Brisbane Lions FC
Born: 19 April 1983
Height: 189cm
Weight: 87kg
Junior Club: Maroochydore
Senior Club: Northern Eagles
Schools:
Regional Selection:
Queensland Selection: U18 (2001), Open (2003)
Draft Details: Zone Priority Selection 2003, 2004, 2005 Rookie Drafts, Elevated to Senior List 2005 National Draft.
AFL Debut: Brisbane v Adelaide, AAMI Stadium, Round 8, 2005, (14 May)
Jumper Number: 39
AT A GLANCE: Some players will find a way into the AFL season after being over-looked in one or two AFL drafts, maybe even three or four. But eight? That's Josh Drummond. Originally from Maroochydore and a Queensland Under 18 representative in 2001, Drummond was overlooked by every AFL club at the national, pre-season and rookie drafts of 2001 and 2002 and the national and pre-season draft of 2003. It wasn't until the 2003 rookie draft that the Lions finally decided to give him an opportunity to show his worth. And only then after he’d played three years of senior football in QAFL State League.
Playing with the then Northern Eagles, formerly North Brisbane and later the Zillmere Eagles, he was best afield for Queensland against ACT at Coorparoo in June 2003 playing in defence, collecting the Zane Taylor Medal. It was enough for the Lions, who had won three consecutive premierships with a good splattering of homegrown talent, to think he might be worth a try. He was a Queensland Zone Selection in the 2003 AFL rookie draft and after a string of standout performances for the Suncoast Lions at AFLQ level in 2004 was elevated to the senior list after Round 9 2004 to replace glandular fever victim Daniel Merrett, thereby becoming eligible for senior AFL selection.
Four times he was a senior emergency but he narrowly missed a spot in the top side that went on to play in a fourth consecutive grand final. So, at the end of the 2004 he reverted to his spot on the rookie list. In 2005 he was elevated to the senior list once again, this time on 12 May after Round 7 to replace knee reconstruction victim Richard Hadley. And this time his senior opportunity did come. It was in round 8 against the Adelaide Crows at AAMI Stadium in Adelaide, one of the AFL s more intimidating venues for a first-gamer. But he took all before him and certainly didn't look out of place as he kept dangerous Crows forward Scott Welsh to just seven possessions and two goals, and picked up 15 possessions himself as the Lions won a thriller by nine points in front of 42,357 people.
By the Lions' next outing, against Richmond at the Gabba, his stature within the team had grown overnight to such point that he was entrusted with kicking-in duties from full-back - a job formerly held by triple-premiership star and All-Australian Chris Johnson. With his raking left foot being put to excellent use, Drummond kept his new job for the rest of the year and wound up playing 14 games, missing just the one with a back-related hamstring complaint. Despite not playing eight of 22 games, he finished 16th overall in the 2005 Merrett/Murray Medal for the Brisbane Club Champion, won by Jason Akermanis from Chris Johnson and Jed Adcock. And on a votes-per-game basis he was a most creditable 10th behind Jonathan Brown, Akermanis, Luke Power, Johnson, Nigel Lappin, Justin Leppitsch, Michael Voss, Adcock and Daniel Bradshaw.
But for Adcock, who finished third overall in the AFL s Rising Star Award, each was an AFL premiership player who enjoyed the highest standing in the game. In any other year he would have received appropriate individual recognition. But he was too old for Rising Star honors and was edged out by Adcock for best first-year player and most improved player honors. He was finally elevated to the senior list in his own right via the 2005 national draft and, armed with a new two-year contract, was set to establish himself in AFL ranks. But it all went horribly wrong. In the 2006 season-opener against Geelong at Skilled Stadium on 1 April Drummond dislocated his shoulder. He was sidelined until June and finished with just seven games for the year. He underwent a shoulder reconstruction shortly after the end of the 2006 season, and after a late start to senior football in 2007 he played eight stellar games in a row from Rounds 8-15, averaging 25.6 possessions and 2.9 votes in the B&F in a sneak preview of what was to come.
He was chosen in the inaugural Queensland State of Origin Team of the Year and approached by Carlton. But after such a long battle to get into the Brisbane side he wasn’t going anywhere and gleefully signed a new three-year contract. He played 13 games in 2008, when injury intervened again, but still won a spot in the Team of the Year. In 2009 he finally got a chance to show what he could do. So good was he that at the mid-season mark he was being touted as a likely All-Australian choice, with his booming left-foot kick among the most destructive weapons in the competition.
Only a minor injury late in the season took the gloss off things, but he made his finals debut and still finished 10th in the B&F despite missing four games and being off the ground by quarter-time in two others when he couldn’t poll any votes. An automatic choice in the Queensland Team of the Year, he had finally arrived as a quality-plus AFL player to deliver on his long-held potential.
