(215th Eagles player)
Best First Year Player (2007, Haw)
Hawthorn (AFL) 2006-2013
Box Hill (VFL) 2006-2013
East Perth (WAFL) 2014-2016
Swan Districts (WAFL) 2017
A medium-sized defender or midfielder, Xavier Ellis won a premiership with Hawthorn as a 20-year-old, but the remainder of his time with the Hawks was wrecked by injury. He spent three years at West Coast before constant soft-tissue injuries forced his retirement.
Hawthorn career[]
Originally from Lake's Entrance on Victoria's east coast, Xavier Ellis was taken by Hawthorn with pick 3 in the 2005 national draft. His Gippsland Power teammates Dale Thomas and Scott Pendlebury were taken by Collingwood at picks 2 and 5 respectively.
Ellis spent 2006 finishing high school, and made his debut in 2007. He played almost every game in 2008, saving his best performance for the Grand Final when he was close to the Hawks' best.
Unfortunately, apart from his 2010 season injuries meant he rarely got a clean run after his premiership glory.
West Coast career[]
After managing just 86 games in the brown and gold in eight seasons, Ellis followed Hawthorn assistant Adam Simpson to West Coast for a fresh start, become the Eagles' first-ever free agent signing. He signed a one-year deal, hinting that he was not confident his body would stand up beyond that.
Ellis proved a canny pickup, playing 17 games for the year before an AC joint injury ended his season early. His pinpoint disposal was invaluable across halfback, and he also spent time in the midfield and the forward line. Importantly, Ellis also managed (for the most part) to avoid the chronic soft-tissue injuries that marred his final few years at Hawthorn.
His second season as an Eagle got off to a rocky start when he suffered a hamstring injury during the NAB Challenge that took a long time to overcome. Ellis was a regular in the back six once he eventually returned to the senior side and his notoriously frail body seemed to hold up from that point on.
2016 saw the return of his woes however, the veteran defender injuring his Achilles in the opening round which set the tone for the rest of the year. He managed just one more senior game, coming in as a last-second inclusion against Adelaide, and a handful of WAFL appearances, and called time on his career in August after another calf injury.
Post-AFL career[]
Ellis originally took on a coaching role at WAFL club Swan Districts for the 2017 season, taking charge of the Swans' colts side as well as assisting with the league team, before eventually deciding to pull on the boots for their league side.[1] In 2018 he took over as co-host of local radio station Hit 92.9's breakfast program.[2]
Stats[]
AFL | Gm | G | B | K | M | H | D | T | Cl | WAFL | Gm | G | B | K | M | H | D | T | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2014 | 17 | 7 | 2 | 174 | 53 | 84 | 258 | 40 | 20 | EP | 0 | ||||||||
2015 | 15 | 1 | 0 | 164 | 76 | 62 | 226 | 22 | 11 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 33 | 14 | 11 | 44 | 0 | ||
2016 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 11 | 6 | 11 | 22 | 4 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 98 | 46 | 51 | 149 | 14 | ||
Tot | 34 | 9 | 2 | 349 | 135 | 157 | 506 | 66 | 31 | ||||||||||
Avg | 0.3 | 10.3 | 4.0 | 4.6 | 14.9 | 1.9 | 0.9 |
Tribunal record[]
Year | Rd | Charge | Outcome | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2015 | 11 | Rough conduct against J.Daniher (Ess) | Accepted $1,000 fine |
News[]
15/10/13: Hawk defender signs as free agent
20/3/14: Four Eagles to debut in season opener
11/8/14: AC joint injury puts season in jeopardy for Ellis
21/8/14: Ellis pulls trigger on new deal
29/3/16: Ellis forced to sit out due to Achilles injury
9/8/16: Ellis announces immediate retirement after calf injury
Links[]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xavier_Ellis
http://afltables.com/afl/stats/players/X/Xavier_Ellis.html
http://www.wafl.com.au/players/view/5675
- ↑ Kristle Lim, Eastern Reporter (24 February 2017), "Swans colts mentor Ellis to put emphasis on coaching over playing": https://www.communitynews.com.au/eastern-reporter/sport/wafl-swans-colts-mentor-ellis-to-put-emphasis-on-coaching-over-playing/
- ↑ Heather McNeill, WAToday.com.au (30 October 2017), "Hit 92.9 announces new breakfast show line-up": https://www.watoday.com.au/national/western-australia/hit-929-announces-new-breakfast-show-lineup-20171030-gzayn3.html