Introduction
Xavier Ellis (born 28 February 1988) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Hawthorn Football Club and West Coast Eagles in the Australian Football League (AFL).
AFL career
Ellis was drafted by the Hawthorn Football Club with their first selection and third overall in the 2005 national draft. In 2006, he focused on completing his year tewlve studies and playing football for Melbourne Grammar, where he was co-captain of the 1st XVIII. His season was wrecked by injuries, but he managed to play several games for Hawthorn's VFL affiliate, the Box Hill Hawks.
He made his senior debut against the Brisbane Lions in round one, 2007 and scored his first goal in round four against Geelong at Aurora Stadium. His debut season saw him rewarded with the club's best first year player.
During the 2008 season, he played 23 matches, averaging 20 disposals. He played in the 2008 AFL Grand Final, where he amassed 28 disposals (the most on the ground) and helped his team defeat Geelong.
From 2009 to 2012, he was hampered by a string of injuries throughout this period. He missed most of the 2012 season, only managing to play five matches, including the 2012 grand final loss.
In 2013, he was restricted to just two games after numerous calf injuries and at the end of the season he signed with the West Coast as an unrestricted free agent.
From 2014 to 2015, he played the majority of both seasons including the 2015 AFL Grand Final against his old side, Hawthorn.
After managing just two matches in the 2016 season, Ellis announced his immediate retirement from the AFL in August via a post on Instagram.
Statistics
| Legend | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | Goals | B | Behinds | K | Kicks | H | Handballs | D | Disposals | M | Marks | T | Tackles |
| Season | Team | # | Games | G | B | K | H | D | M | T | G | B | K | H | D | M | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Totals | Averages (per game) | ||||||||||||||||
| 2007 | Hawthorn | 32 | 13 | 3 | 2 | 78 | 74 | 152 | 49 | 24 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 6.0 | 5.7 | 11.7 | 3.8 | 1.8 |
| 2008 | Hawthorn | 8 | 23 | 3 | 1 | 205 | 250 | 455 | 151 | 53 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 8.9 | 10.9 | 19.8 | 6.6 | 2.3 |
| 2009 | Hawthorn | 8 | 11 | 3 | 0 | 87 | 105 | 192 | 47 | 35 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 7.9 | 9.5 | 17.5 | 4.3 | 3.2 |
| 2010 | Hawthorn | 8 | 23 | 10 | 7 | 207 | 193 | 400 | 106 | 89 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 9.0 | 8.4 | 17.4 | 4.6 | 3.9 |
| 2011 | Hawthorn | 8 | 8 | 3 | 1 | 84 | 64 | 148 | 46 | 19 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 10.5 | 8.0 | 18.5 | 5.8 | 2.4 |
| 2012 | Hawthorn | 8 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 44 | 35 | 79 | 14 | 8 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 7.3 | 5.8 | 13.2 | 2.3 | 1.3 |
| 2013 | Hawthorn | 8 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 3 | 12 | 3 | 4 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 4.5 | 1.5 | 6.0 | 1.5 | 2.0 |
| 2014 | West Coast | 18 | 17 | 7 | 2 | 174 | 84 | 258 | 53 | 40 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 10.2 | 4.9 | 15.2 | 3.1 | 2.4 |
| 2015 | West Coast | 18 | 15 | 1 | 0 | 164 | 62 | 226 | 76 | 22 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 10.9 | 4.2 | 15.1 | 5.1 | 1.5 |
| 2016 | West Coast | 18 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 11 | 11 | 22 | 6 | 4 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 5.5 | 5.5 | 11.0 | 3.0 | 2.0 |
| Career | 120 | 37 | 15 | 1063 | 881 | 1944 | 551 | 298 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 8.9 | 7.3 | 16.2 | 4.6 | 2.5 | ||