| Liam Stocker | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Personal information | |||
| Date of birth | (2000-01-23)23 January 2000 (age 25) | ||
| Place of birth | Camperdown, New South Wales | ||
| Original team(s) | Sandringham Dragons | ||
| Draft | #19,2018 National Draft | ||
| Debut | 5 May 2019,Carlton vs.North Melbourne, atMarvel Stadium | ||
| Height | 184 cm (6 ft 0 in) | ||
| Weight | 83 kg (183 lb) | ||
| Position(s) | Defender[1] | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | St Kilda | ||
| Number | 14 | ||
| Playing career1 | |||
| Years | Club | Games (Goals) | |
| 2019–2022 | Carlton | 28 (2) | |
| 2023– | St Kilda | 39 (0) | |
| Total | 67 (2) | ||
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of round 23, 2024. | |||
| Career highlights | |||
| |||
| Sources:AFL Tables,AustralianFootball.com | |||
Liam Stocker (born 23 January 2000[2]) is anAustralian rules footballer who plays for theSt Kilda Football Club in theAustralian Football League (AFL), having initially been drafted to theCarlton Football Club. He was recruited with the 19th overall selection in the2018 National Draft and was the first player to be drafted via a 'live trade'. Liam is fromVictoria, and played for theSandringham Dragons in theTAC Cup before being picked to represent Vic Metro at the 2018AFL Under 18 Championships.
Liam was born inCamperdown, New South Wales,Australia.[3] His family moved toBeijing,China when Liam was 4 after his dad was given a job opportunity. Liam lived there until moving back to Australia atSandringham in baysideMelbourne when he was 10.[4] He completed his schooling in 2017 atHaileybury College.[5] He started playing junior football atEast Sandringham Zebras Junior Football Club in theSouth Metro Junior Football League.
Liam played for theSandringham Dragons in theTAC Cup. In 2018, he had a standout season, averaging 22 disposals, 13 contested possessions, and 5 clearances. What stood out to a lot of people was his endurance, professionalism and ability to kick the ball well on both feet.[6] He was awarded theMorrish Medal, the best and fairest award for the TAC Cup, but sustained a jaw injury which saw him miss the AFL Under 18 Championships.[7] Nevertheless, he was still chosen by Vic Metro as one of their top prospects for the draft. A shoulder injury struck again and he missed the combine, leading him to admit that he 'had plans to TAC Cup footy next year'.[4]
Liam Stocker was selected byCarlton at No. 19 of the2018 National draft. His recruitment made national headlines as he was the first player to be picked using the then-new system allowing draft picks to be traded live during draft night: Carlton made a live trade with theAdelaide Crows which saw the Blues receive Stocker's pick in exchange for the two clubs exchanging their first round picks in the following season's draft. For the early part of Stocker's debut season, the bold decision looked likely to backfire badly, and as late as Round 13, Adelaide was sitting in the top four while Carlton was on the bottom of the ladder, opening the possibility that it would lose the 2019 No. 1 selection for a low first-round pick; however, stronger end-of-season form saw it rise to 16th, and Adelaide lost seven of its last nine games to fall to 11th, such that in the end Carlton had traded pick No. 4 for Stocker and pick No. 9 (which in turn traded for the picks which securedBrodie Kemp andSam Philp).[8][9]
Stocker made his AFL debut in round 7 of the 2019 season,[10] in a loss toNorth Melbourne, and finished the season with five games and averaging 14 disposals. He signed a 3-year contract keeping him at the club until 2022.[11] He did not play a senior match in theCOVID-19 pandemic-interrupted 2020 season – ruling himself out after electing to return to Victoria when the club was forced to spend much of the season living on the Gold Coast to avoid interstate travel restrictions associated with the pandemic.[12] Stocker had his most successful season in 2021, playing 17 of 22 games; but, after being selected for only six matches in 2022, he was delisted at the end of the season.[13]
Stocker then joinedSt Kilda as a rookie during thesupplemental selection period (SSP) ahead of the2023 AFL season.[14]
An inside midfielder, Stocker's main qualities are his frame and his knack for getting the ball out of contests. Adept at kicking the ball on both feet, Stocker is also a scoreboard threat, using his versatility to attack the opposition around most of the playing area. Averaging 4 tackles in the TAC Cup and 5 clearances, he showed his grunt useful on the inside of contests along with his class on the outside.[1]
Updated to the end of round 2, 2023.[15]
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 | ||||
| 2019 | Carlton | 13 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 42 | 26 | 68 | 12 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 8.4 | 5.2 | 13.6 | 2.4 | 1.8 |
| 2020[a] | Carlton | 13 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 2021 | Carlton | 13 | 17 | 2 | 1 | 163 | 75 | 238 | 58 | 37 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 9.6 | 4.4 | 14.0 | 3.4 | 2.2 |
| 2022 | Carlton | 13 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 45 | 21 | 66 | 12 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 7.5 | 3.5 | 11.0 | 2.0 | 1.8 |
| 2023 | St Kilda | 14 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 23 | 15 | 38 | 17 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 11.5 | 7.5 | 19.0 | 8.5 | 3.5 |
| Career | 45 | 2 | 1 | 273 | 137 | 410 | 99 | 64 | 0.07 | 0.03 | 9.1 | 4.6 | 13.7 | 3.3 | 2.1 | ||
Notes
