Gilbert McAdam

Gilbert McAdam
McAdam in July 2019
Personal information
Date of birth	(1967-03-30) 30 March 1967
Place of birth	Alice Springs, Northern Territory
Original team(s)	Southern Districts
Height	182 cm (6 ft 0 in)
Weight	76 kg (168 lb)
Playing career
Years	Club	Games (Goals)
	North Adelaide (SANFL)
1986	Claremont (WAFL)	3 (5)
	Central District (SANFL)
1991–1993	St Kilda (AFL)	53 (48)
1994–1996	Brisbane Bears (AFL)	58 (41)
Representative team honours
Years	Team	Games (Goals)
	South Australia	? (?)
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

Gilbert McAdam (born 30 March 1967 in Alice Springs) is an Indigenous Australian former Australian rules football player and one of three McAdam brothers to play in the Australian Football League (AFL).

Playing career

Early career

McAdam grew up in Alice Springs, where his father was president of the South Alice Football Club. His older brother, Greg McAdam, had earlier found his way to the St Kilda Football Club via North Adelaide in the SANFL. McAdam moved to Darwin to play in the Northern Territory Football League (NTFL) with the Southern Districts Football Club when he was just 11 years old. In 1979, Gilbert McAdam was chosen as the 12-year-old schoolboys Northern Territory captain who captained the team to victory to become the first Northern Territory team to win a national title. The stand out players were McAdams and Scott Parker who was the youngest competitor to have played in the carnival.

In 1986, McAdam played 3 games for Claremont in the West Australian Football League (WAFL) before returning home to Darwin. After a few seasons he went on to play in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL) with Central District Football Club, taking out the 1989 Magarey Medal. McAdam was the first indigenous player to take out the award.

AFL career

McAdam was drafted number 17 in the 1989 VFL Draft by St Kilda Football Club. After a few inconsistent years, he was traded to the Brisbane Bears.

McAdam left the AFL in 1996 after several years of service to the Brisbane Bears (58 games) for a total of 111 AFL matches. He returned to the Central District Football Club for the 1998 SANFL season and retired from football altogether in 1999.

His younger brother, Adrian, later found his way to a brief career with the North Melbourne Football Club. Gilbert was drafted by Collingwood but refused to return from retirement.

Coaching career

McAdam returned to Alice Springs and coached South Alice to a premiership. In 2006, he moved back to Darwin to coach the Darwin Football Club.

Post-football career

In 2007, McAdam took up a position with the Academy of Sport, Health and Education in Shepparton, Victoria. The academy uses participation in sport as an avenue for Indigenous people to undertake education and training within a trusted and culturally appropriate environment. His role with the academy is as a sports and personal development officer. He co-hosts the TV program The Marngrook Footy Show with Grant Hansen, currently screening on NITV on Thursday nights.

References

Gilbert McAdam's playing statistics from AFL Tables