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Brad Miller (footballer)
Encyclopedia
Brad Miller is an Australian rules football
er, who currently plays with Richmond
after previously playing with the Melbourne Football Club
in the Australian Football League
(AFL) until he was delisted at the end of the 2010 season.
. Having spent his early childhood in Sandy Bay, Tasmania
, Miller moved to Brisbane
in Queensland
with his family at an early age, where he played rugby league
from age 13. On his father's advice, he later tried Australian rules football, ending up at the Mount Gravatt Football Club, where he was scouted by AFL club the Melbourne Demons.
Picked at number 55 in the 2001 AFL Draft
, Miller carried a reputation and promise of becoming a key position centre half forward in the mould of Wayne Carey
or Jonathan Brown. However he spent much of his early career in defence and did not kick a goal until his 17th game.
At the Demons, Miller struggled early to reach his potential at centre half forward, showing promise with 2 goal hauls and taking strong marks, but poor decision making and kicking skills often resulted in turnovers. In some games but with a reputation for disgressions that ended with tribunal appearances and suspensions. A maximum kicking distance of just under 50 metres made Miller an unlikely option for centre half forward.
At times, he was used by coach Neale Daniher
in defence, and held down big key opposition forwards like Barry Hall
, but was ultimately a second choice in defence behind Nathan Carroll and Ben Holland
.
In a game against Richmond in round 17 of 2004, he kicked a rare bag of four goals. He had previously never kicked more than a goal a game.
A slump in form in 2006, saw him play most of the season for the Sandringham Zebras
, including an appearance in their premiership side.
While he was still fairly early in his career, the media began speculating that he might be traded to the Brisbane Lions
for Jason Akermanis
so that Miller could return to his home of Queensland.
When he did return to the senior Demons lineup just before the finals, he was involved in a collision that led to Geelong player Tom Lonergan
losing one of his kidneys.
Miller played a best on ground performance in the Demons losing finals game against the Fremantle Dockers
in Perth in an impressive performance. Many believe that this saved him from being traded in the pre-season draft.
Miller played what was possibly his best game at the club in Round 7 of the 2008 Season
against Fremantle at the MCG
.
After the retirement of David Neitz
and achilles injury to Russell Robertson
, coach Dean Bailey
tried a number of options at full forward in a forward line which struggled to kick goals before eventually entrusting the role to Miller. Miller had an immediate impact with bags of 3 goals against Richmond, the Western Bulldogs and North Melbourne. He had also shown an impressive increase in goalkicking accuracy.
He came of age when he kicked the winning goal in a career high four goal haul against the Brisbane Lions
in round 14.
Miller finished the year with 26 goals. The fact that this was the highest total by a Melbourne player in 2008 highlighted their forward line struggles.
In 2010, Miller lined up for the round 1 clash versus Hawthorn
but was subsequently dropped the next week following the teams poor performance, he would not return to the seniors until round 9 against Port Adelaide
at TIO stadium in Darwin. Miller kicked five goals, helping the team win a thrilling match by one point in high humidity conditions. Miller struggled to remain in the senior team and was eventually dropped back to the VFL
where he played out the rest of the season.
In Round 15 in a VFL
match against Gold Coast Suns
, Miller sparked the side with six goals in the third quarter. He finished with 10.4 for the afternoon and his team, Casey, won the match by four points.
On 23 August 2010, Brad Miller, alongside fellow teammate Daniel Bell
, were delisted by the Melbourne Football Club. However, Miller was the highest polling Melbourne player in the Casey Scorpions
Best and Fairest and several clubs, including the new Gold Coast Football Club and the Richmond Football Club
have both expressed interest in recruiting him.
Australian rules football
Australian rules football, officially known as Australian football, also called football, Aussie rules or footy is a sport played between two teams of 22 players on either...
er, who currently plays with Richmond
Richmond Football Club
The Richmond Football Club, nicknamed The Tigers, is an Australian rules football club which competes in the Australian Football League. Richmond shares healthy rivalries with Carlton, Collingwood and Essendon. After winning five premierships between 1967 and 1980, the club hit the depths in 1990,...
after previously playing with the Melbourne Football Club
Melbourne Football Club
The Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed The Demons, is an Australian rules football club playing in the Australian Football League , based in Melbourne, Victoria....
in the Australian Football League
Australian Football League
The Australian Football League is both the governing body and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football...
(AFL) until he was delisted at the end of the 2010 season.
