82 Facts About Dylan Grimes

Dylan Grimes was born on 16 July 1991 and is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Richmond Football Club in the Australian Football League.

Dylan Grimes is a three-time premiership player with the club, winning in 2017,2019 and 2020.

Dylan Grimes grew up on a hobby farm in Panton Hill, 32 kilometres north-east of Melbourne.

Dylan Grimes played junior football at Hurstbridge in the Northern Football League before playing TAC Cup football with the Northern Knights in 2009.

Dylan Grimes was educated at Diamond Valley College and Loyola College.

Dylan Grimes went un-drafted in the 2009 AFL National draft despite assurances from Hawthorn and Melbourne that they would select him with third and final round picks, respectively.

Dylan Grimes was drafted by Richmond with the club's first pick and the second selection overall in the 2010 AFL Pre-Season Draft.

Dylan Grimes played the majority of his first season at reserves level with Richmond's VFL affiliate team, Coburg.

Dylan Grimes eventually made his AFL debut late in 2010, in round 22 against Port Adelaide at Docklands Stadium.

In 2011 Dylan Grimes again started the season playing reserves grade football, this time for the first two matches of the season.

However, when fellow defenders Alex Rance and Luke McGuane were ruled out due to suspension in round 3, Dylan Grimes was called to take a key defensive role in the Richmond AFL side.

Dylan Grimes played in the next four consecutive matches before a severe hamstring injury sustained in round 9's Dreamtime at the 'G match saw Grimes sidelined for the remainer of the 2011 season.

Dylan Grimes returned to football fully fit in 2012, playing in the club's round 1 match against Carlton at the MCG.

Dylan Grimes earned an AFL Rising Star award nomination in round 3, for an 18 disposal and nine mark performance against Melbourne.

Dylan Grimes again suffered a major hamstring injury in the club's round 8 Dreamtime match against Essendon.

Dylan Grimes missed five weeks of football to rehabilitate the injury, before returning in round 14 to face Adelaide at AAMI Stadium.

Dylan Grimes traveled to Germany soon after to be treated by renowned soft tissue expert Hans-Wilhelm Muller-Wohlfahrt.

Dylan Grimes did not return to senior football that season, finishing his season with just nine matches played.

Dylan Grimes played his first match of the season in round 2 against St Kilda at the MCG.

Dylan Grimes played in five consecutive matches before sustaining a foot fracture in round 6 against Geelong.

Dylan Grimes remained in the side for the final three matches of the home and away season before playing in his first career final, a losing elimination final against Carlton at the MCG.

Dylan Grimes was left out of the club's leadership group that season.

Dylan Grimes remained in the club's senior team for the following four matches before being omitted from the side ahead of round 7.

Dylan Grimes missed a single match in round 12 with a toe injury but otherwise played in every remaining match that season as well as in another elimination final.

Dylan Grimes completed that pre-season injury free and entered round 1 playing as Richmond's third tall defender.

Dylan Grimes returned in round 6 against North Melbourne, and this time stayed in the side for 13 consecutive matches.

Dylan Grimes was subbed out at half time of Richmond's round 19 match with Adelaide, after suffering a minor hamstring strain earlier in the match.

Dylan Grimes placed equal ninth in the club's best and fairest award that year, polling votes in 17 of his 18 matches that season.

Dylan Grimes recorded a career high eight tackles in round 16 against the Western Bulldogs.

Dylan Grimes placed equal seventh in the club's best and fairest count in what was his best career season to that point.

Dylan Grimes played a key role in the club's round 2 win over Collingwood, blanketing small forward opponent Alex Fasolo and keeping him goalless.

Dylan Grimes was one of the club's best in round 5 too, recording an equal team-high seven tackles along with six intercepts and eight one percenters and earning himself two votes in the Coaches Association's Player of the Year award.

Dylan Grimes finished the home and away season having played all 22 matches for the first time in his career while Richmond qualified for the finals double chance for the first time in 16 years.

Dylan Grimes was later named in the back pocket in the AFL Media Team of the Finals.

Dylan Grimes finished the year having recorded the league's sixth best defensive rating among players classed as general defenders and winning the sixth best percentage of defensive one-on-one contests.

Dylan Grimes was awarded the Kevin Bartlett medal for a fifth-placed finish in Richmond's best and fairest award and placed third and fourth at the club for one-percenters and intercept possessions respectively.

Dylan Grimes had another uninterrupted pre-season, spent mostly working on the offensive side of his game, hoping to contribute more in rebounding out of defensive 50.

Dylan Grimes suffered a bruised back in that match but was largely unaffected by the injury in coming weeks, including when he earned two votes in the Coaches Association's award for a round 7 performance against Fremantle that included 15 disposals, six marks and eight intercepts.

Dylan Grimes recorded a career-best eight tackles in round 15's win over Sydney before being named by AFL Media as one of Richmond's best with 16 disposals in round 16 that earned him a place in that organisation's Team of the Week.

Dylan Grimes followed that up with a season-best eight marks in Richmond's two-point loss to the GWS Giants that saw him earn a vote in the Coaches Association award.

In Richmond's victorious qualifying final over Hawthorn, Dylan Grimes received the maximum ten votes as both coach's pick for best-on-ground in the AFL Coaches Association award for player of the finals.

Dylan Grimes's finals run would extend just one more match however, when Richmond was eliminated with a shock preliminary final loss to rivals Collingwood.

Dylan Grimes finished the season ranked 13th in the league for one percenters as well as 14th for intercepts.

Dylan Grimes earned a second straight Kevin Bartlett Medal for a fifth-placed finish in the club's best and fairest award.

