JOEL Macdonald grew up in Warrandyte, in Melbourne’s eastern suburbs. Among his earliest football memories included Auskick and junior football for Warrandyte Bloods. But football was almost lost for ‘greener pastures’ at an early age.
“I initially retired at the age of eight. One day, I got out of the car and it was too wet. I then said to Dad ‘let’s cut this loose, go home and watch cartoons’. Dad said to me a couple of years ago ‘what kind of son have I raised!’”
Macdonald went to school at Ivanhoe Grammar in Melbourne, but football was not a big priority back then.
“I enjoyed my footy, but I liked being a teenager. I didn’t show much commitment to playing in the first 18 for Ivanhoe Grammar. It wasn’t until I made the under-17 Australian team that I really started to take it seriously.”
At 15 year old, Macdonald and his family moved to Queensland. He played junior football at Aspley and later with Mt Gravatt, alongside future Melbourne teammate Brad Miller.
“I started playing for Aspley when I moved to Queensland. Then I played with Brad for a year or two before he got drafted from Mt Gravatt, the same club Bails (Dean Bailey) coached at. I didn’t know Dean then, as he coached later in the 1990s. I didn’t get to Mt Gravatt until 2000. Mt Gravatt and Aspley had the fiercest rivalry I’ve ever played in. It was something I’d never experienced before. ‘Millsy’ will tell you the same thing - they hated each other. We were both the top two teams and made the grand final each year for a while. The biggest difference I found between footy in Victoria and Queensland was the ground conditions. The grounds are a lot harder and bigger up in Queensland. You don’t need screw-in boots at all. The only time I played in screw-ins for the Lions was when we came down to Skilled Stadium, but even that’s a really good ground.”
Macdonald gained his first major football break with the Queensland under-16 team. Following the AFL championships, he received a call from former AIS-AFL Academy coach Terry Wheeler, who asked Macdonald to join the squad.
“From there, that’s where I got an insight, as a 16-year-old, on how to prepare for a game. It’s something we take for granted now, but it helped me get my first break. I got a really good insight into the life of an AFL footballer and that really stimulated this drive in me with the AIS Academy. And then it was an obsession to play football for a living.”
Before the 2002 AFL Draft, Macdonald was considered a reasonable chance to be drafted. West Coast was understood to be the most interested in his services.
“West Coast was interested and they actually came to my house. They were the only other club really interested at the time, although they didn’t commit.”
But in December 2002, Macdonald was recruited by Brisbane Lions in the 2003 AFL Rookie Draft.
“I remember listening to the draft online. [Former coach] Leigh Matthews called me later to tell me I’d been selected by the Lions. It was pretty hard to crack into their side in 2003-04, when they played in grand finals, but I really enjoyed playing under Leigh.”
Macdonald was an emergency for the Lions’ 2004 grand final team against Port Adelaide. It was the Lions’ fourth grand final in a row, although they lost to the Power.
“I remember I was in the parade waving to people in the parade (laughing). I’d only played 11 games, so that was a big highlight getting in the back of a big Toyota car.”
A win on the road against West Coast in round 14, 2007 remains one of Macdonald’s career highlights. The Lions ended a seven-match losing streak at Subiaco. Playing in a victorious Melbourne team against the Lions matched that in round five, 2010.
“We ended a five-year losing streak against West Coast with a young Brisbane team. Jared Brennan kicked four goals and was best-on-ground. Beating Brisbane at the MCG earlier this year, after getting delisted by them, was also a highlight.”
After being delisted by the Lions at the end of the 2009 season, Macdonald was the first player selected in the 2010 NAB AFL Pre-Season Draft (held in December 2009).
“I thought I had an OK year at Brisbane last year and then all of a sudden I got a call from Vossy (Lions coach Michael Voss) telling me I was going to be delisted. I was in America on holiday at the time. I had enough confidence I’d be playing in the AFL somewhere this year, but joining Melbourne was appealing. It was a young group and it was similar to Brisbane, before this year. I wanted to be a part of that at Brisbane, but it changed. Now I really wanted to be a part of this Melbourne group and now I’m at a club where the whole club is going in the right direction.”
Macdonald used to surf once a week on the Gold Coast, but the passion has waned in Melbourne due to the colder conditions. Now, away from the game, he is concentrating on business studies at Monash. Post-football, he is looking to combine business and travel for a career.
“Surfing used to be my hobby, but now I’m doing two subjects a semester and there are four semesters a year. I’m studying online, so I’m pumping through that. I’m also doing commodities trading online at night time - mainly the London session on the stock exchange. I’m really interested in doing international business and following the stock exchange after football. But I really want to do something that involves travel and ties in international business.”
