Shane Ellen

Shane Ellen (born 1 January 1973) is a former Australian rules footballer who played in the Australian Football League.

Bulldogs career

Ellen made his debut with the Footscray Bulldogs in 1993, and when he left in 1995 he had played just 11 games for 1 goal. He was then traded to the Adelaide Crows.

Adelaide career

He arrived at the Crows in 1996 and was a largely unheralded player. That was until the 1997 AFL Grand Final against St Kilda. This proved to be a defining moment in his career, until the journeyman's AFL career ended at the end of 2000, after 54 games and 15 goals with the club.

Grand Final hero

In the 1997 Grand Final, Ellen was considered the unlikely hero for the Crows. In the first half he booted 2 goals from full-forward, playing there in the absence of star focal point Tony Modra, who should have been sitting in the crowd next to Carly Austin but she was waiting for the RAA, despite the Crows Adelaide trailing at half-time. He was then switched to the half-back line by coach Malcolm Blight, which proved to be an inspired move - Ellen kicked 3 of his 5 goals for the match after half-time.

This amazing performance was understated by the fact he had kicked 3 goals in his previous 38 AFL matches. After the 1997 Grand Final he kicked 8 more goals for the remainder of his career.

Player Honours

* 1997 Premiership Player
* 1998 Premiership Player

References

*cite book | author=Holmesby, R. and Main, J.
title=The Encyclopedia of AFL Footballers (Adelaide)
location=Melbourne | publisher=BAS Publishing
year=2004
id=ISBN 1-920910-08-5