| Marcus Ashcroft | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Personal information | |||
| Full name | Marcus Ashcroft | ||
| Born | (1971-09-25)25 September 1971 (age 54) Melbourne, Australia[1] | ||
| Original team | Southport Sharks/Surfers Paradise Demons | ||
| Height | 184 cm (6 ft 0 in) | ||
| Weight | 83 kg (183 lb) | ||
| Position | Defender/Midfielder | ||
| Playing career1 | |||
| Years | Club | Games (Goals) | |
| 1989–1996 | Brisbane Bears | 152 (84) | |
| 1997–2003 | Brisbane Lions | 166 (61) | |
| Total | 318 (145) | ||
| Representative team honours | |||
| Years | Team | Games (Goals) | |
| 1991–1993 | Queensland | 2 (4) | |
| 1995–1998 | Allies | 4 (1) | |
| International team honours | |||
| 1999 | Australia | 2 (0) | |
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 2003. | |||
| Career highlights | |||
| Sources:AFL Tables,AustralianFootball.com | |||
Marcus Ashcroft (born 25 September 1971) is a former professionalAustralian rules footballer. He played 318 games for theBrisbane Bears andBrisbane Lions and held the position of General Manager of Football at theGold Coast Football Club until 2018. TheMarcus Ashcroft Medal, awarded to the player judged best on ground in theQClash football match played between the Brisbane Lions and Gold Coast Football Club, is named after him. He is the current CEO ofTouch Football Australia.[2]
Ashcroft was born in Melbourne and raised on the Gold Coast.[3] As a child he lived inVictoria until the age of 3 when he moved to theGold Coast with his family. He attendedMerrimac State High School throughout his teenage years.
Ashcroft began playing junior football on the Gold Coast for theSurfers Paradise Demons and later moved to theSouthport Sharks to complete his junior football. In 1988 he made his senior QAFL debut for Southport as a 16-year-old.[4] Later that year, Ashcroft would become the only Queenslander to be drafted in 1988 as theBrisbane Bears recruited the 17-year-old through their zone access.
Marcus Ashcroft’s mother’s name is Amanda Ashcroft, father is Dennis Ashcroft they areJohn Townsend’s (Melbourne AFL Player) brother and sister in-law.
Ashcroft was recruited to join theBrisbane Bears in 1988 when the club was in just its second season in theVFL and made his debut in Round 9 of the following year againstNorth Melbourne at theMCG, collecting 8 disposals and taking 4 marks.[5]
Ashcroft played over 150 consecutive games amongst his 318 career appearances (including 145 goals). He was at various points a key part of the leadership group although he never captained the club.
Ashcroft became the first Queenslander to play 300 AFL games in 2003, but his milestone match would not be remembered for the right reasons, as they suffered their first defeat of that season against theSydney Swans at theSydney Cricket Ground.[6] He retired at the end of that season, winning his third straightAFL premiership medallion in the process.
Following the formation of theGold Coast Suns in 2008, Ashcroft was appointed an assistant coaching role and then promoted to football manager the following year. Ashcroft resigned from his position as football manager in October 2017 following the club's third coaching appointment inStuart Dew and the recent sacking of former coachRodney Eade[7]
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 | ||||
| 1989 | Brisbane Bears | 43 | 10 | 5 | 2 | 67 | 34 | 101 | 22 | 10 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 6.7 | 3.4 | 10.1 | 2.2 | 1.0 |
| 1990 | Brisbane Bears | 10 | 13 | 11 | 7 | 116 | 103 | 219 | 38 | 23 | 0.8 | 0.5 | 8.9 | 7.9 | 16.8 | 2.9 | 1.8 |
| 1991 | Brisbane Bears | 10 | 22 | 2 | 11 | 291 | 173 | 464 | 94 | 42 | 0.1 | 0.5 | 13.2 | 7.9 | 21.1 | 4.3 | 1.9 |
| 1992 | Brisbane Bears | 10 | 17 | 22 | 19 | 203 | 108 | 311 | 67 | 36 | 1.3 | 1.1 | 11.9 | 6.4 | 18.3 | 3.9 | 2.1 |
| 1993 | Brisbane Bears | 10 | 20 | 14 | 11 | 260 | 169 | 429 | 79 | 40 | 0.7 | 0.6 | 13.0 | 8.5 | 21.5 | 4.0 | 2.0 |
| 1994 | Brisbane Bears | 10 | 22 | 10 | 10 | 270 | 174 | 444 | 58 | 50 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 12.3 | 7.9 | 20.2 | 2.6 | 2.3 |
| 1995 | Brisbane Bears | 10 | 23 | 10 | 13 | 234 | 169 | 403 | 78 | 43 | 0.4 | 0.6 | 10.2 | 7.3 | 17.5 | 3.4 | 1.9 |
| 1996 | Brisbane Bears | 10 | 25 | 10 | 11 | 305 | 170 | 475 | 78 | 43 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 12.2 | 6.8 | 19.0 | 3.1 | 1.7 |
| 1997 | Brisbane Lions | 10 | 23 | 18 | 15 | 293 | 185 | 478 | 92 | 53 | 0.8 | 0.7 | 12.7 | 8.0 | 20.8 | 4.0 | 2.3 |
| 1998 | Brisbane Lions | 10 | 22 | 7 | 15 | 300 | 201 | 501 | 84 | 41 | 0.3 | 0.7 | 13.6 | 9.1 | 22.8 | 3.8 | 1.9 |
| 1999 | Brisbane Lions | 10 | 25 | 16 | 8 | 357 | 218 | 575 | 92 | 61 | 0.6 | 0.3 | 14.3 | 8.7 | 23.0 | 3.7 | 2.4 |
| 2000 | Brisbane Lions | 10 | 21 | 14 | 11 | 227 | 146 | 373 | 81 | 40 | 0.7 | 0.5 | 10.8 | 7.0 | 17.8 | 3.9 | 1.9 |
| 2001 | Brisbane Lions | 10 | 25 | 5 | 2 | 222 | 203 | 425 | 103 | 45 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 8.9 | 8.1 | 17.0 | 4.1 | 1.8 |
| 2002 | Brisbane Lions | 10 | 25 | 1 | 2 | 232 | 148 | 380 | 120 | 34 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 9.3 | 5.9 | 15.2 | 4.8 | 1.4 |
| 2003 | Brisbane Lions | 10 | 25 | 0 | 1 | 155 | 115 | 270 | 68 | 33 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 6.2 | 4.6 | 10.8 | 2.7 | 1.3 |
| Career | 318 | 145 | 138 | 3532 | 2316 | 5848 | 1154 | 594 | 0.5 | 0.4 | 11.1 | 7.3 | 18.4 | 3.6 | 1.9 | ||
Marcus is the father of currentBrisbane Lions players, 2024 & 2025 Norm Smith MedallistWill Ashcroft and 2024 drafteeLevi Ashcroft.
