Height: 191 cm
Weight: 91 kg
DOB: 31-01-1997
Junior Club: PHOS-Camden
Recruited from: North Adelaide (SANFL), Hawthorn
AFL games: 47 (23 in 2018)
AFL goals: 5 (0 in 2018)
Strong-minded and confident, Ryan Burton defied family loyalty and supported Port Adelaide as a child, despite the fact his father worked for the Adelaide Crows.
After three seasons at Hawthorn, Burton returns home to Adelaide and to the club he barracked for while growing up.
Always a talented sportsman, whether it be cricket, football or surf lifesaving, Burton dreamt of playing AFL and the signs were promising when he was South Australia’s under-12 state captain.
He grew up supporting Glenelg in the SANFL, despite his father Craig having played for West Adelaide and then North Adelaide, where he won the 1987 and 1991 premierships.
Craig Burton was among the fitness staff and runners at Adelaide in the 1990 and early 2000s, giving his son access to the changerooms and Crows players.
But when his dad left the club in 2003, Burton was quick to see the light, don a Power guernsey and change allegiances.
Burton (in Power colours) and his brother Tom jump over their father Craig |
By the time he was nearing draft age, Burton was playing as a forward and was playing senior football for North Adelaide.
He had started at Glenelg as a junior but crossed as a father-son option to North in the under-16s.
Burton booted five goals in his first game un the South Australian under-18 team and was being touted by many recruiters as a potential number 1 draft pick.
Then life decided to test his resilience and desperation to make the AFL.
During the 2014 under-18s championships Burton was found to have glandular fever and was forced out of the carnival.
Once he returned, a horrific injury really tested his resolve. Playing school football for Sacred Heart College shattered his tibia and dislocating his kneecap.
He fought his way back and despite not playing football for more than a year he was drafted by Hawthorn with pick 19 in the 2015 AFL draft.
Burton with his family after being drafted by Hawthorn in 2015 |
It was nearly two years after the injury before he played his first in Hawks colours.
Runner-up in the AFL Rising Star award in 2017 behind Essendon’s Andrew McGrath and just in front of new teammate Sam Powell-Pepper.
In his short career he has become much loved by the Hawthorn faithful, averaging 18.2 disposals, 4.9 marks and 2.2 tackles, and being regarded as one of the more reliable decision makers in the side.
The backlash against him being offered for trade to Port Adelaide as part of the Chad Wingard deal saw supporters starting numerous online petitions calling for Hawthorn to keep him.
But football has a strange way of shaping people’s lives and Burton will now call Alberton home from 2019.
The Power is likely to utilise his versatility, meaning he could return to the forward line, or even spend time on the wing or on ball.
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