Paul Robert Seedsman[1] (born 22 January 1992) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Adelaide Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He was recruited by Collingwood in the 2010 national draft, with pick 76,[2] and traded to Adelaide at the end of the 2015 season.[3] Seedsman grew up supporting Collingwood; his great-grandfather, Jim Sharp, played for Fitzroy and Collingwood, and was president of Collingwood for 12 years.[4]

Paul Seedsman
Seedsman in June 2019
Personal information
Full name Paul Robert Seedsman
Date of birth (1992-01-22) 22 January 1992 (age 32)
Original team(s) Eastern Ranges (TAC Cup)/Rowville Football Club
Draft No. 76, 2010 national draft
Debut Round 1, 2012, Collingwood vs. Hawthorn, at MCG
Height 190 cm (6 ft 3 in)
Weight 84 kg (185 lb)
Position(s) Midfielder
Club information
Current club Adelaide
Number 11
Playing career1
Years Club Games (Goals)
2011–2015 Collingwood 49 (17)
2016–2023 Adelaide 83 (49)
Total 132 (66)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 2023.
Career highlights
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

Pre-AFL career edit

Seedsman attended Heany Park Primary School and Caulfield Grammar School in Melbourne and played junior football for the Rowville Football Club.[5]

AFL career edit

Collingwood (2011–2015) edit

After playing out 2011 in Collingwood's VFL side, averaging 17 disposals, Seedsman made his debut in round 1 of the 2012 season, against Hawthorn.[6] He established himself in the team in 2013, playing 17 matches and averaging 18.9 disposals as a rebounding defender capable of pushing onto the wing and forward.[7] During the same season, he was also at the heart of a fallout between teammate Harry O'Brien and coach Nathan Buckley, with O'Brien reportedly taking issue with his teammates and Buckley calling Seedsman 'Lez' (a reference to his hairstyle at the time).[8]

Seedsman injured his hip during the 2014 pre-season, requiring surgery.[9] He returned to the side mid-season, before succumbing to an adductor injury ahead of Collingwood's round 19 match against Port Adelaide.[10]

In October 2015, after playing 12 games for the season but only two after round 12, Seedsman requested a trade to Adelaide.[11] He was officially traded to Adelaide on 19 October, having played 49 games for Collingwood.[3]

Adelaide (2016–2023) edit

At the Crows Seedsman was able to complete his first full pre-season of training for the first time in three years.[12] He played in all three games for Adelaide in the 2016 NAB Challenge, impressing in the third and final match against Gold Coast where he collected 23 disposals and kicked a goal.[13] Seedsman played his first game for Adelaide, and 50th overall, against North Melbourne in round 1.[14] After a good start, Seedsman injured himself in a tackle in the final quarter of the round 3 match against Richmond, but was still able to play the next week.[15] Later in the season, in a clash against Geelong, Seedsman had a relatively easy set shot to put the Crows in front. Though he is known as a reliable kick, he was unable to kick the goal and the Crows lost the match by 26 points when Geelong scored the next four goals. Teammate Daniel Talia stressed after the match that the miss wasn’t responsible for their loss.[16]

In the lead-up to the round 14 clash with North Melbourne, Seedsman injured his hamstring in training, sidelining him from the team for several weeks.[17] When he recovered, rather than going straight back into the AFL side he played his first SANFL match with the reserves team against Sturt, where he starred with 29 possessions and a game-high 10 clearances.[18] He was brought back into the AFL side the next week to face off against his former side Collingwood for the first time.[19] Late in the season Seedsman had a corked buttock and was forced to miss several AFL games.[20] Due to this injury Seedsman was given a special permit to play in the Crows’ first ever SANFL final in spite of not playing enough SANFL matches throughout the season to qualify.[21] He ended up being a late withdrawal for the elimination final, but was brought into the side to play in the semi-final against South Adelaide.[22]