Early life
Brad is the son of Neville Miller, who played 30 games with the South Melbourne Football ClubSydney Swans
The Sydney Swans Football Club is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League . The club is based in Sydney, New South Wales. The club, founded in 1874, was known as the South Melbourne Football Club until it relocated to Sydney in 1982 to become the Sydney...
. Having spent his early childhood in Sandy Bay, Tasmania
Sandy Bay, Tasmania
Sandy Bay is a suburb of the city of Hobart, Tasmania, Australia, located immediately south of the central business district.The suburb is home to many large homes, and adjoins the waterfront Salamanca area and Battery Point. The suburb is known as one of the city's prestigious areas...
, Miller moved to Brisbane
Brisbane
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
in Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
with his family at an early age, where he played rugby league
Rugby league
Rugby league football, usually called rugby league, is a full contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular grass field. One of the two codes of rugby football, it originated in England in 1895 by a split from Rugby Football Union over paying players...
from age 13. On his father's advice, he later tried Australian rules football, ending up at the Mount Gravatt Football Club, where he was scouted by AFL club the Melbourne Demons.
Melbourne
2001 AFL Draft
The 2001 AFL Draft consisted of a national draft, a rookie draft, a pre-season draft and a trade period. The AFL Draft is the annual draft of players by Australian rules football teams that participate in the main competition of that sport, the Australian Football League .In 2001 there were 83...
, Miller carried a reputation and promise of becoming a key position centre half forward in the mould of Wayne Carey
Wayne Carey
Wayne Carey is a former Australian rules footballer who played with the North Melbourne and Adelaide Football Clubs in the Australian Football League ....
or Jonathan Brown. However he spent much of his early career in defence and did not kick a goal until his 17th game.
At the Demons, Miller struggled early to reach his potential at centre half forward, showing promise with 2 goal hauls and taking strong marks, but poor decision making and kicking skills often resulted in turnovers. In some games but with a reputation for disgressions that ended with tribunal appearances and suspensions. A maximum kicking distance of just under 50 metres made Miller an unlikely option for centre half forward.
At times, he was used by coach Neale Daniher
Neale Daniher
Neale Francis Daniher is a former Australian rules footballer who played with the Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League . Neale was also an Assistant Coach to the Essendon and Fremantle Football Clubs and the Coach of the Victorian State Team and the Melbourne Football Club...
in defence, and held down big key opposition forwards like Barry Hall
Barry Hall
Barry Hall is a former Australian rules footballer. Hall is considered to be one of the best forwards of the modern era, being named All-Australian, leading his club's goalkicking on nine occasions and captaining the Sydney Swans to their 2005 AFL Grand Final victory...
, but was ultimately a second choice in defence behind Nathan Carroll and Ben Holland
Ben Holland
Ben Holland is an Australian rules footballer in the Australian Football League.A South Australian, Holland was drafted in 1994 to the Fitzroy Football Club, but chose to stay and develop in the SANFL with his local club Nth Adelaide for a year...
.
In a game against Richmond in round 17 of 2004, he kicked a rare bag of four goals. He had previously never kicked more than a goal a game.
A slump in form in 2006, saw him play most of the season for the Sandringham Zebras
Sandringham Zebras
The Sandringham Football Club, nicknamed The Zebras, is an Australian rules football club based in Melbourne that was formed in 1929 and plays in the Victorian Football League . The Zebras have a 5 year alignment agreement with AFL club St Kilda Football Club of which the first season was 2009...
, including an appearance in their premiership side.
While he was still fairly early in his career, the media began speculating that he might be traded to the Brisbane Lions
Brisbane Lions
The Brisbane Lions is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League . The club is based in Brisbane, Queensland. The club was formed from the merger of the Brisbane Bears and the Fitzroy Lions in 1996...
for Jason Akermanis
Jason Akermanis
Jason Dean Akermanis is an Australian rules football player. He is a Brownlow Medallist and triple premiership player who played for the Brisbane Bears, Brisbane Lions and Western Bulldogs...
so that Miller could return to his home of Queensland.
When he did return to the senior Demons lineup just before the finals, he was involved in a collision that led to Geelong player Tom Lonergan
Tom Lonergan (AFL footballer)
Tom Lonergan is an Australian rules footballer for the Geelong Football Club in the Australian Football League .-Early career:...
losing one of his kidneys.
Miller played a best on ground performance in the Demons losing finals game against the Fremantle Dockers
Fremantle Football Club
The Fremantle Football Club, nicknamed The Dockers, is an Australian rules football team which plays in the Australian Football League . The club is based in the port city of Fremantle at the mouth of the Swan River in Western Australia...
in Perth in an impressive performance. Many believe that this saved him from being traded in the pre-season draft.
