Todd Banfield is an Australian Rules football player that currently plays for Brisbane Lions in the Australian Football League (AFL) and usually adorns jersey number 18. He was born on 28th June 1990; he weighs about 78kg and is about 1.83 metres tall. He made his debut with Brisbane Lions on the 28th June, 2010. He had a very interesting early playing days during his early playing days at Swan District of Western Australia. Early Playing Career In the 2008 season, Todd Banfield was able to secure a place in the senior team of Swan District Colts as a result of his sterling performance in the first half of the season with the junior U-18 side. He played for the remaining part of the season in the senior team where he did very well. His defensive pressure, speed and a determination to work hard were qualities that made him to stand out in the team. Although he came into the senior team in the middle of the season where he had an opportunity to play in the premiership; he was able to make significant remarkable achievements. He was able to get a place in the West Australia Football League (WAFL) U-18 team of the year. He was also able to get the 9th position in the Jack Clarke Medal for the Best and Fairest player in the WAFL Colts competition that year. Before the 2008 draft, Todd had exhibited amazing characteristics as a footballer that will make any coach or scout looking for new talents into a team to be seriously interested in him. Todd Banfield was known for his incredible speed, he was very fast such that he was considered a serious asset to the club. He has to his credit an amazing 2.87 seconds run over a distance of 20metres during a state screening session in west Australia just before the 2008 draft. Professional Career Todd Banfield was later drafted in 2008. Brisbane Lions selected him at that year’s National draft with a selection number 41. He exuded a lot of talent and future prospects in the club’s engagements before the beginning of the season. He had a serious setback when he injured his arm during the preparations for the season. This made him to be out of play throughout the duration of the NAB cup campaign. He recovered later from the injury and returned to the team’s bench. The remaining season was not really spectacular for him, but he was able to show some reasonable skills and abilities enough to reckon him as a future star. There were great improvements in his skills when compared with his early playing days at Colts. The 2010 season was very spectacular and filled with several events and achievements for this young dynamic player from West Australia. He ended up the season as the third highest goal scorer for the club with 27 goals. His name was also announced in the 22 man team that was to represent Australia in 2010 International Rules Series in Ireland. Right from the beginning of preparations for the new season, Todd exhibited an excellent performance. He had a small frame accompanied with exceptional speed. This made him to often spring surprises against the opponents. During this season, Todd was one of the very few players that played or featured in all the 22 senior matches of the season. This is considered a very significant achievement for a player who is just recording a second year in the AFL. He has played a total of 34 games and kicked 42 goals in his entire AFL playing career to date. Read a biography of Todd Banfield and his AFL career with the Brisbane Lions
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