PERSONAL DETAILS
Name: Beau John McDonald
Date of Birth: 3rd November 1979
Birth Place: Perth
Star Sign: Scorpio
Height: 203cm
Weight: 102kg
Family Status: Single


CAREER BRIEF
Previous Club:
Swan Districts
Draft Details:
No.73 - 1997 National Draft
AFL Debut:
Lions v Nth Melb (MCG), Rd 4, 1998
AFL Games: 60
AFL Goals: 18
AFL Finals: 5
2002 Games: 9
2002 Goals: 2


QUESTIONAIRRE
Full Name? Beau John McDonald
Date of Birth? 3rd November 1979
Place of Birth? Subiaco
Star Sign? Scorpio

Nickname as a kid and now?
Bozo
Person you would most like to sit next to in a plane and why?
Luke Power - he has got short legs
Best thing you have done/bought for your mother or father?
Play AFL football
Most memorable punishment from your parents and what was it for?
Grounded when I got caught smashing bottles down the park
Your best and worst memory from school?
Best was the mates; Worst ? nothing was bad
Your dream dish (we mean food)?
Chicken Curry
Your ultimate holiday destination?
Hamilton Island
The best practical joke you have ever played?
I am not a practical joker
What one talent do you wish you had?
I wish I could run like a midfielder
What would you never do again?
Drink scotch
What is your greatest fear?
Heights
What would be your ideal job outside of football?
Sports photographer
I would never leave the house without my?
Wallet
What is your motto?
Keep trying
If you could change one part of the game or one rule, what would it be?
None
What advice would you give to youngsters who dream of being an AFL footballer?
Don?t think it can?t happen to you
Who is your favourite cartoon character?
Stimpy
Who inspires you?
Michael Jordan
What are you listening to?
The TV
What are you reading?
Newspaper
Favourite electronic game?
Hate computer games
Favourite Movie?
Point Break
Favourite TV show?
Fox Sports
Least favourite TV show?
Charmed
Favourite piece of clothing?
T-shirts
Favourite Beach?
Scarborough Beach, WA
Favourite AFL media personality?
Dermott Brereton
What was the last meal you cooked?
Satay Chicken
Scariest moment in your life?
Can?t think of one
Worst piece of advice ever given to you?
None I can think of
Worst piece of driving you have ever seen?
Morro reversing my car into a pole
What was your first job?
Dad's butcher shop
What is your greatest extravagance?
My car
Funniest thing a fan has ever said to you?
What do you do when you need to go the toilet on the field?
Describe the best mark you have ever taken?
Under 17s ? sat on a blokes head
Name your biggest regret in football?
None
Rate your performance in 2001?
Average
What areas of your game need improving?
Marking, endurance, strength
Your goals for 2002?
To be better than 2001
Who will win the Merrett/Murray Medal for 2002?
Alastair Lynch
Who will win the Brownlow Medal 2002?
Not sure

2002 FORM
Did his job in the opening two weeks of the season before rolling an ankle late in Round 2 against Hawthorn. Missed three weeks before coming back strongly against Geelong in Round 6, but the ankle was swollen again afterwards and he missed three more weeks. A comeback in the Reserves in Round 10 lasted just 20 minutes, and after missing a week and then the bye, returned with two solid reserves games. Played strongly first up in Round 13 against Carlton and tried hard against Melbourne in Round 14. Steamrolled Richmond in the first half of Round 15 to set up the momentum from the centre and was good in the ruck and around the ground the following week against Sydney. Beat Shaun Rehn in Round 17, too good for the Bombers in Round 18, and outpointed Luke Darcy with his ruckwork in Round 19. With Jamie Charman rendered dangerman Michael Gardiner ineffective in Round 20. it is no coincidence that the Lions? best patch of 2002 coincided with the big man?s return to the side. Maintained his dominance over Geelong?s Steven King in Round 21 and broke even with Matthew Primus in Round 22. Hurt his thigh in the final minutes of the Friday training run before the qualifying final and was a surprise withdrawal against the Crows. Scratchy against Port, he injured his shoulder 19 minutes into the grand final after only being on the ground for a short time and went straight to hospital, arriving back just in time for the final siren.

CAREER HISTORY
Beau McDonald, the player who was selection No.73 in the 1997 AFL National Draft, almost as an afterthought, is now a premiership player. Supposedly a long-term prospect, McDonald had registered 50 AFL goals by the age of 22 and played in a winning Grand Final. And most importantly, he was an integral part of that 2001 team.

McDonald split the ruck duties throughout the 2001 year with Clark Keating after he carried the burden solo when Keating was injured in 2000, and together they formed a lethal combination the equal of any in the League. A member of the Ansett Cup Grand Final side, McDonald played 23 of a possible 25 games, missing twice with a back-related hamstring problem which he fought on and off throughout the year. He posted his 50th AFL game in the preliminary final, and grabbed the decisive possession of the grand final when he took the ball from a boundary throw-in, evaded two would-be tacklers, and fired out a slick handball for Michael Voss to kick the winning goal.

