| Aaron vandenBerg | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 vandenBerg training with Melbourne in April 2018 | |||
| Personal information | |||
| Full name | Aaron vandenBerg | ||
| Nickname(s) | Richie | ||
| Date of birth | (1992-03-03)3 March 1992 (age 33) | ||
| Place of birth | Perth,Western Australia[1] | ||
| Original team(s) | Ainslie (NEAFL) | ||
| Draft | No. 2,2015 rookie draft | ||
| Debut | Round 1, 2015,Melbourne vs.Gold Coast, atMCG | ||
| Height | 188 cm (6 ft 2 in) | ||
| Weight | 90 kg (198 lb) | ||
| Position(s) | Midfielder /forward | ||
| Playing career1 | |||
| Years | Club | Games (Goals) | |
| 2015–2021 | Melbourne | 47 (23) | |
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of round 15, 2021. | |||
| Sources:AFL Tables,AustralianFootball.com | |||
Aaron vandenBerg (born 3 March 1992) is a professionalAustralian rules footballer who played for theMelbourne Football Club in theAustralian Football League (AFL). Amidfielder, 1.88 metres (6 ft 2 in) tall and weighing 90 kilograms (200 lb), vandenBerg has the ability to contribute as both aninside andoutside midfielder, whilst also pushing into theforward line. After missing out on the draft at eighteen years of age, vandenBerg played in theNorth East Australian Football League (NEAFL) with theAinslie Football Club where he won twobest and fairest awards and was twice named in the NEAFL team of the year. His performances in the NEAFL saw him recruited by the Melbourne Football Club with the second selection in the2015 rookie draft and he made his AFL debut in the opening round of the 2015 season.
Originally fromWestern Australia, vandenBerg moved toTathra, New South Wales with his family at ten-years of age where he played junior football with theTathra Football Club.[2] He was first noticed as a potential AFL player in 2007 by then-Collingwood recruiter, Jason Taylor,[3] however he was not drafted due to lacking "the drive to be an AFL footballer."[1] He moved toCanberra in 2011 to joinAinslie in theNorth East Australian Football League (NEAFL), where he won the eastern conference premiership in his first year, and back-to-back Hibberson Cup Trophies as the clubbest and fairest player in 2013 and 2014.[3] In addition, he was named in the NEAFL team of the year on the wing and as the ruck rover in 2013 and 2014 respectively.[4] During 2014, he amassed fifty-six disposals in a match againstEastlake,[1] which contributed to him being recognised as a high-disposal winner and put him back on the AFL radar.[5] Then atMelbourne, Jason Taylor and the club decided to recruit him in December 2014.[1] Whilst living in Canberra, he was completing a four-year apprenticeship at theRoyal Australian Mint, but ended it after two and a half years to move to Melbourne.[6]
VandenBerg was drafted by theMelbourne Football Club with their first selection and second overall in the2015 rookie draft.[7] After a shoulder reconstruction at the end of 2014, Melbourne football operations manager,Josh Mahoney, stated vandenBerg was "exceeding expectations"[8] and he made his debut in the 2015 opening round with a 26-point win againstGold Coast at theMelbourne Cricket Ground.[9] He was named in the best players for Melbourne and recorded seventeen disposals, four marks and a goal.[10] Lauded for his tenacity and ability to win the contested ball,[11] he played the first ten matches of the year before suffering a hamstring strain in the annualQueen's Birthday clash againstCollingwood.[12] He returned to the side in round fifteen againstEssendon,[13] and he played the next four matches before injuring his ankle in August;[14] he was then ruled out for the rest of the season after playing 14 matches in his debut season.[15] After signing a contract extension until the end of the 2017 season, he was promoted from the rookie list to the senior list for the 2016 season onward.[16]
Despite suffering from an ankle injury during the2016 pre-season,[17] vandenBerg played the start of the season in the senior side.[18] He played in the first three matches of the season before re-aggravating his ankle injury, and he was forced to miss a month of football.[19] He made his return to football in theVictorian Football League (VFL), playing for Melbourne'saffiliate team, theCasey Scorpions.[20] He returned to the senior side for the 18-point loss againstHawthorn at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Round 11.[21] He played the next five matches before missing the round eighteen match againstWest Coast atDomain Stadium due to a hip injury.[22] He returned the next week for the two-point win against Gold Coast at the Melbourne Cricket Ground where he kicked a career-high three goals and was named in Melbourne's best.[23] He played the remainder of the season to finish with fourteen games.[24]
G | Goals | K | Kicks | D | Disposals | T | Tackles |
B | Behinds | H | Handballs | M | Marks |
| Season | Team | No. | Games | Totals | Averages (per game) | Votes | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | B | K | H | D | M | T | G | B | K | H | D | M | T | |||||
| 2015 | Melbourne | 37 | 14 | 5 | 12 | 143 | 92 | 235 | 44 | 70 | 0.4 | 0.9 | 10.2 | 6.6 | 16.8 | 3.1 | 5.0 | 3 |
| 2016 | Melbourne | 37 | 14 | 12 | 9 | 80 | 125 | 205 | 43 | 50 | 0.9 | 0.8 | 5.7 | 8.9 | 14.6 | 3.1 | 3.6 | 0 |
| 2017 | Melbourne | 22 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 0 |
| 2018 | Melbourne | 22 | 7 | 5 | 6 | 61 | 50 | 111 | 30 | 22 | 0.7 | 0.9 | 8.7 | 7.1 | 15.9 | 4.3 | 3.1 | 0 |
| 2019 | Melbourne | 22 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 0 |
| 2020[a] | Melbourne | 22 | 12 | 1 | 1 | 73 | 69 | 142 | 34 | 31 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 6.1 | 5.8 | 11.8 | 2.8 | 2.6 | 0 |
| 2021[b] | Melbourne | 22 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 9 | 27 | 3 | 8 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 4.5 | 2.3 | 6.8 | 0.8 | 2.0 | 0 |
| Career | 51 | 23 | 28 | 375 | 345 | 720 | 154 | 181 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 7.4 | 6.8 | 14.1 | 3.0 | 3.5 | 3 | ||
Notes
