East Fremantle/Attadale JFC

Arrived

Pick 7 in the 2009 national draft

Number

12 (2010 - 2011)
5 (2012 - 2021)

Debut

Round 7 2010 vs Hawthorn
(193rd Eagles player)

Games

216

Goals

19

Honours

All-Australian (2020)
Best Clubman (2020)

B&F Top 10

6 (2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020)

Best Finish

3rd (2019, 2020)

Last app.

Round 22 2021 vs Fremantle

Departed

Retired due to injury ahead of the 2022 season

Other clubs

East Fremantle (WAFL) 2009-2013
East Perth (WAFL) 2014-2018

A clever utility, Brad Sheppard struggled for several seasons to cement a regular place in the senior side and live up to his status as a high draft pick, before finding a permanent home in defence.

West Coast career[]

Sheppard, the cousin of Australian cricketers Shaun and Mitch Marsh, won selection in a back-pocket in the All-Australian under-18 side in 2009 before being selected by West Coast with their prized top-10 pick.

He overcame a knee injury to make his debut early in 2010 and showed great promise. Playing primarily as a defender, he played 14 games for the year before an AC joint injury brought an early end to his season.

In 2011 Sheppard struggled to break into a settled Eagles' outfit, playing just six games for the year as West Coast made a surprising charge late into September.

He bounced back in 2012, after starting late and coming through East Fremantle Sheppard broke into the side in round 6. Playing further up the ground than he had earlier in his career, Sheppard played 12 games before succumbing to an ankle injury that, once again, saw his season over too soon.

He again struggled in 2013, with injuries (including shoulder and hamstring troubles) and indifferent form leading to Sheppard bouncing from the senior side to the WAFL.

He started the 2014 season at a new WAFL club, East Perth, but once given an opportunity in the ones he quickly cemented his spot to record probably his best season to date. Used almost exclusively in defence after being tried all over the field earlier in his career, Sheppard turned in some strong performances but once again he unfortunately failed to finish the season, with an ankle injury cutting his year short.

Sheppard turned in the best season of his career in 2015 after settling in the backline and playing every game. Regularly forced to punch above his weight against key forwards thanks to injuries to Eric MacKenzie and Mitch Brown, he did so with aplomb, finishing sixth in the best and fairest and being named Player of the Finals.

He consolidated his position in the backline with another strong season in 2016, playing every game and finishing in the top 10 in the best and fairest for the second straight year. Sheppard again played every game in 2017 and was a solid contributor in defence, his best game coming in Adelaide where he shut down Port's Robbie Gray and kicked a crucial goal. His good form continued throughout 2018, with Sheppard being spoken of as a potential All-Australian candidate, until misfortune struck in the opening final when he damaged a hamstring, ending a run of 95 consecutive games and knocking him out of the club's premiership push.

Looking to join his teammates as a premiership player, Sheppard was in career-best form during 2019 season, playing every game, leading the league in marks and earning selection in the extended All-Australian squad, although he unluckily missed out on the final side. He was rewarded with a personal-best third-place finish in the best and fairest. Sheppard went one better in 2020, named in the back pocket of the All-Australian side, and equalled his third-place John Worsfold Medal finish. He was consistent through 2021 but missed games through concussion twice, and ultimately was forced to pull the pin on his playing career on medical advice, ahead of the 2022 season.

Stats[]

AFL	Gm	G	B	K	M	H	D	T	Cl	WAFL	Gm	G	B	K	M	H	D	T
2010	14	2	6	118	42	90	208	31	13	EF	5	5	4	63	29	35	98	4
2011	6	1	0	48	17	26	74	22	2		14	6	4	156	53	94	250	56
2012	12	6	3	98	47	58	156	24	8		5	1	6	55	23	29	84	5
2013	13	3	4	97	37	57	154	31	13		6	5	3	70	21	50	120	9
2014	14	0	1	162	57	72	234	34	13	EP	1	0	1	16	12	12	28	2
2015	25	3	4	264	141	163	427	39	11		0
2016	23	1	2	207	110	167	374	48	3		0
2017	24	1	0	188	99	169	357	71	14		0
2018	23	0	1	253	148	120	373	53	1		0
2019	24	0	2	324	188	139	463	37	7	WCE	0
2020	18	2	0	194	112	92	286	34	5	N/A
2021	20	0	0	220	129	127	347	32	5	WCE	0
Tot	216	19	23	2173	1127	1280	3453	456	95
Avg		0.1		10.1	5.2	5.9	16.0	2.1	0.4