50 Facts About Shai Bolton

Shai Bolton is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the Fremantle Football Club in the Australian Football League, having previously played for the Richmond Football Club.

Shai Bolton was initially drafted by Richmond in the second round of the 2016 draft and made his debut in round 9 of the 2017 season, as the club's youngest debutant in nine years.

Shai Bolton was born in Katanning, Western Australia and grew up in the southern Perth suburb of Forrestdale before spending his teenage years in Mandurah.

In 2013, Shai Bolton entered the elite talent pathway when he joined the Flying Boomerangs Indigenous Academy.

Shai Bolton began playing underage football with WAFL club South Fremantle the following year.

Shai Bolton was sidelined for much of his 2015 season however after suffering stress fractures in his back.

Shai Bolton represented Western Australia at the 2016 AFL Under 18 Championships, kicking five goals in the tournament.

Shai Bolton attended high school at Wesley College in Perth, leaving after completing his year 11 studies to focus on football.

Shai Bolton placed second in the running vertical jump test at the national draft combine that year.

Shai Bolton was drafted by Richmond with the club's first pick and the 29th selection overall in the 2016 national draft.

Shai Bolton made his AFL debut in round 9,2017 in a match against Greater Western Sydney at Spotless Stadium and taking the place of the injured Dan Butler in the Richmond forward-line.

Shai Bolton was thought to have kicked a match-winning goal in the final two minutes of the match, before an automatic review overturned the umpire's on-field decision and ruled the kick touched off the boot.

Shai Bolton played in each of the next two matches before Richmond's bye week in round 12.

In round 13 Shai Bolton turned in an impressive first half against Sydney, racking up 12 disposals and two goals to half time.

Shai Bolton was rested from the club's AFL side in round 15 however, after backing up that match with a four disposal game against Carlton.

Shai Bolton returned to senior football in round 19 when he replaced the injured Jack Riewoldt, creating a forward-line without a recognised tall forward.

Shai Bolton was dropped after just one match however, returning to the VFL to play out his season with the reserves.

Shai Bolton finished the 2017 season having played six matches and kicked three goals at senior level.

Shai Bolton played 14 matches in the reserves and kicked 23 goals, good for the fourth most at the club.

Shai Bolton played in both of the club's official pre-season matches, including a three-goal tally in that series' first match against Essendon.

Shai Bolton was relatively ineffectual over the season's first two matches however, recording only three tackles and one goal in total and was dropped from Richmond's round 3 side.

The goal, along with 22 disposals and eight tackles recorded in that win saw Shai Bolton earn a second chance at AFL football in 2018.

Shai Bolton did not return to football in 2018, despite club officials earlier stating that he was likely to return in time for the VFL finals series.

Shai Bolton finished the year having played three matches at AFL level and a further 13 with the club's reserves side in the VFL.

Shai Bolton signed a new one-year contract with Richmond in the month following the end of the 2018 season, re-committing despite having previously put contract negotiations on hold during the season itself.

Shai Bolton spent the off-season completing extensive personal fitness training, leading AFL Media and the Herald Sun to label Bolton likely to be one of Richmond's breakout players that season in a new role that would include playing time in the midfield and on the wing.

Shai Bolton played as a forward in that and one further match at AFL level, before being dropped back to the VFL.

Shai Bolton was immediately prolific at that level, playing as an inside midfielder and turning in two consecutive best afield performances in which he held averages of eight tackles, 30 disposals, nine clearances and a goal.

Shai Bolton was recalled to AFL level following those two matches and the club's mid-season bye, kicking one goal in a round 15 win over St Kilda.

Shai Bolton kicked a goal and set a new career-best with 29 disposals while repeating his role as an inside midfielder in round 17's win over Greater Western Sydney.

Shai Bolton played one more game with significant midfield minutes, before being named by AFL Media as one of the club's best players in round 19's win over Collingwood while playing his early-season role as a forward.

Shai Bolton played largely as a forward with limited midfield time for the final month of the season before making the 40-man squad but ultimately being passed over for final selection in the league's 22Under22 team which recognises the best young players in the league.

Shai Bolton followed his first finals effort with a considerably smaller output in the club's preliminary final victory over Geelong, kicking just a single behind and failing to lay a tackle in that match.

Shai Bolton led the club for total goal assists during the finals series while placing second at the club and equal 12th among all players in the competition by the same measure across the entirety of 2019.

Shai Bolton finished what The Age and the Australian Associated Press labelled a "breakout" season by winning an AFL premiership, receiving five Brownlow Medal votes and placing 18th in the club's best and fairest count.

Shai Bolton recorded 13 disposals in that match, which was played without a crowd in attendance due to public health prohibitions on large gatherings imposed as a result of the rapid progression of the coronavirus pandemic into Australia.

Shai Bolton was prolific in that unofficial scratch match against Melbourne's reserves, earning a recall as an AFL midfielder in the following week's match against Sydney on Richmond's new home of the Gold Coast.

Shai Bolton continued to be among his side's best players over the next month, adding hauls of four, two and eight coaches votes for midfield contributions in rounds 8,9 and 10 respectively.

In round 13, Shai Bolton was best on ground in Richmond's Dreamtime in Darwin win over Essendon while the team wore an Indigenous artwork guernsey he had designed with the help of his family.

Shai Bolton received the Yiooken Award for a performance, which included a then-equal career-high 29 disposals, along with five clearances and a goal.

Shai Bolton returned in the first week of the finals but with fewer midfield minutes owing to the return of Shane Edwards and Dion Prestia in their own midfield roles.

Shai Bolton notched 17 disposals in the first up qualifying final loss to the Brisbane Lions, before kicking a match-high three goals in a semi-final win over St Kilda which led to AFL Media labelling him as "on the verge of stardom".

Shai Bolton became a dual premiership player one week later, recording four goal assists, 16 disposals and an equal match-high seven tackles.

The Age noted Shai Bolton's performance saying Richmond's 31-point victory "came on the back of brilliant second half".

Shai Bolton recorded coaches votes for the third consecutive match, earning tenth place overall in the Gary Ayres award for the player of the finals.

Shai Bolton was traded to Fremantle on the final day of the trade period, signing a five-year deal with the Dockers.

Shai Bolton made his debut for Fremantle in round two of the 2025 AFL season, against Sydney at Optus Stadium.

Shai Bolton plays as an inside midfielder and rests as a small forward, after playing most of his first three seasons at AFL level exclusively as a small forward.

Shai Bolton is notable for his explosive athletic attributes and creativity in contested ball situations.

Shai Bolton is the son of former Fremantle player Darren Bolton and is related to the famous Pickett and Krakouer footballing families.