87 Facts About David Astbury

David Keith Astbury was born on 26 February 1991 and is a former Australian rules footballer who played in three premierships over a 12-year career with the Richmond Football Club in the Australian Football League.

David Astbury was a member of Richmond's three premiership sides in 2017,2019 and 2020, and retired following the 2021 season having played 155 senior matches.

David Astbury was raised on a wheat and canola farm in the Western Victorian country town of Tatyoon.

David Astbury played in two under-16s premierships during his time with Tatyoon.

David Astbury moved back home in 2009, taking the role of co-captain at the Rebels and playing a total of 10 games with the team.

David Astbury earned an invite to the national draft combine in Canberra that year, where he recorded a top-10 score in the kicking test.

David Astbury was noted pre-draft for his work rate and endurance as well as his ability to play both as a key forward and key defender.

David Astbury was drafted to with the club's third selection and the 35th pick overall in the 2009 AFL national draft.

David Astbury played his first match against AFL opponents in a pre-season game against Hawthorn in Launceston in February 2010.

David Astbury then spent the early part of the regular season playing at reserves level with Richmond's VFL affiliate Coburg.

David Astbury played three more matches at senior level but failed to kick a goal in any.

David Astbury was omitted from the club's round 8 side before making a return the following week and kicking a goal in that round 9 loss to Essendon.

David Astbury finished a promising first season with 17 matches played at AFL level.

David Astbury first wore it in pre-season matches in February 2011 before being selected to play at senior level in round 1's season-opening match against Carlton.

David Astbury played a further three matches at senior level before being omitted from Richmond's round 5 side to take on North Melbourne.

David Astbury returned to senior level in round 12, but was involved in a collision with Sydney midfielder Ben McGlynn early in the game.

David Astbury sustained a dislocated patella in the incident and did not return to the match, having failed to lodge an entry in any of the popularly recorded statistical categories.

David Astbury did so with the development side of VFL team Coburg, a full two levels below the AFL.

David Astbury kicked a goal in that match and again the next week when he played in the club's final match of the season.

David Astbury finished the year at full health and having played two matches at AFL level that year.

David Astbury begun the 2013 calendar in full-health and played in pre-season matches against the Indigenous All-Stars and Essendon in February and March respectively.

David Astbury played limited minutes in the VFL the following week before missing another match with a knee complaint.

David Astbury earned his first match of the season at senior level a fortnight later, playing against Adelaide at the MCG.

In that match David Astbury played a key shut down role on Hawthorn forward Jack Gunston and earned himself a further two matches at senior level.

David Astbury did not play another match at AFL level that season, finishing with nine total.

David Astbury did however return for a single game in the final match of the season with Richmond's stand-alone reserves side in the VFL.

Just days before he was due to line up in his club's round 1 side, David Astbury was stung by a stingray while wading at a Port Melbourne beach.

David Astbury missed the first two weeks of the season as a result of the injury, before making a return to AFL football in round 3.

David Astbury remained in the senior side for a further three matches including in round 5, where he was moved into the Richmond forward-line in the match's third quarter and kicked his first goal since 2012.

David Astbury was relegated to VFL football after a poor performance in round 6 however and faced a hamstring strain in the following weeks that would restrict his ability to push for senior selection.

David Astbury played a dual role as defender and forward, doing so well as to come under consideration for AFL selection as a forward in round 15.

David Astbury was later named as an emergency in round 19 but could not earn final AFL selection again at any point that season.

David Astbury finished the year only having played four AFL matches, bringing his five-year total to just 24.

At season's end David Astbury became the subject of media speculation concerning a potential move to the Brisbane Lions.

Talks progressed so far that David Astbury was confirmed to have traveled to Brisbane to meet club officials and complete a medical exam.

David Astbury underwent minor hip surgery in the lead-up to the 2016 season, but still managed what the Herald Sun labelled a "brilliant" pre-season training campaign.

The injury would require surgery and forced David Astbury to sit out the remainder of the pre-season series.

In round 4 David Astbury suffered another injury, this time in the form of a rolled ankle that ended his night in the fourth quarter of that match.

David Astbury did not miss a game as a result of the injury however, instead playing a further two matches at AFL level before being omitted form the club's round 7 side due to poor form.

David Astbury returned to senior football after three weeks away, recording 11 marks in a win over Essendon in the marquee Dreamtime at the 'G match.

David Astbury did not miss another match that year, playing in each of the final 13 matches of the season.

David Astbury earned an 11th-placed finished in the club best and fairest count that year, with his 27 votes placing him just one vote behind tenth placed Brett Deledio.

Across the first two games of the 2017 season David Astbury was a serviceable contributor to the Richmond defence.

David Astbury led all Richmond players with 12 disposals to half time of round 4's match with Brisbane, finishing the game with 16 disposals and 11 marks.

David Astbury was one of six Richmond players recognised in the AFL Coaches Association award rankings for that match, recording 2 of a possible 10 votes.

David Astbury passed his career-best games played mark in round 21, having not missed a game in 2017.

David Astbury ranked equal 19th with his 106 one percenters.

Across the season and finals series David Astbury ranked number eighth in the league for intercepts, ninth for marks and 20th for one-percenters in 2017.

David Astbury underwent minor shoulder surgery immediately following the end of the 2017 finals series, though still managed to complete a mostly-full training program in the lead-in to the 2018 season.