Dylan Grimes immediately returned to training after surgery to realign the nose, wearing a protective face mask for more than a month while the injury continued to heal.

Dylan Grimes played in each of the club's two pre-season matches before opening the season with a round 1 win over Carlton.

In round 2, Dylan Grimes received a one match suspension for striking Collingwood forward Jamie Elliott.

Dylan Grimes led in another way, taking six marks in the final quarter in a best-on-ground performance that earned him his first three Brownlow Medal votes and that senior coach Damien Hardwick said "won the match for ".

Dylan Grimes picked up two votes in the coaches association player of the year award in round 6 before adding more votes in three consecutive matches between round 8 and 10.

In that round 8 win over Fremantle, Dylan Grimes gathered a career-best 26 disposals.

Halfway through the year, Dylan Grimes was named in ESPN's mid-year All-Australian team and named by Fox Footy as a contender for the end of year honour.

In round 18, Dylan Grimes earned two coaches votes for a performance in a win over Port Adelaide that saw him named to AFL Media's Team of the Week.

Dylan Grimes was again named in that team the following week but did so along with best on ground honours with nine coaches votes in round 19's win over Collingwood.

Dylan Grimes was picked by 3AW commentator Matthew Lloyd as the best key position defender in the league.

Dylan Grimes ultimately played out the match and despite some limited training during the week that followed, lined up in round 23's win over the Brisbane Lions where he restricted Charlie Cameron to just seven disposals and earned another selection to AFL Media's team of the week.

Dylan Grimes concluded the regular season ranked 10th in the league for one percenters and 12th for intercepts, earning selection in The Age and the Herald Suns teams of the year.

Dylan Grimes earned an official honour with selection to the All-Australian team for the first time and was voted by the players association as the league's most courageous player.

Dylan Grimes produced a "dominant performance" to restrict Cameron to a single goal, helping Richmond win through to a home preliminary final against Geelong.

Dylan Grimes received four coaches votes as the third best player on the ground during the qualifying final, but was fined $1000 by the league for staging for a free kick when pushed by an opposition player in an off-the-ball incident in the first half of that win.

Dylan Grimes finished what AFL Media called "a career-defining year" by winning a second AFL premiership and placing third in the club's best and fairest count, his best finish to date.

Dylan Grimes was named as the league's best defender and 20th best player overall in the Herald Sun chief football reporter Mark Robinson's list of the league's best players in 2019.

Dylan Grimes then contributed five marks in round 1's win over Carlton in a match played under extraordinary conditions, the first of what had been announced would be a shortened 17-round season imposed on the league as a result of the rapid progression of the coronavirus pandemic into Australia.

Dylan Grimes was among Richmond's best players in a round 7 win over North Melbourne two weeks into that stay, attracting six coaches award votes for a performance that included game highs in marks and one-percenters.

In round 13's Dreamtime in Darwin match, Dylan Grimes was charged by the AFL's match review officer with allegedly staging for a free kick.

Dylan Grimes appealed the charge to the AFL Tribunal later that week and was cleared, though he would be subjected to harassment on social media that ultimately led to criminal charges being laid against two members of the public.

Dylan Grimes resumed running exercises within two days of the injury but missed the club's round 15 match against Fremantle, before returning in the club's next match after a round 16 bye.

Dylan Grimes was equal best afield in that win over Geelong, earning nine coaches votes for a performance that included 12 intercepts and six marks.

Dylan Grimes was below his best in the club's qualifying final loss to the Brisbane Lions, but was solid with a five mark performance in a semi-final victory over St Kilda one week later.

Dylan Grimes contributed four intercepts in a nail-biting win over Port Adelaide in the preliminary final, helping Richmond through to a Grand Final matchup with Geelong.

Dylan Grimes became a three-time premiership player in that 31-point grand final victory, playing a lockdown defensive role and keeping opposition small forward Gary Rohan goalless.

Dylan Grimes concluded the premiership-winning season having played 20 matches, while placing seventh in the club's best and fairest award.

Ahead of the 2021 season, Dylan Grimes was labelled by the Herald Sun as the third best defender in the league and the 21st best player overall.

Dylan Grimes suffered a match-ending ankle injury in the last quarter of round 6's match against Melbourne, but made a speedy recovery to play in round 7's win over the Western Bulldogs.

Dylan Grimes suffered a delayed concussion in the week that followed, despite playing the entirety of that match and with no apparent causal incident.

Dylan Grimes was ruled out for one week as a result of the concussion, and made a return in the club's round 9 win over Greater Western Sydney.

Dylan Grimes proved instrumental in the victory, recording an equal game-high eight intercepts and performing a goal-line save to negate a potentially match-winning Giants shot at goal in the final minute of the match.

Dylan Grimes plays as a lock-down defender, capable of directly matching up on tall and small forwards.

Dylan Grimes is notable for the foot-speed to contain small opponents and the spoiling prowess to effectively defend key position forwards.

Ahead of the 2020 season, Dylan Grimes was named by the Herald Sun as Richmond's 11th best player of the AFL era.

Dylan Grimes is the younger brother of former Melbourne captain Jack Grimes.

The day after the game, Dylan Grimes posted screenshots of abusive messages to his Instagram account demonstrating death threats received over the previous night.

The former charge will be heard in August 2021 and the later man avoided conviction at the Ringwood Magistrates Court in December 2020, on the condition he write a letter of genuine apology to Dylan Grimes, donate $1000 to The Alannah and Madeline Foundation and accepted a six-month good behaviour bond.