David Ellard (born 13 March 1989) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Carlton Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL).

David Ellard
Personal information
Full name David Ellard
Date of birth (1989-03-13) 13 March 1989 (age 35)
Original team(s) Swan Districts (WAFL)
Draft No. 34, 2008 Rookie Draft, Carlton
No. 99, 2010 National Draft, rookie elevation
Height 177 cm (5 ft 10 in)
Weight 78 kg (172 lb)
Position(s) Midfielder / forward
Playing career1
Years Club Games (Goals)
2008–2015 Carlton 63 (37)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 2015.
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

Ellard is a relatively small player who plays mainly as an in-and-under or tagging midfielder. He played football with the Swan Districts Football Club in the WAFL in 2007.[1] He was drafted to the Carlton Football Club in the AFL for the 2008 season as a rookie in the rookie draft, with the club's third selection (No. 34 overall). Ellard played in several of Carlton's pre-season games, including his Carlton debut in an exhibition match in South Africa, and in the club's two NAB Cup games.

Ellard began the regular season with Carlton's VFL-affiliate, the Northern Bullants. He impressed sufficiently to be elevated to the senior list and made his debut against the West Coast Eagles at Subiaco Oval in Round 7.[2] He did not play again for the Blues during the season, playing a total of eighteen games for the Bullants. In 2009, Ellard returned to the rookie list, and played the entire season with the Northern Bullants, where he was one of the club's best midfielders, and was a part of the club's losing grand final team. Ellard won the Carlton Football Club's Best Clubman award and the Northern Bullants' Best and Fairest award (the Laurie Hill Trophy) in 2009.

Ellard was given a third year as a rookie, and continued playing for the Bullants. After playing his 50th senior game for the Bullants, and more than two years after his AFL debut, Ellard played his second AFL match in Round 17, 2010, against the West Coast Eagles at Subiaco Oval, and played every Carlton game for the rest of the season. Ellard was formally elevated to the senior list after the 2010 season,[3] and was a regular part of Carlton's midfield in 2011, playing a career-high 19 games for the season with strong tackling and accurate goalkicking. After struggling with injuries in 2013, he returned to a lead-up forward role and remained in that role for the rest of his time with Carlton.[4]

Ellard retired from AFL football after the 2015 season, finishing with 63 games over eight seasons with Carlton.[5] He played the 2016 season for Greensborough in Northern Football League, then returned to Perth and served as co-captain at Swan Districts from 2017 until 2019 before retiring.[6]

Ellard is the cousin of Alex Rance.[7]

Statistics

edit
[8]
Legend
  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
2008 Carlton 46 1 1 0 4 0 4 2 0 1.0 0.0 4.0 0.0 4.0 2.0 0.0
2009 Carlton 46 0
2010 Carlton 46 7 2 4 52 40 92 17 51 0.3 0.6 7.4 5.7 13.1 2.4 7.3
2011 Carlton 46 19 15 7 162 116 278 59 115 0.8 0.4 8.5 6.1 14.6 3.1 6.1
2012 Carlton 46 10 4 8 114 72 186 34 56 0.4 0.8 11.4 7.2 18.6 3.4 5.6
2013 Carlton 46 3 0 0 19 11 30 4 17 0.0 0.0 6.3 3.7 10.0 1.3 5.7
2014 Carlton 46 13 11 9 84 58 142 34 62 0.8 0.7 6.5 4.5 10.9 2.6 4.8
2015 Carlton 46 10 4 3 55 47 102 24 32 0.4 0.3 5.5 4.7 10.2 2.4 3.2
Career 63 37 31 490 344 834 174 333 0.6 0.5 7.8 5.5 13.2 2.8 5.3

References

edit
  1. ^ SDFC 2007 Review
  2. ^ Ray Wilson; Blues end drought in West;The Age Realfooty; 3 May 2008
  3. ^ Blueseum, 2010 Rookie List, 24 November 2010, Retrieved 23 April 2011.
  4. ^ Nick Bowen (13 December 2013). "Ellard knows versatility key to long career". Australian Football League. Retrieved 4 September 2015.
  5. ^ Travis King (4 September 2015). "Barker: Ellard a 'great clubman'". Carlton Football Club. Retrieved 4 September 2015.
  6. ^ "Swans Champion Retires". Swan Districts Football Club. 23 August 2019.
  7. ^ Colangelo, Anthony. "From a flag to the fourth division: Rance ponders footy comeback in Perth". The Age. Fairfax Media. Retrieved 2 January 2021.
  8. ^ "David Ellard". AFL Tables. Retrieved 22 August 2016.
edit