In 2017, Seedsman’s pre-season was interrupted by a groin injury.[23] His recovery took longer than expected and meant he wasn’t able to play any AFL at the beginning of the season.[24] It wasn’t until May that he was able to return to full training, then he started playing in the SANFL again in June.[25] He played his first SANFL game for the season in a two-point win over Norwood.[26]

After consistent from in the SANFL, Seedsman played his first AFL game for the season in round 19 against Collingwood.[27] Though he wasn’t able to keep his spot in the AFL side, he continued to impress in the SANFL, with an outstanding match against North Adelaide, getting a game-high 29 disposals and also kicking three goals.[28] He was brought back into the AFL side for the final round match against West Coast, where he was good enough to keep his spot in the side going into the finals. When teammate Brodie Smith injured his ACL, Seedsman was seen as the most likely replacement given their similar playing styles and appearances, so he was more secure in his place in the side for the rest of the finals.[29] Even though he’d only played four AFL matches for the season, and only two before the finals began, Seedsman was included in Adelaide’s team for the 2017 AFL Grand Final in which they were defeated by 48 points by the Richmond Football Club.[30]

Seedsman played all 22 games in 2021 for the Crows and it was his best season of his career. Averaging 26 disposals and 5 marks Seedsman was able to showcase himself as one of the premier elite wingman in the AFL. Seedsman's career best season resulted in selection in the initial 40 man All Australian squad.

Statistics edit

Statistics are correct to end of Round 23 2021[31]
Legend
  G  
Goals
  K  
Kicks
  D  
Disposals 
  T  
Tackles
  B  
Behinds 
  H  
Handballs 
  M  
Marks
Season Team No. Games Totals Averages (per game)
G B K H D M T G B K H D M T
2012 Collingwood 40 11 2 3 72 59 131 38 25 0.2 0.3 6.5 5.4 11.9 3.5 2.3
2013 Collingwood 40 17 9 11 191 131 322 100 35 0.5 0.6 11.2 7.7 18.9 5.9 2.1
2014 Collingwood 40 9 2 3 79 61 140 37 24 0.2 0.3 8.8 6.8 15.6 4.1 2.7
2015 Collingwood 40 12 4 3 125 77 202 41 26 0.3 0.3 10.4 6.4 16.8 3.4 2.2
2016 Adelaide 11 15 9 5 151 104 255 65 60 0.6 0.3 10.1 6.9 17.0 4.3 4.0
2017 Adelaide 11 5 5 4 51 36 87 22 18 1.0 0.8 10.2 7.2 14.4 4.4 3.6
2018 Adelaide 11 19 13 13 233 157 390 77 49 0.6 0.6 12.2 8.2 20.5 4.0 2.5
2019 Adelaide 11 13 6 4 139 109 248 54 28 0.4 0.3 10.6 8.3 19.0 4.1 2.1
2020 Adelaide 11 9 4 5 79 65 144 24 28 0.4 0.5 8.7 7.2 16.0 2.6 3.1
2021 Adelaide 11 22 12 13 347 227 574 118 51 0.5 0.5 15.7 10.3 26.0 5.3 2.3
Career 132 66 64 1467 1026 2493 576 344 0.5 0.4 11.1 7.7 18.8 4.3 2.6

