PLAYERS RELISH DOWNTIME
AFL’s best savouring holidays
Weddings, engagements, babies, graduations and travelling around the world.
AFL players have made the most of their break over the Christmas and New Year’s period as they have some downtime before they resume pre-season this month.
For some players the break will be one they remember forever.
Adelaide captain Jordan Dawson, Fremantle gun Jaeger O’Meara and new Melbourne forward Jack Billings all married over the Christmas/New Year’s break.
Dawson married long-time partner Milly on January 3 at the Kingsford the Barossa.
Crows teammates Taylor Walker, Rory Sloane, Darcy Fogarty, Brodie Smith, Ben Keays, Izak Rankine, Lachie Murphy, Mitch Hinge, Reilly O’Brien and Ned McHenry were at the lavish ceremony, as were his former Sydney teammates Luke Parker, Callum Mills and Sam Reid.
O’Meara tied the knot with partner Tory in Perth, with Hawthorn captain James Sicily and Greater Western Sydney star Stephen Coniglio part of the Italian-themed wedding.
Billings, who recently made the move to the Demons from St Kilda, married partner Sarah before Christmas.
A number of AFL players now have weddings to plan and look forward to. Big-name Sydney recruit Brodie Grundy, Giants gun Lachie Whitfield, Carlton defender Nic Newman and Geelong utility Jack Bowes all used their time off to pop the question to their partners.
Melbourne captain Max Gawn and wife Jess welcomed their second child, Louis, into the world before Christmas, while new Port Adelaide skipper Connor Rozee announced he and fiancee Maisie were expecting their first child, saying it was the “best Christmas present ever”.
Other players used their time off to travel abroad and within Australia.
Brisbane Lions star Josh Dunkley jetted off to the US and met Golden State Warriors superstar Steph Curry, giving him a Lions guernsey.
Dunkley also met Philadelphia
Eagle Jason Kelce, brother of Kansas City superstar Travis – who is the boyfriend of global megastar Taylor Swift.
The US was a popular destination with Richmond’s Jack Graham and Geelong’s Jed Bews also heading to North America and taking in Niagara Falls.
Brisbane youngster Deven Robertson went to Japan, while closer to home Collingwood legend Scott Pendlebury went to Byron Bay with his family, Lions recruit Tom Doedee travelled to Queensland from Adelaide after his move from the Crows and Western Bulldogs star Aaron Naughton travelled around home state Western Australia.
Essendon cult hero Sam Draper returned to Adelaide for Christmas, while North Melbourne draftee Colby McKercher went back to Tasmania and met up with fellow draftees James Leake, of GWS, and Arie Schoenmaker, of St Kilda.
Kangaroos co-captain Luke McDonald graduated from the University of Melbourne, while Western Bulldogs star Jamarra Ugle-Hagan got around the Boxing Day Test at the MCG.