Luke Ball

Infobox afl player


firstname = Luke
lastname = Ball


| birthdate = Birth date and age|1984|5|25|df=y
birthplace =
originalteam = Xavier College/Sandringham U18 (TAC Cup)
heightweight = 183cm / 84kg
dead = alive
deathdate =
deathplace =
debutdate = Round 1, 29 March 2003
debutteam = St Kilda
debutopponent = Kangaroos
debutstadium = MCG
playingteams = St Kilda (2003-)

122 games, 55 goals
coach = notcoach
coachingteams =
statsend = Round 20, 2008
careerhighlights =

* St. Kilda Pre-season Cup Winning side 2008, 2004
* Captain St. Kilda Football Club 2006
* St. Kilda Football Club Best and Fairest - Trevor Barker Award 2005 (equal)
* All Australian Team 2005
* International Rules 2004

Luke Patrick Ball (born 25 May 1984) is an Australian rules footballer. The younger brother of Hawthorn player Matthew Ball, who, along with his brother, played for Ashburton in junior years. Both brothers and little sister Sophie, grew up with their parents in Melbourne suburb of Glen Iris, attending St Rochs Primary School. Luke was drafted to the St Kilda Football Club in 2001 with the priority pick (no 2 overall) in the AFL Draft. The draft that season was known as the "super draft", and Ball was taken behind Luke Hodge and ahead of Chris Judd. He debuted in 2003 after having injury problems and choosing to play football for Xavier College in his final school year.

Biography

He was a Rising Star nominee in 2003, with Sam Mitchell winning the award that season.

2004 was a big year for Ball, coming 2nd in St Kilda's best and fairest award, playing in the International Rules series against Ireland and playing in St. Kilda's pre-season premiership cup side.

Ball won the Best and Fairest award, tying with fellow teammate Steven Baker in 2005.

When Nick Riewoldt was injured in the opening round of the 2005 season (and consequently missed the next five weeks), Ball was handed the captaincy.

In 2006, Ball was announced as the captain of the St Kilda Football Club, succeeding Nick Riewoldt under the Saint's rotational captaincy policy. Early in the season groin problems kept the young captain from performing at his best, but he was cleared in mid-June of having the dreaded Osteitis pubis, from which many media outlets had claimed he was suffering. Ball's second half of season 2006 saw improvement in his game.

In 2007, Ball played a total of 18 games of the home and away season - picking up 345 disposals, 5 goals and 91 tackles. Although well down on his 2005 form, Ball played a valuable role in the team and solidified his reputation as a "hard-nut" and core member of St Kilda's midfield.

In 2008 Ball again missed only 4 games with injury - picking up 392 disposals, 7 goals and 107 tackles. A hamstring tear late in the season caused Ball to miss the finals series.

Luke Ball has gained significant respect thus far over his short career, always putting his body on the line for his team and often coming from the ground under duress - the sight of Ball's ubiquitous bandaging is familiar to Saints fans. He has displayed leadership and commitment whilst performing at an elite level.

On the Saints official website, Ball can be seen in the main frame with fellow co-captains Lenny Hayes, Nick Riewoldt and Justin Koschitzke. They have been dubbed the "Young Saints", mainly because of their relatively young ages.

Trivia

* He has two nephews Andrew and Josh, though out of the two only Josh plays football and wants to follow in his uncles footsteps.
* His oldest brother Adrian died on 6 September 2004
* Captained his junior football team to four premierships.
* Luke Ball played for the Xavier 1st XI for three seasons (1999-2000, 2000-2001, 2001-2002). He captained the team in 2001-2002 when they won the esteemed APS premiership.
* Luke Ball is second on the all time run list behind Karl Schneider, who played for Victoria and South Australia, and barring a premature death at 23, it is widely accepted would have played test cricket for Australia.
* Ball made 1436 runs over his three seasons in the 1st XI (behind Schneider 1642 runs). This included 681 runs, including 4 centuries, in 2001-2002, constituting a record for runs in a single season.
* Ball produced 6 centuries for the 1st XI (with a highest score of 156), the second most all time behind Karl Schneider, who made 7.
* Luke Ball played 20 games for the 1st XVIII over three seasons (2000,2001,2002). All three were premiership years for Xavier. Ball captained the side in 2002.
* Luke Ball was School Vice Captain of Xavier College after turning down the captains role in order to focus on academia and football.
* Luke Ball achieved an ENTER score of 98.50 for his Victorian Certificate of Education. He studied at Xavier College.
* Ball is currently dating Amy Pollard. They have been together for over 3 years.

External links