Aaron Davey

Aaron Davey (born 10 June 1983) is an Indigenous Australian rules football player. He currently plays for the Melbourne Football Club in the Australian Football League. He is the older brother of Alwyn Davey, who plays for Essendon and both are cousins of Gavin Wanganeen.

Davey exploded onto the AFL scene, quickly establishing himself as one of the most exciting players in the league. He is one of few successful top-level footballers to have been elevated from a Rookie List and is a cult figure at the club and a highly popular player with young Demons fans.

Early years

Davey, of Torres Strait Islander descent, was born and raised in Darwin, Northern Territory, and was a forward pocket player in the Northern Territory Football League for the Palmerston Football Club. Even in these early years it was clear that Davey was a superior player. Davey was touted as being one of the most exciting junior prospects in the country after an exceptional season with Port Melbourne Borough in the Victorian Football League, having been voted the VFL player most likely to succeed AFL level. Surprisingly he was overlooked by all clubs in the national draft, but caught the eye of Demons talent scouts and made their rookie list.

When later asked on Before the Game, why Davey was not selected in the AFL Draft, the Demon's former coach Neale Daniher responded by postulating that clubs were not on the lookout for short indigenous players after the disappointing form of Leon Davis in the 2002 Grand Final, where he was kept possessionless. He has also been a high contender in AFL's sexiest player award.

AFL career

2004 Season

Davey debuted in the 2004 Wizard Cup and played a handful of sensational games before debuting in the senior side in round 1 of that year. In his first AFL game, the lightly built forward kicked a goal and totalled an impressive 13 possessions, receiving a nomination for the AFL Rising Star award.

In his next 15 games, Davey won wide acclaim for his blistering acceleration, evasive footwork and goal sense. He was likened to Essendon Football Club player Andrew Lovett, another young indigenous player. In particular, Davey's ability to run down with explosive acceleration, his hard tackling and his one percenter second and third efforts at the ball earned him the respect of coaches across the league.

Davey formed a potent forward line combination, crumbing the likes of Russell Robertson and David Neitz. He quickly became a cult hero, particularly amongst young supporters, and a face of the Melbourne Football Club. "He is regarded as the quickest, toughest and most skillful players of all time" Sam Pfeiffer

Davey played the rest of the season until a hamstring injury in round 16 against the Western Bulldogs at the Telstra Dome put him out for 4 games, but returned and played in a losing final against Essendon.

2005 Season

In 2005, Davey played all 22 games and a losing final against Geelong. He was selected for the International Rules series as one of only 3 Demons players. Davey was selected along with Lovett and several other indigenous players in Kevin Sheedy's handpicked squad. Topping off a sensational season, Davey finished 3rd in the club best and fairest behind Travis Johnstone and Russell Robertson.

In that year, Davey won the AFL Players Association Marn Grook Award for Best Emerging Indigenous Player and was one of 3 indigenous players in the Demons line-up to hail from Darwin, including Matthew Whelan and Shannon Motlop. The three played with each other in the local Darwin junior football. The injection of Byron Pickett into the Demons side has provided Davey with a great football mentor.

2006 Season

In 2006, Davey's versatility and added bulk has seen him used in the forward line, midfield and even at times defence. Initially, football commentators on 3AW, especially Rex Hunt, referred to him as "Jack Davey" - a reference to a former Australian radio quiz show host Jack Davey, whose trademark greeting at the opening of the show was "Hi Ho, everybody!" It is not uncommon to hear 3AW replay a soundbite of Jack Davey saying "Hi Ho, everybody" whenever Davey scores a goal. But more recently (2006), he has been widely referred to as "Flash" by many commentators for his incredible pace and acceleration.

In another exciting season, he achieved a total of 3 Goal of the Year nominations, including back-to-back weeks of soccer style strikes

2007 Season

Despite the Demons horror season Davey produced a career best game in round 7 against the Western Bulldogs collecting 29 disposals and kicking 3 goals in which he received 2 brownlow votes for.

As the season continued the Demons struggled, Davey's increasing aggression saw him suspended for two games for striking Brisbane Lions Adam Selwood at the Gabba in round 15..

References

External links

• Vibe article on Aaron Davey