| Brent Stanton | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Stanton playing for Essendon in May 2015 | |||
| Personal information | |||
| Full name | Brent Stanton | ||
| Born | (1986-05-01)1 May 1986 (age 39) Darwin, Australia | ||
| Original team | Northern Knights (TAC Cup) | ||
| Draft | No. 13,2003 national draft | ||
| Height | 183 cm (6 ft 0 in) | ||
| Weight | 82 kg (181 lb) | ||
| Position | Midfielder /defender | ||
| Playing career1 | |||
| Years | Club | Games (Goals) | |
| 2004–2017 | Essendon | 255 (158) | |
| International team honours | |||
| Years | Team | Games (Goals) | |
| 2006 | Australia | 2 (1) | |
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 2017. 2 Representative statistics correct as of 2006. | |||
| Career highlights | |||
| |||
| Sources:AFL Tables,AustralianFootball.com | |||
Brent Stanton (born 1 May 1986) is a retired professionalAustralian rules footballer who played his entire career for theEssendon Football Club in theAustralian Football League (AFL).
Stanton attended Banyule Primary School andViewbank College. At the age of 16, Stanton was selected to play for the 2002Northern Knights team in theTAC Cup. He played nine games, averaged 16 possessions and kicked 11 goals. Growing up, Stanton supported theCarlton Football Club.[1]
Stanton was drafted byEssendon with the thirteenth overall selection in the2003 national draft, Essendon's second pick overall in the draft.[2] Due to many key players being injured in the 2004 pre-season, Stanton was immediately brought into the Essendon team for the round 1 match againstPort Adelaide where the Bombers were comfortably defeated by 96 points. Stanton was the round nomination for theRising Star after the round 20 win againstCollingwood.
Stanton started his 2005 season by changing to the number 24 jumper, previously worn by former Essendon greatJoe Misiti. Stanton had a strong season, in the 19 games that he played, he averaged 18 possessions and kicked 13 goals. In just his second year of football he showed much improvement from his debut season, Stanton finished third in the 2005Crichton Medal behindMark Johnson andJason Johnson with 253 votes.[3]
Stanton worked hard during the pre-season, and was able to increase his physical size. During 2006, he played a different role on thewing, oppositeScott Camporeale. During a horror season which netted only three wins and a draw for Essendon (one of which was against reigning premiersSydney),[4] Stanton was one of only three players in the team who played in every game that season. Stanton averaged 22 possessions and kicked 12 goals finishing fourth in the 2006Crichton Medal with 196 votes.
Stanton became a far more prominent player for the Bombers in 2007, he averaged a career-high 25 possessions in the first 10 rounds of the season. Stanton became renowned around the AFL for his endurance and quickly established himself as one of the club's key players and most dangerous midfielders. He finished off an impressive season by finishing sixth in the 2007Crichton Medal with 197 votes.
In the 2008 pre-season, Stanton would be handed the number five guernsey, worn by retired club captainJames Hird. Stanton struggled early in the season due to close checking from opposition players.[5] Although he only averaged 22 possessions and kicked 18 goals in the season, his much-criticised tackling had improved vastly. Stanton finished third in the 2008Crichton Medal, behindMatthew Lloyd andDavid Hille, with 188 votes.
In 2009, Stanton was a significant player in an Essendon team which went through the home and away season with 10 wins, 11 defeats and a draw. He played every game in the home and away season in which they qualified in eighth position for the finals series, losing the First Elimination Final toAdelaide by 96 points. Stanton polled a career high eight votes in theBrownlow Medal and finished third in the 2009 Crichton Medal behind,Dustin Fletcher andJobe Watson with 284 votes. Stanton played his 100th AFL game in round 2 againstFremantle.
Stanton was elected into the Essendon leadership group for the 2010 season.[6] Stanton amassed 477 possessions and kicked 13 goals in 20 games for an Essendon team which won seven matches and lost fifteen in a year that would see their coach,Matthew Knights, sacked one day after the conclusion of the regular season. Stanton polled six votes in the Brownlow Medal and finished fifth in the 2010Crichton Medal with 167 votes.[7]
Stanton continued to improve during the year.[8] Stanton led the club in kicks and handballs received and was in the top five for marks, handballs, inside-50s, rebound-50s and loose-ball gets.[citation needed] Into his ninth AFL season and in the Essendon leadership group, Stanton finished second in the 2011 Crichton Medal behindDavid Zaharakis.[9] He played his 150th AFL game againstMelbourne in Round 11.
It was another impressive year in the red and black for Stanton. Wearing the famous number 5, his tireless running and ability to accumulate possessions played a huge part in every victory during the 2012 season. He has now become one of the most reliable and consistent players for the Bombers and polled a career high 14 votes in the 2012Brownlow Medal.
