Josh Caddy

Junior football

Caddy played junior football with Eltham in the Northern Football League before joining the Northern Knights in the TAC Cup. He played a handful of matches for the Knights in 2009 and went to be captain the club in 13 matches in the 2010 season. He placed second in the club's best and fairest that year. During this time he formed a friendship with Knights teammate and eventual Gold Coast and Richmond teammate, Dion Prestia.

In 2010 Caddy represented the Victorian Metropolitan side at the AFL Under 18 Championships. He played three matches for the tournament, recording averages of 23.7 disposals and 3.3 marks per game. He was awarded All-Australian selection for his stellar performances.

Gold Coast (2011–2012)

Caddy was drafted by the Gold Coast Suns with the club's fourth selection and the seventh selection overall in the 2010 AFL draft.

He suffered a navicular bone injury early in the year, and was held back from football duties until late into the club's inaugural season. Caddy made his AFL debut in Round 23 that year, in a losing match against Melbourne at the MCG. He had 10 disposals, five marks and three tackles in the match. He kicked his first career goal the next week, in his second career match and the Suns' last game of the season.

At the conclusion of the season, it was revealed that Caddy was seeking a trade to a Victorian-based club in order to be closer to his father, who was suffering a heart condition. He was linked to Essendon in October, after reports emerged that the club had offered Gold Coast a first round draft selection and two contracted players (Josh Jenkins and one of Scott Gumbleton or Cale Hooker) in exchange for Caddy's services. Despite AFL-led mediation conducted to help the clubs negotiate, no deal was ultimately struck, and Caddy remained at the Gold Coast after the annual trade period concluded.

2012 was a much better season for Caddy, playing in all 22 of the club's matches that year. In the club's Round 16 loss to Geelong Caddy won nomination for the 2012 AFL Rising Star award. He recorded 18 disposals and a team high three goals in the 14 point loss. Despite his personal success, the poor form of the Suns meant Caddy did not play in his first AFL victory until his 17th career match, in Round 16 of the 2012 season. He finished the season ranked third at the club for total disposals (334), fourth for goals (15) and fifth for clearances (44).

In September 2012, the Gold Coast Suns announced that Caddy was again requesting a trade to a Victorian based club. Media reports at the time suggested Essendon were again seeking his services, this time along with St Kilda and Geelong.

Geelong (2013–2016)

In October 2012, Caddy was traded to the Geelong in exchange for a third round and a first round draft selection (which Geelong initially received for losing Gary Ablett Jr. to Gold Coast) in the upcoming 2012 AFL draft.

Caddy faced a restricted pre-season in 2013, with ongoing recovery necessary for shoulder surgery that he underwent in September 2012. Despite this, he was selected to make his Cats debut in the club's Round 1 match against Hawthorn. He played in just six of the club's first 12 AFL matches that season, before playing 11 straight including a losing qualifying final against Fremantle. Though he did not play in the club's semi-final match, he returned to the club's losing preliminary final team against eventual premiers Hawthorn. He finished the season having played 18 matches and kicking a total of 11 goals.

Following an impressive close to 2013, Caddy won immediate selection into Geelong's AFL side for Round 1, 2014. Despite receiving an accidental kick to the face by teammate and captain Joel Selwood (and seven stitches as a result), Caddy recorded an impressive 20 disposals and a goal in the match. He was named in Geelong's best players by AFL Media's report of the match. After four consecutive matches at the top level, Caddy sustained a foot injury while training in late April. Scans later revealed a serious break that would require eight weeks on the sidelines. He returned to the side for a Round 14 match-up with Gold Coast. Caddy notched his 50th career game in Round 17 that season. He recorded a career best 12 tackles in the match. Caddy played in all of the club's last 12 matches of the season including losing finals to Hawthorn and North Melbourne. Caddy had a team high 26 disposals in the losing semi-final to North Melbourne. He finished the season having played 16 matches and kicking 11 goals.

