sport.wikisort.org - Athlete

Emily Bates (born 18 October 1995) is an Australian rules footballer playing for the Brisbane Lions in the AFL Women's (AFLW). Bates was selected by the Western Bulldogs with the forty-fourth selection in the inaugural national women's draft in 2013, and represented them in the first three years of the exhibition games staged prior to the creation of the league. She represented the Lions in 2016, the last year that the games were held, and was selected by Brisbane with the second pick in the 2016 AFL Women's draft prior to the inaugural AFL Women's season.

Emily Bates
Bates playing for Brisbane in 2017
Personal information
Full name	Emily Bates
Date of birth	(1995-10-18) 18 October 1995 (age 26)
Place of birth	Victoria, Australia[1]
Original team(s)	Yeronga South Brisbane (QWAFL)
Draft	No. 2, 2016 national draft
Debut	Round 1, 2017, Brisbane vs. Melbourne, at Casey Fields
Height	169 cm (5 ft 7 in)
Position(s)	Midfielder
Club information
Current club	Brisbane
Number	1
Playing career1
Years	Club	Games (Goals)
2017–	Brisbane	61 (8)
Representative team honours
Years	Team	Games (Goals)
2017	The Allies	1 (0)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of round 8, S7 (2022). 2 State and international statistics correct as of 2017.
Career highlights
AFL Women's premiership player: 2021 AFL Women's best and fairest: 2022 AFLPA AFLW most valuable player: 2022 AFLCA AFLW champion player of the year: 2022 AFL Women's equal games record holder Brisbane equal games record holder 3× AFL Women's All-Australian team: 2017, 2018, 2022 3× Brisbane best and fairest: 2017, 2020, 2022
Source: AustralianFootball.com

In her time in the AFL Women's, Bates has become one of the dominant midfielders, and was awarded the game's highest individual accolade, the league best and fairest in 2022. She is also a premiership player, players association MVP recipient, a three-time AFL Women's All-Australian, and was the inaugural Brisbane best-and-fairest winner in 2017.

Early life

Bates was born in 1995 in Victoria[1] one of three sisters. At the age of 3 she moved with her parents from Victoria to the Sunshine Coast in Queensland before eventually settling in Brisbane.[2] Her father Lloyd Bates was an ex-Victorian and a key figure in Queensland football, encouraged Emily to play football at his Yeronga Football Club.[3] Through him she grew up with a football in her hand and when a girl's team started up in 2011, she joined as a junior with her father as team coach with the two winning the under 15 junior premiership. Lloyd passed of cardiac arrest when she was 15 and QAFLW medal is named in his honour.[4][5]

In 2011 and 2012 she represented Queensland at under-18 level in both cricket and Australian rules football (as captain), but she ultimately chose Australian rules football over a cricket career.[6][7]

She was educated at Brigidine College, Indooroopilly.

She won the Best & Fairest in the QWAFL in 2016.

AFL Women's career

Bates was taken with the number two pick, Brisbane's first, in the 2016 AFL Women's draft.[1] She was announced as one of the "values leaders" to assist captain Emma Zielke alongside Sabrina Frederick-Traub, Leah Kaslar and Sam Virgo in January 2017.[8] She made her debut in the Lions' inaugural game against Melbourne at Casey Fields in the opening round of the 2017 AFL Women's season.[9]

Bates was nominated by her teammates for the 2017 AFLW Players’ Most Valuable Player Award, was named Brisbane's best and fairest and was also listed in the All-Australian team.[10][11][12]

Brisbane signed Bates for the 2018 season during the trade period in May 2017.[13]

Brisbane signed Bates for the 2020 season during the trade and sign period in April 2019.[14]

Bates signed on with Brisbane for 2 more years on 15 June 2021.[15]

In the 2022 season (January–April), Bates elevated her game to new heights and averaged nearly 22 disposals and six tackles a game, becoming the Lions' best player. She polled 21 votes in the best-and-fairest count and became the club's first league best-and-fairest recipient, the highest individual accolade in the sport.[16] She also earned the Coaches Association Champion Player of the Year award and the Players Association Most Valuable Player (MVP) award, which made her the second player in the competition's history to win all three individual end-of-season awards.[17][18]

Statistics

Updated to the end of round 8, S7 (2022).[19]

Legend

G	Goals	K	Kicks	D	Disposals	T	Tackles
B	Behinds	H	Handballs	M	Marks
#	Played in that season's  premiership team	†	Led the league for  the season	±	Won that season's  AFLW B&F

Season	Team	No.	Games	Totals							Averages (per game)							Votes
				G	B	K	H	D	M	T	G	B	K	H	D	M	T
2017	Brisbane	1	8	1	1	84	41	125	21	38	0.1	0.1	10.5	5.1	15.6	2.6	4.8	4
2018	Brisbane	1	8	0	0	73	66†	139	18	37	0.0	0.0	9.1	8.3†	17.4	2.3	4.6	4
2019	Brisbane	1	7	0	1	62	54	116	15	29	0.0	0.2	8.9	7.7	16.6	2.1	4.1	1
2020	Brisbane	1	7	1	1	80	59	139	23	24	0.1	0.1	11.4	8.4	19.9	3.3	3.4	4
2021#	Brisbane	1	11	1	1	96	79	175	26	43	0.1	0.1	8.7	7.2	15.9	2.4	3.9	6
2022	Brisbane	1	12	3	2	142	114	256	25	85	0.3	0.2	11.8	9.5	21.3	2.1	7.1	21±
S7 (2022)	Brisbane	1	8	2	1	88	53	141	19	55	0.3	0.2	11.0	6.6	17.6	2.3	6.9
Career			61	8	7	625	466	1091	147	311	0.1	0.1	10.2	7.6	17.9	2.4	5.1	40

Honours and achievements

Team

• AFL Women's premiership player (Brisbane): 2021
• AFL Women's minor premiership (Brisbane): 2017

Individual

• AFL Women's best and fairest: 2022
• AFLPA AFLW most valuable player: 2022
• AFLCA AFLW champion player of the year: 2022
• AFL Women's equal games record holder
• Brisbane equal games record holder
• 3× AFL Women's All-Australian team: 2017, 2018, 2022
• 3× Brisbane best and fairest: 2017, 2020, 2022
• Allies representative honours in AFL Women's State of Origin: 2017

References

External links

• Emily Bates's profile on the official website of the Brisbane Lions
• Emily Bates at AustralianFootball.com
• Emily Bates on Instagram

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