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ "Know Your Crow: Seedsman". Adelaide Football Club. 22 January 2016. Retrieved 21 September 2023.
  2. ^ McGuire, Eddie (21 November 2010). "The amazing week that changed lives". Sunday Herald Sun.
  3. ^ a b Bowen, Nick (19 October 2015). "Mega-trade: Howe, Seedsman, Toumpas and Kennedy all swap clubs". AFL.com.au. Australian Football League. Retrieved 19 October 2015.
  4. ^ Gleeson, Michael (25 April 2013). "Seeds is home". The Age.
  5. ^ "Paul Seedsman |". efl.org.au. Retrieved 22 January 2019.
  6. ^ Hulett, Nick (30 March 2012). "Three Pies to debut". CollingwoodFC.com.au. Collingwood Football Club. Archived from the original on 1 May 2012. Retrieved 13 May 2012.
  7. ^ Mason, Luke (31 October 2013). "Player Review: No. 40 Paul Seedsman". CollingwoodFC.com.au. Collingwood Football Club. Retrieved 17 June 2016.
  8. ^ "Collingwood player Harry O'Brien discusses 'complicated history' of sexual abuse and depression". Herald Sun. 9 July 2013.
  9. ^ Gleeson, Michael (28 January 2014). "Paul Seedsman to miss start of season after hip surgery". The Age.
  10. ^ "Seedsman Out Of Power Clash". TripleM.com.au. Triple M. 1 August 2014. Retrieved 17 October 2014.
  11. ^ Bowen, Nick (15 October 2015). "Magpie Seedsman chooses Adelaide". AFL.com.au. Australian Football League. Retrieved 16 October 2015.
  12. ^ Olle, Sarah (15 February 2016). "Paul Seedsman granted second chance at Adelaide, says he had no choice but to leave Collingwood". Fox Sports. News Corp Australia. Retrieved 19 October 2017.
  13. ^ Burtenshaw, David. "Seedsman on the steady rise". AFC.com.au. Bigpond.
  14. ^ "Paul Seedsman - AFC.com.au". AFC.com.au. Adelaide Football Club.
  15. ^ Fjeldstad, Jesper (13 April 2016). "Paul Seedsman expected to be available for Sydney clash". The Advertiser. News Corp Australia. Retrieved 19 October 2017.
  16. ^ Capel, Andrew (15 May 2016). "Adelaide's Daniel Talia says Paul Seedsman not to blame for defeat to Geelong despite missing a goal he'd usually kick". The Advertiser. Retrieved 19 October 2017.
  17. ^ "Seedsman sidelined". AFC.com.au. Bigpond. 22 June 2016. Retrieved 19 October 2017.
  18. ^ Phillips, Max (9 July 2016). "Crows halt Sturt surge". AFC.com.au. Bigpond. Retrieved 19 October 2017.
  19. ^ "Laird withdrawn from Pies clash". AFC.com.au. Bigpond. 15 July 2016. Retrieved 19 October 2017.
  20. ^ Gaskin, Lee (23 August 2016). "In the mix: round 23". AFL.com.au. Bigpond. Retrieved 19 October 2017.
  21. ^ Rucci, Michelangelo (30 August 2016). "Adelaide eager to play Paul Seedsman in SANFL elimination final, but not Rory Sloane and Brodie Smith". The Advertiser. News Corp Australia. Retrieved 19 October 2017.
  22. ^ Phillips, Max (8 September 2016). "SANFL: Seedsman set for Semi". AFC.com.au. Bigpond. Retrieved 19 October 2017.
  23. ^ "Injury Update: January". AFC.com.au. Bigpond. 24 January 2017. Retrieved 19 October 2017.
  24. ^ "Injury Update: Round Two". 28 March 2017. Retrieved 19 October 2017.
  25. ^ Gaskin, Lee (30 May 2017). "Boost for Crows with duo only a fortnight away". AFL.com.au. Bigpond. Retrieved 19 October 2017.
  26. ^ Homfray, Reece (10 June 2017). "Mitch McGovern returns with four goals as Adelaide Crows claim thriller over Norwood". The Advertiser. News Corp Australia. Retrieved 19 October 2017.
  27. ^ "Seed leads inclusions". AFC.com.au. Bigpond. 28 July 2017. Retrieved 19 October 2017.
  28. ^ Phillips, Max (12 August 2017). "Seed stars in SANFL win". AFC.com.au. Bigpond. Retrieved 19 October 2017.
  29. ^ "Seed sprouting in September". AFC.com.au. Bigpond. 13 September 2017. Retrieved 19 October 2017.
  30. ^ Gaskin, Lee (25 September 2017). "Timing right for Seedsman". Retrieved 19 October 2017.
  31. ^ "AFL Tables - Paul Seedsman statistics". AFL Tables.

External links edit