Miller played what was possibly his best game at the club in Round 7 of the 2008 Season
2008 AFL season
-Round 1 :-Round 2:-Round 3 :-Round 4:-Round 5:-Round 6 :-Round 7:-AFL Hall of Fame Tribute Match:-Round 8:...
against Fremantle at the MCG
McG
Joseph McGinty Nichol , better known as McG, is an American director and producer of film and television, as well as a former record producer....
.
After the retirement of David Neitz
David Neitz
David Neitz , nicknamed Neita, is a retired Australian rules footballer. The strongly built centre half back who became a full forward was the longest-serving captain in the history of the Melbourne Football Club and the first Melbourne player to achieve the 300-game milestone.Neitz was born in...
and achilles injury to Russell Robertson
Russell Robertson
Russell "Robbo" Robertson is a professional Australian rules footballer, who last played for the Melbourne Football Club....
, coach Dean Bailey
Dean Bailey
Dean Bailey is a former Australian rules footballer who played with Essendon, a former coach of the Melbourne Football Club, as well as a former assistant coach at Port Adelaide.-Coaching career:...
tried a number of options at full forward in a forward line which struggled to kick goals before eventually entrusting the role to Miller. Miller had an immediate impact with bags of 3 goals against Richmond, the Western Bulldogs and North Melbourne. He had also shown an impressive increase in goalkicking accuracy.
He came of age when he kicked the winning goal in a career high four goal haul against the Brisbane Lions
Brisbane Lions
The Brisbane Lions is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League . The club is based in Brisbane, Queensland. The club was formed from the merger of the Brisbane Bears and the Fitzroy Lions in 1996...
in round 14.
Miller finished the year with 26 goals. The fact that this was the highest total by a Melbourne player in 2008 highlighted their forward line struggles.
In 2010, Miller lined up for the round 1 clash versus Hawthorn
Hawthorn Football Club
The Hawthorn Football Club, nicknamed the Hawks, is a professional Australian rules football club in the Australian Football League . The club, founded in 1902, is the youngest of the Victorian-based teams in the AFL. The team play in Brown & Gold vertically striped guernseys...
but was subsequently dropped the next week following the teams poor performance, he would not return to the seniors until round 9 against Port Adelaide
Port Adelaide Football Club
The Port Adelaide Football Club is an Australian rules football club based in Alberton, South Australia, which plays in the Australian Football League and the South Australian National Football League...
at TIO stadium in Darwin. Miller kicked five goals, helping the team win a thrilling match by one point in high humidity conditions. Miller struggled to remain in the senior team and was eventually dropped back to the VFL
VFL
VFL can refer to:Sport* Victorian Football League, an Australian rules football league formerly known as the Victorian Football Association prior to 1996....
where he played out the rest of the season.
In Round 15 in a VFL
VFL
VFL can refer to:Sport* Victorian Football League, an Australian rules football league formerly known as the Victorian Football Association prior to 1996....
match against Gold Coast Suns
Gold Coast Suns
The Gold Coast Suns were one of the eight original franchises that began play in the Senior Professional Baseball Association in 1989. The club split their home games between Miami and Pompano Beach, FL and hired future Hall of Famer Earl Weaver as manager. In the league's inaugural season, the...
, Miller sparked the side with six goals in the third quarter. He finished with 10.4 for the afternoon and his team, Casey, won the match by four points.
On 23 August 2010, Brad Miller, alongside fellow teammate Daniel Bell
Daniel Bell (Australian rules footballer)
Daniel Bell is an Australian rules footballer who played for the Melbourne Football Club in the Australian Football League .He was originally from the town of Kingston SE, South Australia....
, were delisted by the Melbourne Football Club. However, Miller was the highest polling Melbourne player in the Casey Scorpions
Casey Scorpions
The Casey Scorpions Football Club is an Australian rules football club in the Victorian Football League . The club was founded in 1903 as the Springvale Football Club and played under the name Springvale. In its history it has won 21 premierships...
Best and Fairest and several clubs, including the new Gold Coast Football Club and the Richmond Football Club
Richmond Football Club
The Richmond Football Club, nicknamed The Tigers, is an Australian rules football club which competes in the Australian Football League. Richmond shares healthy rivalries with Carlton, Collingwood and Essendon. After winning five premierships between 1967 and 1980, the club hit the depths in 1990,...
have both expressed interest in recruiting him.