“I initially retired at the age of eight. One day, I got out of the car and it was too wet. I then said to Dad ‘let’s cut this loose, go home and watch cartoons’. Dad said to me a couple of years ago ‘what kind of son have I raised!’”
Macdonald went to school at Ivanhoe Grammar in Melbourne, but football was not a big priority back then.
“I enjoyed my footy, but I liked being a teenager. I didn’t show much commitment to playing in the first 18 for Ivanhoe Grammar. It wasn’t until I made the under-17 Australian team that I really started to take it seriously.”
At 15 year old, Macdonald and his family moved to Queensland. He played junior football at Aspley and later with Mt Gravatt, alongside future Melbourne teammate Brad Miller.
“I started playing for Aspley when I moved to Queensland. Then I played with Brad for a year or two before he got drafted from Mt Gravatt, the same club Bails (Dean Bailey) coached at. I didn’t know Dean then, as he coached later in the 1990s. I didn’t get to Mt Gravatt until 2000. Mt Gravatt and Aspley had the fiercest rivalry I’ve ever played in. It was something I’d never experienced before. ‘Millsy’ will tell you the same thing - they hated each other. We were both the top two teams and made the grand final each year for a while. The biggest difference I found between footy in Victoria and Queensland was the ground conditions. The grounds are a lot harder and bigger up in Queensland. You don’t need screw-in boots at all. The only time I played in screw-ins for the Lions was when we came down to Skilled Stadium, but even that’s a really good ground.”
Macdonald gained his first major football break with the Queensland under-16 team. Following the AFL championships, he received a call from former AIS-AFL Academy coach Terry Wheeler, who asked Macdonald to join the squad.
“From there, that’s where I got an insight, as a 16-year-old, on how to prepare for a game. It’s something we take for granted now, but it helped me get my first break. I got a really good insight into the life of an AFL footballer and that really stimulated this drive in me with the AIS Academy. And then it was an obsession to play football for a living.”
Before the 2002 AFL Draft, Macdonald was considered a reasonable chance to be drafted. West Coast was understood to be the most interested in his services.
“West Coast was interested and they actually came to my house. They were the only other club really interested at the time, although they didn’t commit.”
But in December 2002, Macdonald was recruited by Brisbane Lions in the 2003 AFL Rookie Draft.
“I remember listening to the draft online. [Former coach] Leigh Matthews called me later to tell me I’d been selected by the Lions. It was pretty hard to crack into their side in 2003-04, when they played in grand finals, but I really enjoyed playing under Leigh.”
Macdonald was an emergency for the Lions’ 2004 grand final team against Port Adelaide. It was the Lions’ fourth grand final in a row, although they lost to the Power.
“I remember I was in the parade waving to people in the parade (laughing). I’d only played 11 games, so that was a big highlight getting in the back of a big Toyota car.”
A win on the road against West Coast in round 14, 2007 remains one of Macdonald’s career highlights. The Lions ended a seven-match losing streak at Subiaco. Playing in a victorious Melbourne team against the Lions matched that in round five, 2010.
“We ended a five-year losing streak against West Coast with a young Brisbane team. Jared Brennan kicked four goals and was best-on-ground. Beating Brisbane at the MCG earlier this year, after getting delisted by them, was also a highlight.”
After being delisted by the Lions at the end of the 2009 season, Macdonald was the first player selected in the 2010 NAB AFL Pre-Season Draft (held in December 2009).
“I thought I had an OK year at Brisbane last year and then all of a sudden I got a call from Vossy (Lions coach Michael Voss) telling me I was going to be delisted. I was in America on holiday at the time. I had enough confidence I’d be playing in the AFL somewhere this year, but joining Melbourne was appealing. It was a young group and it was similar to Brisbane, before this year. I wanted to be a part of that at Brisbane, but it changed. Now I really wanted to be a part of this Melbourne group and now I’m at a club where the whole club is going in the right direction.”
Macdonald used to surf once a week on the Gold Coast, but the passion has waned in Melbourne due to the colder conditions. Now, away from the game, he is concentrating on business studies at Monash. Post-football, he is looking to combine business and travel for a career.
“Surfing used to be my hobby, but now I’m doing two subjects a semester and there are four semesters a year. I’m studying online, so I’m pumping through that. I’m also doing commodities trading online at night time - mainly the London session on the stock exchange. I’m really interested in doing international business and following the stock exchange after football. But I really want to do something that involves travel and ties in international business.”
