Lachlan Keeffe


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Lachlan Keeffe (born 14 April 1990) is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the Greater Western Sydney Giants in the Australian Football League (AFL). He previously played for the Collingwood Football Club from 2009 to 2017.

Lachlan Keeffe

Keeffe training with Collingwood in 2014

Personal information
Full name Lachlan Keeffe
Date of birth 14 April 1990 (age 34)
Place of birth Gympie, Queensland, Australia
Draft No. 69, 2009 rookie draft
Height 204 cm (6 ft 8 in)
Weight 99 kg (218 lb)
Position(s) Key defender/Key forward
Club information
Current club Greater Western Sydney
Number 25
Playing career1
Years Club Games (Goals)
2009-2017 Collingwood 40 0(7)
2018– Greater Western Sydney 76 0(12)
Total 116 (19)

1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 2024.

Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

Keeffe was born and raised in Gympie, Queensland. He grew up playing soccer, playing under 17s in the midfield position. With little prior knowledge of the game he made 5 appearances in Australian rules football during his time as a boarder at Marist College Ashgrove, with his size and athletic ability taking the notice of talent scouts from Collingwood.[1]

In 2008, Keeffe was signed by the Collingwood Football Club as an unregistered player and was later drafted with pick number 69 in the 2009 Rookie Draft. He played for Old Trinity in the VAFA[2] to develop his game during this time.

In 2009, Keeffe played 20 games for Collingwood's reserves team in the VFL. After two seasons at VFL level, Keeffe earned a promotion to the club's senior list for 2011.[3]

In 2011, Keeffe played in Collingwood's NAB Cup pre-season campaign, including the winning Pre Season Grand Final win against Essendon. Keeffe made his senior AFL debut against North Melbourne in round 16, 2011 at the MCG.[4]

Keeffe played the first 9 games of the 2012 season, however, he required a knee reconstruction after round 9. Keeffe made his return to AFL ranks the next year in the round 17 loss to Gold Coast.[5]

Keeffe, along with teammate Josh Thomas, tested positive to the banned substance clenbuterol in drug tests taken in February 2015. Both players accepted provisional suspensions in March 2015. On 10 August 2015, Thomas accepted his two-year ban from the tribunal and that day was delisted by Collingwood football club but was told he'd be re-drafted as a rookie for the 2017 season if still available in the draft.[6] He was banned from AFL competition until 9 February 2017[7]

On 26 July 2015, teammate Travis Cloke revealed that Keeffe was interested in taking up a role as an NFL punter, and he would soon be travelling to the United States.[8]

On 27 November 2015, Keeffe and his teammate Josh Thomas were re-drafted to Collingwood through the rookie draft.[9]

At the conclusion of the 2017 season, Keeffe was delisted by Collingwood.[10] He was subsequently signed by the Greater Western Sydney Giants as a delisted free agent in November.[11]

At the 2017 AFL Women's draft, Keeffe's sister Jessy was drafted by Brisbane.[12]

Statistics are correct to the end of the 2024 season[13]
Legend

  G  

 Goals

  K  

 Kicks

  D  

 Disposals 

  T  

 Tackles

  B  

 Behinds 

  H  

 Handballs 

  M  

 Marks

Notes

  1. ^ The 2020 season was played with 17 home-and-away matches per team (down from 22) and 16-minute quarters with time on (down from 20-minute quarters with time on) due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
  1. ^ KEEFFE FINALLY GETS AFL CHANCE
  2. ^ "Lachlan Keeffe Player Profile bio - Official AFL Website of the Collingwood Football Club". Archived from the original on 7 November 2012. Retrieved 10 October 2014.
  3. ^ "Keeffe named in Suns game". The Gympie Times. 23 July 2011.
  4. ^ Davis, Greg (22 July 2011). "Gympie recruit Lachlan Keefe hits AFL big time with Collingwood". The Courier-Mail.
  5. ^ "Lachlan Keeffe". collingwoodfc.com.au.
  6. ^ King, Travis (10 August 2015). "Keeffe, Thomas accept two-year bans". collingwoodfc.com.au. BigPond.
  7. ^ "Collingwood duo Lachlan Keeffe and Josh Thomas banned from AFL until 2017". ABC News. 4 November 2015. Retrieved 10 November 2015.
  8. ^ "Josh Thomas working as an Uber driver, while serving provisional suspension". Herald Sun. 26 July 2015.
  9. ^ "Keeffe and Thomas return as rookies". collingwoodfc.com.au. BigPond. 27 November 2015. Archived from the original on 30 November 2015. Retrieved 27 November 2015.
  10. ^ Black, Sarah (10 October 2017). "Pies axe four in first wave of list changes". AFL.com.au. Bigpond. Retrieved 10 October 2017.
  11. ^ McGowan, Marc (2 November 2017). "Giants give dumped Magpie an AFL lifeline". Australian Football League. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
  12. ^ Fielding, Josie (18 October 2017). "Lions select Keeffe with Pick No. 48". Brisbane Lions. Telstra Media.
  13. ^ "Lachlan Keeffe statistics". AFL Tables. Retrieved 9 September 2017.