Ben Long (born 21 August 1997) is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the Gold Coast Suns in the Australian Football League (AFL).
| Ben Long | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Long playing for Gold Coast in March 2026 | |||
| Personal information | |||
| Full name | Ben Long | ||
| Born |
21 August 1997 Darwin, Northern Territory | ||
| Original teams |
St Mary's (NTFL) Footscray Bulldogs (VFL) NT Thunder (NEAFL) | ||
| Draft | No. 25, 2016 national draft | ||
| Debut | Round 4, 2017, St Kilda vs. Collingwood, at Etihad Stadium | ||
| Height | 183 cm (6 ft 0 in) | ||
| Weight | 81 kg (179 lb) | ||
| Position | Defender/Forward | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | Gold Coast | ||
| Number | 22 | ||
| Playing career1 | |||
| Years | Club | Games (Goals) | |
| 2017–2022 | St Kilda | 79 (31) | |
| 2023– | Gold Coast | 67 (86) | |
| Total | 146 (117) | ||
| Representative team honours | |||
| Years | Team | Games (Goals) | |
| 2025 | Indigenous All-Stars | 1 (0) | |
|
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of round 13, 2026. | |||
| Career highlights | |||
| |||
| Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com | |||
Early life
editLong was born in Darwin, Northern Territory[1] into a family of Indigenous Australian descent (Anmatjerre, Malak-Malak & Tiwi).[2] His grandfather, Jack Long Sr, and his father, Chris Long, were both premiership winning footballers for St Mary's in the Northern Territory Football League.[3][4] As a member of the Rioli-Long family he shares numerous relations with other notable footballers including dual Essendon premiership player and 1993 Norm Smith Medallist Michael Long (uncle), four-time Hawthorn premiership player and 2015 Norm Smith Medallist Cyril Rioli (cousin), three-time Richmond premiership player Daniel Rioli (nephew), 2018 West Coast premiership player Junior Rioli (cousin) and dual Adelaide AFLW premiership player Danielle Ponter (cousin).[5][6] He has Chinese and English heritage from his paternal grandfather Jack Long.[7]
Ben grew up playing junior football for St Mary's in the NTFL junior leagues[8] and in 2014, at the age of 16, he moved interstate to Victoria when he accepted a scholarship to attend Melbourne Grammar.[9] In 2016, he played in Footscray's VFL premiership winning team.[10] Along with football, Long played rugby union for the Casuarina Cougars as a youngster alongside future AFL player Brandan Parfitt before quitting to focus solely on football as a teenager.[11]
AFL career
editSt Kilda
editLong was drafted by the St Kilda Football Club with their first selection and twenty-fifth overall in the 2016 national draft.[12] He made his debut in the fourteen point win against Collingwood at Etihad Stadium in round four of the 2017 season.[13] Long was nominated for the AFL Rising Star for his performance in the draw against Greater Western Sydney at Etihad Stadium in round five of the 2018 AFL season, during which he recorded fifteen disposals, eight tackles, four marks and a goal.[14] In the final game of St Kilda's 2022 season, Long compiled a career-best performance against the Sydney Swans which included 27 disposals, 17 marks, 13 intercepts and one goal with a disposal efficiency of 96 per cent on his 25th birthday.[15]
Following his 2022 season, Long requested a trade to Gold Coast after playing six seasons at St Kilda. He was traded on 5 October 2022.[16]
Gold Coast
editLong spent his first season in defence for the Suns. After struggling to cement his position in the team, new coach Damian Hardwick made a move to push Long forward and he became a prolific goalkicker. In round 12, 2024, Long kicked a career-best four goals against Essendon. He equalled this feat in the opening game of the following year against West Coast. The second of these performances began a string of career-best form in 2025 for Long, joining Champion Data's list of the ten best players in the competition early in the year.[17]
Statistics
editUpdated to the end of round 13, 2026.[18]
G |
Goals | K |
Kicks | D |
Disposals | T |
Tackles |
B |
Behinds | H |
Handballs | M |
Marks |
