Russell Ellen
Essendon
AFL career
35 games5 goals
- Debut
- R4 1973 v FSC28 Apr 1973
- Most recent
- R3 1977 v COL16 Apr 1977
Stats
Bio
Recruited from the small Wimmera town of Marnoo, Russell Ellen was a towering ruckman who progressed through the Essendon Under 19s to the senior list in the early 1970s. Although he showed promise by winning the club’s Best First Year Player award in the lower grades, his VFL career was defined by the difficult task of competing for a spot against undisputed first, and eventually Brownlow Medallist, Graham Moss. Often resigned to the role of a backup "fill-in" when the star ruckman was unavailable, Ellen sought regular senior football after five seasons on the fringe and revitalised his career by moving to the WAFL. He became a key figure for West Perth across more than 100 games before embracing the life of a football journeyman, later captain-coaching Wembley to an amateur premiership and winning a league Best and Fairest at South Broken Hill.
Profile
- Born
- 08 Feb 1954 (age 72y 255d)
- Height
- 191 cm
- Weight
- 89 kg
Teams
Bio
1 revisionRecruited from the small Wimmera town of Marnoo, Russell Ellen was a towering ruckman who progressed through the Essendon Under 19s to the senior list in the early 1970s. Although he showed promise by winning the club’s Best First Year Player award in the lower grades, his VFL career was defined by the difficult task of competing for a spot against undisputed first, and eventually Brownlow Medallist, Graham Moss. Often resigned to the role of a backup "fill-in" when the star ruckman was unavailable, Ellen sought regular senior football after five seasons on the fringe and revitalised his career by moving to the WAFL. He became a key figure for West Perth across more than 100 games before embracing the life of a football journeyman, later captain-coaching Wembley to an amateur premiership and winning a league Best and Fairest at South Broken Hill.