Sam Grimley

Sam Grimley is an Australian rules footballer in the Australian Football League, currently with the Hawthorn Football Club. After Hawthorn won the 2008 premiership, the Hawthorn recruitment officer concentrated on the younger players in the 2009 AFL Draft. Grimley was a third-round selection, No. 39 overall. The lightly built former junior basketballer came to Hawthorn as a long-term project. After three years of development, the club started seeing good results. Grimley spent a lot of time close to goal in 2012, hoping to set himself up as a forward/ruck option. He played six games in Box Hill’s senior team early in the year but suffered a hand injury. Grimley started 2013 showing strong performances for Box Hill and the selectors were watching. Grimley was named as an emergency for the Hawks on a number of occasions in 2013. An ankle injury to David Hale helped open up an opportunity for Grimley to debut against Gold Coast in Round 9 of the 2013 AFL season. His debut started well by taking an early mark and kicking a goal with his first kick in the AFL. He finished the day with fourteen possessions and 11 hit-outs before being subbed off at three quarter time.