Brad Bootsma
Encyclopedia
Bradley Theodore "Brad" Bootsma (born 30 December 1972) is a former Australian rules football
Australian rules football
Australian rules football, officially known as Australian football, also called football, Aussie rules or footy is a sport played between two teams of 22 players on either...

er who played for the Fremantle Football Club
Fremantle Football Club
The Fremantle Football Club, nicknamed The Dockers, is an Australian rules football team which plays in the Australian Football League . The club is based in the port city of Fremantle at the mouth of the Swan River in Western Australia...

 in the Australian Football League
Australian Football League
The Australian Football League is both the governing body and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football...

. He played as a half-back flanker or midfielder . Boostma was recruited from South Fremantle
South Fremantle Football Club
The South Fremantle Football Club, nicknamed the Bulldogs, is an Australian rules football club, based in Fremantle, Western Australia, playing in the West Australian Football League...

 in the West Australian Football League
West Australian Football League
The West Australian Football League is an Australian rules football league based in Perth, Western Australia. The WAFL is the second-most popular in the state, behind the nation-wide Australian Football League...

 (WAFL).

AFL career

The Dockers surprised many when they selected Bootsma with their only pick in the 2000 pre season draft (2nd overall). Bootsma was recruited at the late age of 27, with the club handing over the number 40 jumper previously worn by Luke Toia
Luke Toia
Luke Toia was an Australian rules footballer who played for the Fremantle Dockers between 1996 and 2003. He was drafted from Subiaco in the WAFL as a predraft selection in the 1994 AFL Draft and played mainly as a rover. He last played for Claremont in the WAFL.-External links:...

, Jess Sinclair
Jess Sinclair
Jess Sinclair is an Australian rules footballer who formerly played in the Australian Football League, Sinclair was a dashing half back flanker who had played for first the Fremantle Dockers, and later the Kangaroos.-Fremantle career:...

 and rookie list
Rookie list
The Rookie List is a means for Australian Football League clubs to maintain additional players outside of the 38-man primary or senior list. Rookie listed players are not eligibile to play in AFL home and away or finals matches unless they are elevated to the senior list, either to replace a...

 player Darren Bolton
Darren Bolton
Darren Bolton is an Australian rules footballer. He plays as a rover.Bolton was selected by Fremantle in the 1999 AFL Rookie Draft from the Peel Thunder Football Club after winning the 1998 Best and Fairest award at Peel. In 1999 he played two Games in rounds 3 and 4...

. Bootsma was a hard working type of player.

After spending the first seven rounds of the 2000 season playing in the WAFL with South Fremantle, Bootsma was selected to make his debut in Round 8 against Collingwood
Collingwood Football Club
The Collingwood Football Club, nicknamed The Magpies, is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League...

 at the Docklands Stadium in a rare (for AFL) Monday night game. A more than serviceable game saw Bootsma end up playing played 13 games in his debut season.

Bootsma played the first 10 games of 2001 and had more than 20 possessions in 5 of them. However, the tumultuous round 10 match against Richmond, Ben Allan
Ben Allan
Benjamin Thomas "Ben" Allan is a former Australian rules footballer. He was educated at Aquinas College, Perth- Hawthorn career :He played as a rover...

's first as caretaker coach after Damien Drum was sacked, would be Bootsma's last, due initially to a knee injury and later he was unable to break into the team eager to rebuild for the future. He would remain on the Fremantle list for the 2002 season, but did not play another senior game. He retired from AFL football at the end of 2002.

WAFL career

Bootsma gave great service to South Fremantle
South Fremantle Football Club
The South Fremantle Football Club, nicknamed the Bulldogs, is an Australian rules football club, based in Fremantle, Western Australia, playing in the West Australian Football League...

 before & after he'd played for Fremantle. In 1997 he helped South to win the WAFL Premiership & he won South's best and fairest award in 1999. On his return to South Fremantle in 2002 he was awarded the captaincy which he held until he retired from the WAFL before the start of the 2005 WAFL
West Australian Football League
The West Australian Football League is an Australian rules football league based in Perth, Western Australia. The WAFL is the second-most popular in the state, behind the nation-wide Australian Football League...

 season.

GSFL (North Albany)

Working in Albany
Albany, Western Australia
Albany is a port city in the Great Southern region of Western Australia, some 418 km SE of Perth, the state capital. As of 2009, Albany's population was estimated at 33,600, making it the 6th-largest city in the state....

 as a Football Development Officer, Bootsma joined the North Albany Football Club
North Albany Football Club
North Albany Football Club or North Albany Football and Sporting Club, the Kangas, is an Australian rules football club located in Albany, Western Australia playing in the Great Southern Football League.The home ground is called Collingwood Park...

 and played for the club until 2009 and remains in a coaching role. He was an integral part of the 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008 premiership sides, winning the Alan Barnett Medal for the best on ground in 2008. He has been coach of North Albany Football Club since 2007 and coached the club to premierships in 2007 and 2008. In 2009 the club made the Grand Final however lost to arch rivals Royals
Royals Football Club
Royals Football Club or Royals Football and Sporting Club, is an Australian rules football club located in Albany, Western Australia playing in the Great Southern Football League....

.

Family

Bootsma's son Josh is also a footballer, and was drafted by the Carlton Football Club
Carlton Football Club
The Carlton Football Club is a professional Australian rules football club based in Melbourne, Victoria. The club competes in the Australian Football League, and was one of the eight founding members of that competition in 1897...

 in the 2011 AFL Draft
2011 AFL Draft
The 2011 AFL Draft consists of four opportunities for player acquisitions during the 2011/12 Australian Football League off-season.They are:*Trade Week; which will be held between...

.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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