About the Book
Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. Pages: 35. Chapters: Aaron Shattock, Andrew Crowell, Andrew Payze, Andrew Rogers (footballer), Andrew Taylor (Australian footballer), Ben Schwarze, Bernie Vince, Brett Burton, Brian Lake, Brodie Martin, Brodie Smith, Bruce Lindsay (footballer), Byron Sumner, Cameron Sutcliffe, Chris Knights, Fergus Watts, Glenn Dawson, Glenn Freeborn, Greg Walker (footballer), Hamish Simpson, Hayden Skipworth, Haydn Robins, Jamie Tape, Jared Petrenko, Jared Polec, Jarrad Redden, Jarrhan Jacky, Jay Schulz, Justin Cicolella, Kent Kingsley, Ken McGregor (footballer), Laurence Schache, Mathew Stokes, Matthew Broadbent, Matthew Kluzek, Matthew Manfield, Matthew Pavlich, Matthew Whelan, Nathan Bock, Nick Pesch, Paul Bulluss, Paul Lindsay, Paul Stewart (Australian footballer), Rhett Biglands, Robert Pyman, Robert Shirley (footballer), Sam Jacobs (Australian footballer), Scott Camporeale, Scott Freeborn, Scott McMahon, Scott Morphett, Shayne Breuer, Steven Sziller, Stuart Nicol, Tom Couch, Trent Hentschel, Wayne Weidemann. Excerpt: Mathew Stokes (born 22 November 1984) is an Australian rules footballer for the Geelong Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). Mathew Stokes grew up in Darwin, Australia, with his parents John and Jennifer, and three sisters Jaylene, Anne-Maree and Amy. Stokes has Indigenous Australian heritage, and his ancestry can be traced to the Larrakia. His father was a life member of the Palmerston Magpies, having played 148 games for them in the Northern Territory Football League. Growing up, Stokes played basketball, cricket and rugby league, but age restrictions limited his involvement in Australian rules football until he was 11-years old. Stokes' main sporting passion was for basketball, where he played at every junior level growing up and won an under-14s best and fairest award whilst still only seven years of age. When he was finally eligible to play football as an under-14, Stokes forced his way into the Palmerston Magpies senior team at only 14 years of age. In 2002, he was a member of Palmerston's premiership-winning side, and it was then that he began to switch his focus from basketball to football. Stokes' achievements in the local junior leagues saw him selected to represent Australia in the under-17's national team, alongside future AFL players Luke Hodge, Luke Ball and Nick Dal Santo. Stokes was overlooked in the 2002 AFL Draft though, and moved to Adelaide to begin playing in the SANFL for Woodville-West Torrens. Taking up a part-time job as a zookeeper off the field, Stokes continued to establish himself in the SANFL over the next three years. His persistence paid off when he was selected with the 61st pick in the 2005 AFL Draft by the Geelong Football Club. It was not until his seventh game, making his mark against Port Adelaide in Round 15, 2006, that he kicked two final-term goals to lift Geelong's finals chances, one of which he marked and kicked from 40m out under pressure. For the rest of the year Stokes was inconsistent and as a result