Caddy started the season in Geelong's best-22 for the third straight season when he lined up against Hawthorn in Round 1, 2015. He was named in the Cats' best by AFL Media the following week, with a 20 disposal and 10 tackle effort against Fremantle in Round 2. The Australian Associated Press labeled Caddy's 20 disposal, two goal, Round 10 performance as a continuation of "his emergence as a goal-kicking midfielder of real class." He was labelled by 3AW's Matthew Lloyd as the Cats' second-best performer in the following weeks victory over Port Adelaide. Despite an apparently strong season to that point, Caddy was ranked seventh in the league for fewest disposals per turnover (4.2) at the end of Round 11. In Round 16, Caddy set career highs in disposals (37) and clearances (12) in the Cats' victory over the Western Bulldogs at Kardinia Park. In the latter part of the season Caddy endured symptoms of knee tendinitis and was subbed out early in the club's Round 21 match against St Kilda as a result. He did not play another game that season, and finished the year with 19 games played, a then-career-best 16 goals and seventh place in the club's best-and-fairest tally.

With the addition of Patrick Dangerfield in the previous years' off-season, Caddy was in line to play more time in the forward 50 for Geelong in 2016. He started the season strongly, kicking three goals and recording 21 disposals and seven clearances in the club's Round 1 win over Hawthorn. Caddy suffered a medial ligament strain in Geelong's Round 13 match with the Western Bulldogs. He had played in each of the club's matches to that point, but was forced to sit-out nearly two months of senior football as a result of the injury. He returned to the side in Round 20, kicking 2 goals and gathering 19 disposals in the process. Caddy played in his first career finals win in September 2016, in a qualifying final against Hawthorn. He finished the season having played 18 matches and kicking a career best 21 goals. He was eighth at the club for disposals per game, seventh for total tackles and sixth for goals scored in season 2016. Caddy was one of just ten players in the competition to record averages of 20 or more disposals and one goal per game on a minimum of five games played that season.

When Richmond's Brett Deledio began seeking a trade to Geelong in October 2016, Caddy's name was circulated in media reports concerning the potential deal. Richmond reportedly offered Caddy increased midfielder playing time as an incentive to move club's. On 19 October, the day he himself had been traded to Richmond, former teammate Dion Prestia told journalists he had been in contact with Caddy in an attempt to lure him to the club. Though a deal involving Deledio eventually fell through, Richmond persisted in its pursuit of Caddy until late into the trade period.

Richmond (2017–present)

Caddy was traded to Richmond on the final day of the trade period, in exchange for a second round draft pick and a swap of later picks.

He made his Richmond debut in the opening match of the 2017 season, a victory against Carlton at the MCG. He recorded 17 disposals and a goal in the Round 1 match. Caddy played his 100th career match in Round 5's Anzac Day eve match against Melbourne. He had 21 disposals and 5 tackles in the match and kicked the match sealing goal late in the fourth quarter of Richmond's win. For the first time that season he was named among the club's best players for the match.

Statistics

Personal life

Caddy is son to parents Joanne and Adrian. He spent his formative years in the north-eastern Melbourne suburb of Eltham. He has two elder brothers, Saul and Jonathan. Saul spent a period of time on Richmond's supplementary list in the late 1990s.

Caddy is the grandson of former North Melbourne and St Kilda footballer John Reeves and a nephew of North Melbourne and Fitzroy player, Michael Reeves.

He attended high school at Eltham College in Melbourne's north-east.

Caddy is the proud owner of a French Bulldog named Wilson.

Burglary prank

Caddy and teammate Billie Smedts were embroiled in controversy in April as a result of an attempted prank gone wrong. The pair were arrested at gunpoint by local police after they were spotted wearing balaclavas and attempting to enter a local house in the Geelong suburb of Kardinia Park. They received a warning from police after it was revealed they were attempting to scare teammate Jackson Thurlow and had simply approached the wrong house. A concerned neighbour had called police reporting an armed robbery when she saw the players knock on the door of the neighbouring property. The incident was resolved without further action by police or disciplinary action by the club.