In Round 6 of the2012 AFL season, Stanton collected a record 193Dream Team points in Essendon's win against theBrisbane Lions atDocklands Stadium.[10] His statistics included: 39 disposals (from 32 kicks and 7 handballs), 17 marks and 8 tackles. As of 2015, it remains the highest Dream Team score by a midfielder.
Stanton played his 200th game in Round 20, 2013 againstWest Coast atEtihad Stadium.[11]
Stanton, along with 33 other Essendon players, was found guilty of using a banned performance-enhancing substance,thymosin beta-4, as part ofEssendon's sports supplements program during the 2012 season. He and his team-mates were initially found not guilty in March 2015 by the AFL Anti-Doping Tribunal,[12] but a guilty verdict was returned in January 2016 after an appeal by theWorld Anti-Doping Agency. He was suspended for two years which, with backdating, ended in November 2016; as a result, he served approximately fourteen months of his suspension and missed the entire2016 AFL season.[13]
On 10 August 2016 Stanton re-committed to the Bombers on a one-year deal.[14] Early in the 2017 season, Stanton played his 250th AFL game against theBrisbane Lions atthe Gabba.[1]
On 24 August 2017, Stanton announced that he would retire at the end of the 2017 season.[15]
In 2018, Stanton joined theCarlton Football Club in an assistant coaching role as a development coach.[16] He also plays for the Banyule Bears in the Northern Football League who were eliminated in their preliminary final after they were beaten by the Lower Plenty Jabba's.[17]
In August 2021, at the end of the 2021 season, Stanton was sacked by Carlton as an assistant coach, due to a clean-out at the club, after an extensive review of the club's football operations.[18][19]
He subsequently returned toEssendon Football Club after being appointed its VFL coach.[20]
G | Goals | K | Kicks | D | Disposals | T | Tackles |
B | Behinds | H | Handballs | M | Marks |
| Season | Team | No. | Games | Totals | Averages (per game) | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | B | K | H | D | M | T | G | B | K | H | D | M | T | ||||
| 2004 | Essendon | 34 | 15 | 6 | 6 | 110 | 41 | 151 | 47 | 20 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 7.3 | 2.7 | 10.1 | 3.1 | 1.3 |
| 2005 | Essendon | 24 | 19 | 13 | 9 | 252 | 100 | 352 | 123 | 39 | 0.7 | 0.5 | 13.3 | 5.3 | 18.5 | 6.5 | 2.0 |
| 2006 | Essendon | 24 | 22 | 12 | 18 | 332 | 153 | 485 | 134 | 41 | 0.6 | 0.8 | 15.1 | 7.0 | 22.0 | 6.1 | 1.9 |
| 2007 | Essendon | 24 | 20 | 11 | 5 | 322 | 147 | 469 | 139 | 28 | 0.6 | 0.2 | 16.1 | 7.4 | 23.4 | 7.0 | 1.4 |
| 2008 | Essendon | 5 | 22 | 18 | 13 | 321 | 165 | 486 | 122 | 72 | 0.8 | 0.6 | 14.6 | 7.5 | 22.1 | 5.6 | 3.3 |
| 2009 | Essendon | 5 | 23 | 15 | 13 | 329 | 243 | 572 | 139 | 87 | 0.6 | 0.6 | 14.3 | 10.6 | 24.9 | 6.0 | 3.8 |
| 2010 | Essendon | 5 | 20 | 13 | 8 | 285 | 192 | 477 | 122 | 81 | 0.6 | 0.4 | 14.2 | 9.6 | 23.8 | 6.1 | 4.0 |
| 2011 | Essendon | 5 | 21 | 15 | 14 | 343 | 178 | 521 | 107 | 116 | 0.7 | 0.7 | 16.3 | 8.5 | 24.8 | 5.1 | 5.5 |
| 2012 | Essendon | 5 | 20 | 13 | 9 | 359 | 137 | 496 | 129 | 86 | 0.6 | 0.4 | 18.0 | 6.8 | 24.8 | 6.4 | 4.3 |
| 2013 | Essendon | 5 | 21 | 14 | 11 | 362 | 162 | 524 | 112 | 81 | 0.7 | 0.5 | 17.2 | 7.7 | 25.0 | 5.3 | 3.9 |
| 2014 | Essendon | 5 | 23 | 17 | 13 | 347 | 187 | 534 | 139 | 86 | 0.7 | 0.6 | 15.1 | 8.1 | 23.2 | 6.0 | 3.7 |
| Career | 226 | 147 | 119 | 3362 | 1705 | 5067 | 1313 | 737 | 0.7 | 0.5 | 14.9 | 7.5 | 22.4 | 5.8 | 3.3 | ||