| Season | Team | No. | Games | Totals | Averages (per game) | Votes | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | B | K | H | D | M | T | G | B | K | H | D | M | T | |||||
| 2017 | St Kilda | 21 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 15 | 21 | 36 | 6 | 13 | 0.0 | 0.5 | 3.8 | 5.3 | 9.0 | 1.5 | 3.3 | 0 |
| 2018 | St Kilda | 21 | 10 | 7 | 4 | 58 | 62 | 120 | 28 | 27 | 0.7 | 0.4 | 5.8 | 6.2 | 12.0 | 2.8 | 2.7 | 0 |
| 2019 | St Kilda | 21 | 16 | 14 | 9 | 101 | 51 | 152 | 59 | 45 | 0.9 | 0.6 | 6.3 | 3.2 | 9.5 | 3.7 | 2.8 | 0 |
| 2020[a] | St Kilda | 21 | 15 | 0 | 1 | 90 | 94 | 184 | 49 | 30 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 6.0 | 6.3 | 12.3 | 3.3 | 2.0 | 2 |
| 2021 | St Kilda | 21 | 15 | 2 | 9 | 94 | 49 | 143 | 52 | 35 | 0.1 | 0.6 | 6.3 | 3.3 | 9.5 | 3.5 | 2.3 | 0 |
| 2022 | St Kilda | 21 | 19 | 8 | 6 | 128 | 97 | 225 | 74 | 58 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 6.7 | 5.1 | 11.8 | 3.9 | 3.1 | 2 |
| 2023 | Gold Coast | 22 | 15 | 0 | 1 | 114 | 57 | 171 | 42 | 34 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 7.6 | 3.8 | 11.4 | 2.8 | 2.3 | 0 |
| 2024 | Gold Coast | 22 | 17 | 26 | 17 | 122 | 51 | 173 | 62 | 46 | 1.5 | 1.0 | 7.2 | 3.0 | 10.2 | 3.6 | 2.7 | 0 |
| 2025 | Gold Coast | 22 | 24 | 45 | 26 | 192 | 67 | 259 | 109 | 46 | 1.9 | 1.1 | 8.0 | 2.8 | 10.8 | 4.5 | 1.9 | 1 |
| 2026 | Gold Coast | 22 | 11 | 15 | 5 | 70 | 54 | 124 | 30 | 26 | 1.4 | 0.5 | 6.4 | 4.9 | 11.3 | 2.7 | 2.4 | |
| Career[19] | 146 | 117 | 80 | 984 | 603 | 1587 | 511 | 360 | 0.8 | 0.5 | 6.7 | 4.1 | 10.9 | 3.5 | 2.5 | 5 | ||
Notes
- ↑ The 2020 season was played with 17 home-and-away matches per team (down from 22) and 16-minute quarters with time on (down from 20-minute quarters with time on) due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
References
edit- ↑ Ryan, Michael (23 April 2020). "Country music, family and spear-fishing: Self-isolation in the Top End with Ben Long". Saints Media. Retrieved 21 August 2020.
- ↑ "AFL Players' Indigenous Map 2021" (PDF). AFL Players Association. 1 June 2021. Retrieved 19 July 2021.
- ↑ "Australian sporting patriarch Jack Long Senior farewelled in Darwin". ABC.net.au. 13 July 2010. Retrieved 13 May 2025.
- ↑ "Family ties and Tiwi pride: Why Long's homecoming matters most". AFL.com.au. 16 May 2025. Retrieved 18 May 2025.
- ↑ Ryan, Peter (19 March 2019). "It's a Long way to the top as Ben stays a Saint until 2022". The Age. Fairfax Media. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
- ↑ Sarah, Black (17 October 2018). "Rioli-Long lineage set to continue in AFLW". AFL.com.au. Retrieved 17 August 2021.
- ↑ Darwin, Lindsay Murdoch (22 September 2010). "Aboriginal footy elder plans long trip home". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2 December 2025.
- ↑ Morris, Grey (28 September 2016). "Ben Long confident of strong showing at AFL draft combine". NT News. Retrieved 4 February 2018.
- ↑ "Draft Watch: Footscray's Ben Long". VFL. 2 November 2016. Retrieved 17 November 2019.
- ↑ "Ben Long boosts draft chances with strong performance in Footscray VFL win". VFL. 26 September 2016. Retrieved 5 January 2020.
- ↑ "Mates about to embark on AFL journey". NT News. 27 November 2016. Retrieved 15 March 2022.
- ↑ Bowen, Nick (25 November 2016). "Famous Long name continues at St Kilda". AFL.com.au. Telstra Media. Retrieved 16 April 2017.
- ↑ Cherney, Daniel (13 April 2017). "Ben Long to debut for St Kilda against Collingwood". The Age. Fairfax Media. Retrieved 16 April 2017.
- ↑ "Long breaks Saints' Rising Star dry spell". AFL.com.au. Telstra Media. 26 April 2018. Retrieved 26 April 2018.
- ↑ "Long takes to the skies, electrifies, in 2022 closer". saints.com.au. 22 August 2022. Retrieved 14 September 2022.
- ↑ @AFL_House (5 October 2022). "Trade paperwork lodged" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ↑ Scanlon, Connor (6 May 2025). "Champion Data's top 10 players after Round 8". sen.com.au. 1116 SEN.
- ↑ "Ben Long". AFL Tables. Retrieved 8 June 2026.
- ↑ "Ben Long". AFL Tables. Retrieved 9 February 2026.
External links
edit
- Ben Long's profile on the official website of the Gold Coast Football Club
- Ben Long's playing statistics from AFL Tables
- Ben Long at AustralianFootball.com