David Astbury was back to full health in time for the club's first pre-season match of 2018, but suffered a head knock and a concussion during the match and played only limited game-time as a result.

In round 2 David Astbury earned negative attention when he mis-kicked the ball in defence and allowed Adelaide a goal that would quash Richmond's fourth-quarter comeback.

David Astbury made amends the following week, earning selection to AFL Media's Team of the Week for his efforts in Richmond's 13-point victory over Hawthorn.

David Astbury repeated the accolade in round 4, earning another Team of the Week selection as well as three votes in the AFL Coaches Association's award for his 20 disposal and six mark game against the Brisbane Lions.

David Astbury played his 50th consecutive match in round 12, but he sustained a significant ankle injury in that loss to Port Adelaide.

David Astbury played his 100th career match in round 17, a loss to the Greater Western Sydney at Spotless Stadium in Sydney.

David Astbury was rested for the round 22 match with Essendon due to Achilles soreness but returned to play in the club's final match of the home and away season the following week.

David Astbury was the subject of significant media attention in the lead-up to the preliminary final two weeks later, after reports emerged that he contracted the common cold and was admitted to hospital for an intravenous drip just two days before that match.

David Astbury was ultimately ruled fit to play in that match against Collingwood and did so primarily in defence with a later stint in the forward line when Richmond faced a significant half time scoring deficit.

David Astbury finished the year having played in 22 matches and placed 12th in the club's best and fairest count.

The defence struggled under the task in early weeks, conceding 36 goals over a two-week stretch before stabilising with a win over Port Adelaide in round 4 in which David Astbury contributed eight marks.

David Astbury suffered an ankle injury in the second quarter of round 6's win over Melbourne, playing out the match but ultimately being ruled out for the following week's match against the Western Bulldogs in which Richmond's defence conceded nine contested marks to Bulldogs forward Aaron Naughton.

David Astbury returned after just one week out, averaging 16.3 disposals over the next four games to the end of round 11.

Two weeks later, David Astbury signed a new two-year contract extension that would see him tied to the club until the end of the 2021 season.

In round 17, David Astbury received one vote in the coaches association player of the year award as Richmond's equal fourth-best afield in a win over Greater Western Sydney.

David Astbury bettered that the following week, earning four votes in a win over Port Adelaide at the MCG in which he recorded 16 disposals, four rebound-50s and an equal game-high nine intercept possessions.

In round 20, David Astbury attracted a $2000 fine from the AFL's match review officer for striking Melbourne's Harrison Petty in that win.

David Astbury kept his various direct opponents disposal-less over the length of the match, including his primary opponent Jeremy Finlayson, who finished the match with a single disposal, gathered while being covered by one of Astbury's Richmond teammates.

David Astbury recorded 14 disposals and a game-high nine intercepts in that round 18 win over Adelaide, and held his place into the club's finals series campaign.

David Astbury was similarly impressive in the opening week of the finals, taking seven marks in a qualifying loss to the Brisbane Lions.

The loss would drive Richmond to structural change however, with David Astbury assuming the role of relief ruck in the club's follow-up semi-final win over St Kilda.

David Astbury fared ably in the match, and reprised the role in a preliminary final win over Port Adelaide the following week.

David Astbury became a three-time premiership player the following week, helping his side to a 31-point victory over Geelong in the grand final.

David Astbury played his first football of 2021 in the club's unofficial pre-season match against Melbourne in February, before featuring in the club's sole official pre-season match against Collingwood in early March.

David Astbury attracted a $2000 fine for an off-the-ball elbow to Carlton's Lachie Plowman in round 1, during a down performance that included just nine disposals.

David Astbury played as a defender and the team's second ruck in that match and across the first four rounds of the season, before settling into a much more heavily backline-focused role with only the occasional ruck contest as of round 5.

David Astbury made his return six weeks later in round 16's loss to the Gold Coast, before playing his 150th AFL match the following week against Collingwood.

David Astbury suffered an ankle injury in round 17's win over the Brisbane Lions which put him in some doubt for the following week, though he was ultimately able to play that match and each of the following four before missing round 22 as a late exclusion with a quad injury.

David Astbury returned to fitness to feature in the club's year-ending round 23 draw with Hawthorn, labeled by The Age as one of his side's best players in the match after a 20-disposal and 13-mark performance in what was his final match.

David Astbury was later awarded the Francis Bourke Award at the club's best and fairest night, as the player that most embodies the club's key values.

In total, David Astbury's career spanned 12 years and included 155 AFL games and three AFL premierships.

David Astbury played as a key position defender, most often tasked with directly defending the opposition's tallest forward.

David Astbury's strengths were in defensive positioning and one-on-one marking.

David Astbury played a dual role as key forward and defender in his junior years and in his first AFL season, and in 2020 he helped Richmond to a premiership win by playing as a relief ruck for most of the finals series.

David Astbury was an important but under-recognised part of Richmond's defensive unit during its premiership run in the late 2010s, alongside All-Australians Alex Rance and Dylan Grimes.

David Astbury's mother Kate was an unsuccessful candidate for Labor party pre-selection for the Victorian electoral seat of Ripon in 2017.

David Astbury traveled to Rio de Janeiro in the summer before the 2014 season, one of nine Richmond players making a cultural-exchange trip as part of a project to work with disadvantaged kids that was developed by researchers at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology.

David Astbury owns a property in his home town of Tatyoon.