Full name Nathan Grima Name Nathan Grima Height/Weight 192cm / 96kg Height 1.92 m | Position(s) Defender Weight 96 kg Years Club Career start 2009 | |
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Date of birth (1985-08-05) 5 August 1985 (age 30) Draft #14, 2008 Rookie Draft, North Melbourne Role Australian rules footballer Original team Central District Football Club Profiles | ||
Nathan grima retirement speech extended version
Nathan Grima (born 5 August 1985) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the North Melbourne Football Club and Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL).
Contents
- Nathan grima retirement speech extended version
- April 07 2014 nathan grima on afl 360
- Early career
- AFL career
- Media
- References
April 07 2014 nathan grima on afl 360
Early career
Originally from Tasmania, Grima played for the Tassie Mariners, South Launceston, the Tasmanian Devils and Central District, including their 2007 SANFL premiership. Grima was then rookie-listed by North Melbourne in the 2008 AFL Rookie Draft.
AFL career
Grima impressed in early training sessions and looked in line for a promotion before hyper-extending his knee in a marking exercise. The injury prematurely ended his season and raised doubts about his ability to retain a spot on the list.
Despite this injury setback, North Melbourne promoted Grima to the senior list before the start of the 2009 season and the versatile defender was quick to show his potential, holding down a spot at full-back for North's reverves team, Werribee in the VFL in the early part of the season. His strong form led to Grima making his debut in round eight against Geelong. He only missed two games for the rest of the season and combined well in defence with Scott Thompson and Scott McMahon.
Grima scored his first goal in AFL football on Saturday, 17 August 2013 against Essendon at Etihad Stadium. An injury to Leigh Adams resulted in Grima being moved forward for the final quarter of the match. Having not scored a goal after 71 AFL games, he crumbed the ball from a marking contest involving Robbie Tarrant, and snapped a left-foot goal midway through the last quarter. The defender embarked on a wild celebration, being mobbed by teammates who came from all areas of the ground to congratulate him. Had he failed to score, he would have equalled a club record, with former player Ted Larsen having a 72-game drought before scoring a goal.
In July 2015, Grima had announced his retirement, effective immediately, due to a back injury. Grima had been unable to fully recover from the injury that had seen him undergo surgery on his back on two previous occasions. Specialists had advised him that he would need a third operation, this time to fuse a disc in his spine.
In February 2016, Grima returned to the AFL after signing with the Essendon Football Club as a top-up player due to the club's supplements controversy.
Media
Grima has appeared as a guest presenter on Fox Footy's light entertainment television series Bounce.