McDonald only averaged 6.0 possessions through the year, but the best reflection of his worth is combinting his stats with Keating?s. Given that they shared the playing time, that is only fair. Fifteen possessions, three marks, one goal and 100 hit-outs more than the league leading knock ruckman is testament to just how valuable both were. Combine their club B&F votes, and they were have finished in third place.

It is incredible to think that the giant McDonald played a key role for the Lions in 2000 in just his fifth season of football ever. It also happened to be his third season of AFL after initially being drafted as `project player?. The amiable big man took all before him in the absence of the traded Matthew Clarke and injured Clark Keating, playing 22 games, finishing 3rd in Norwich Rising Star voting behind fellow West Australian Paul Hasleby, and 12th in the Lions club champion award.

While he admitted to several `shockers?, McDonald finished just 11 taps short of leader Jeff White in most hit-outs for the year, and his around-the-ground work during the Lions? winning run at the end of the season was a huge improvement from when he started out in March. More importantly, he learned invaluable lessons playing against the likes of experienced veterans Paul Salmon (Hawthorn), Scott Wynd (Western Bulldogs), and Corey McKernan (North Melbourne).

The Lions? equal tallest player at 203cm, he added a staggering 8kg to his slightly-built frame over the 1999-2000 summer, and kept that on for 2001. (Beau is now easily the tallest player in the Lion's squad, it's just that this paragraph was written before 203cm tall Trent Knobel was traded to St Kilda in 2001). With three AFL games behind him in ?98 and three more in ?99, the enormously athletic, skilful and hard-working ruckman was already a long way ahead of expectations when he was claimed by the Lions as a late draft pick in ?97 just two years after he began playing the game that now dominates his life. And as a pointer to the season proper, his Ansett Cup form in 2000 suggested big things were just around the corner.

Born in Perth, McDonald comes from a real sporting family. His father John played amateur football in Townsville, mother Di is a former Australian netball representative and ex-coach of the Perth Orioles in the national competition, and twin sister Bree is a graduate of the WA-based netball institute. Also, uncles Garry and Allan Sidebottom (his mother?s brothers) both played AFL football and represented WA at State of Origin level, and his grandfather (his mother?s father) Wally Sidebottom had a distinguished football career with Swan Districts and represented WA.

McDonald played basketball in his youth and not until 1996, on the advice and encouragement of a close family friend, did he turn his hand to football. He played in a premiership with local juniors Upper Swan Football Club U17s in his first season, and was named ?best player in the finals? after impressing with his ruck work and general athleticism.

In 1997 he was invited to join WAFL club Swan Districts, where he won the U19s best and fairest and had a couple of games in the Reserves, and was invited to the AFL Pre-Draft Talent Identification Camp. He was chosen at No. 73 in the 1997 National Draft by the Lions (only because he was suffereing from an illness during the draft camp), and in fact was the draft selection the club was never intending to have. Originally, they were keen to keep one spot on their playing list open for the 1998 Pre-Season Draft, but McDonald was still available when their last selection came around so they decided he was too good to pass over and filled up their 42-man list on the strength of his enormous potential.

He missed an 11th-hour call-up for the Lions? historic Ansett Cup tour to South Africa in February 1998 because he didn?t have a passport, but nevertheless did everything right in his first season in Brisbane. He was a standout in the practice matches, impressing with his pin-point tap ruck work and his around-the-ground athleticism, and made his AFL debut against North Melbourne at the MCG in Round 4. He played three games in a row, undaunted by the astronomical jump in class, and thereafter was a steady contributor with the Lions Cubs.

In 1999 he added a further three senior games in Rounds 15-17-18 when first Clark Keating and then Matthew Clarke was sidelined by injury. When not playing at AFL level he filled a strong ruck combination with Rookie List player Trent Knobel in the Lion Cubs. He worked hard to improve his marking so that, rather than just being a specialist tap ruckman, he developed other aspects of his game.

A graduate of Governor Stirling Senior High School in Perth, he shared a house with Luke Power and Dylan McLaren in 2001 and has just invested in a new property.

CAREER HIGHLIGHTS
Member Upper Swan U17 Premiership Side 1996, Upper Swan U17 Best Finals Player 1996, Swan Districts U19 B&F 1997, 3rd Norwich Rising Star Award 2000, Lions Rookie of the Year 2000, Member Lions? New Zealand Tour Party 2001, Member Lions? Ansett Cup Grand Final Side 2001, Premiership Player 2001.

The original version of this profile can be found on the official Lions website. The survey comes separately and can also be found on the lions site.