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Dean Kent
Dean Kent
	Kent playing for stkilda 2019
Personal information
Full name	Dean Kent
Nickname(s)	Deanbag
Date of birth	24 February 1994 (age 30)
Place of birth	Western Australia
Original team(s)	Perth (WAFL)
Draft	No. 48, 2012 national draft
Debut	Round 6, 2013, Melbourne vs. Carlton, at MCG
Height	179 cm (5 ft 10 in)
Weight	86 kg (190 lb)
Position(s)	Forward / midfielder
Playing career1
Years	Club
2013–2018	Melbourne
2019–2022	St Kilda
Total
	1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 2020.
	Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

Dean Kent (born 24 February 1994) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Melbourne and St Kilda Football Clubs in the Australian Football League (AFL). A forward, 1.79 metres (5 ft 10 in) tall and weighing 86 kilograms (190 lb), Kent played primarily as a small forward with the ability to push into the midfield. He had a successful final junior year in the colts competition in the West Australian Football League (WAFL) in which he won the Jack Clarke Medal as the fairest and best player, the league coaches award and was named in the team of the year. His performances as a junior saw him recruited by the Melbourne Football Club with the forty-eighth selection in the 2012 AFL draft and make his AFL debut during the 2013 season.

Early life

Growing up in Clackline, Western Australia, Kent received state honours when he represented Western Australia in the under 16 championships.^[1] A dose of Bali belly hampered his final junior year though, which saw him quickly lose weight and subsequently miss selection for Western Australia in the 2012 AFL Under 18 Championships.^[2] He did, however, play twenty games for the Perth Football Club in the West Australian Football League (WAFL) colts competition,^[3] and won the Jack Clarke Medal as the fairest and best player in the colts.^[4] In addition to being named in the colts team of the year and win the league coaches award.^[1]

AFL career

Kent was recruited by the Melbourne Football Club with their third selection and forty-eighth overall in the 2012 national draft.^[5] After strong form in the Victorian Football League (VFL) for Melbourne's affiliate team, the Casey Scorpions, he made his AFL debut in the sixty-one point loss against Carlton at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in round six.^[6] He started the match as the substitute, but came into the match in the first quarter, replacing the injured co-captain, Jack Grimes.^[7] He played the next week before he was omitted for the round eight clash against Richmond at the Melbourne Cricket Ground;^[8] he returned to the senior side for the ninety-five point loss against Hawthorn at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in round ten^[9] and did not miss a match for the remainder of the season to finish with fifteen matches for the year.^[10]

Kent played his first match for the 2014 season in the thirty-two point loss against Greater Western Sydney at Spotless Stadium in round three.^[11] He played the next week before he was forced to be a late withdrawal from the round five match against Gold Coast after injuring his calf at training.^[12] He missed the next month of football before returning from injury through the VFL,^[13] and returned to the AFL side for the one point win against Essendon at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in round thirteen.^[14] He played every match for the remainder of the year, playing thirteen matches in total.^[15]

Kent started the 2015 season in the AFL when he played in the twenty-six point win against Gold Coast at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in round one.^[16] He played the first four matches of the year before suffering a hamstring injury in the second quarter of the round four win against Richmond, with the initial prognosis ruling him out for one month.^[17] After requiring surgery on his hamstring, he was forced to miss nearly three months of any football.^[18] He returned from injury via the VFL Development League, where he tore his hamstring again and missed the next four weeks.^[19] He didn't play another AFL match for the season, he did, however, play the last three VFL matches of the year.^[13]

After having his first pre-season without suffering from an injury,^[20] and playing every match in the 2016 NAB Challenge,^[21] Kent played in the opening match of the season in the two-point win against Greater Western Sydney at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.^[22] He played the first seven matches of the year before missing the round eight match against the Western Bulldogs in round eight due to a back injury;^[23] he returned the next week in the sixty-three point win against Brisbane at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.^[24] In July, he signed a two-year contract, tying him to the club until the end of the 2018 season.^[25] He played his fiftieth AFL match in the twenty-nine point win against Hawthorn at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in round twenty.^[26] After playing twenty matches for the season, he was praised by Fox Sports Australia journalist, Tiarne Swersky, where he was named as one of Melbourne's "most important and lively players up forward,"^[26] furthermore, he finished tenth in Melbourne best and fairest count,^[27] and was named in the initial 22under22 squad.^[28]

Kent had a delayed start to the 2017 season after experiencing a persistent back injury during the pre-season.^[29] He didn't play his first match of the year until the twenty-nine point loss against Geelong at Etihad Stadium in round three.^[30] He played two matches before he was omitted for the round five match against Richmond at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.^[31] He was recalled to the AFL side for the forty-one point win against Adelaide at Adelaide Oval in round eight^[32] and could only manage two consecutive matches before he was dropped for the round ten match against Gold Coast at TIO Traeger Park.^[33] It took nearly two months for Kent to find his way back into the senior team, which was delayed due to a club suspension for breaching club rules on alcohol protocols.^[34] He returned to the AFL side a week after his club suspension for the eight point win against Carlton at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in round sixteen.^[35] In his second match back in the AFL, he dislocated his shoulder when tackling Rory Sloane in the match against Adelaide at TIO Stadium^[36] and he missed the remainder of the season, playing just six games for the year.^[15]

At the conclusion of the 2018 season, Kent requested a trade to St Kilda. He was officially traded on 12 October.^[37]

Statistics

Statistics are correct to the end of the 2022 season^[15]

**Legend**
G	Goals	K	Kicks	D	Disposals	T	Tackles
B	Behinds	H	Handballs	M	Marks


Season	Team	No.	Games	Totals							Averages (per game)
Season	Team	No.	Games	G	B	K	H	D	M	T	G	B	K	H	D	M	T
2013	Melbourne	34	15	10	5	106	42	148	40	26	0.7	0.3	7.1	2.8	9.9	2.7	1.7
2014	Melbourne	16	13	12	10	98	58	156	42	25	0.9	0.8	7.5	4.5	12.0	3.2	1.9
2015	Melbourne	16	4	2	4	24	15	39	5	7	0.5	1.0	6.0	3.8	9.8	1.3	1.8
2016	Melbourne	16	20	25	10	189	135	324	71	58	1.3	0.5	9.5	6.8	16.3	3.6	2.9
2017	Melbourne	16	6	7	6	56	34	90	27	13	1.2	1.0	9.3	5.7	15.0	4.5	2.2
2018	Melbourne	16	5	7	3	33	25	58	14	15	1.4	0.6	6.6	5.0	11.6	2.8	3.0
2019	St Kilda	25	13	12	14	124	42	166	59	24	0.9	1.1	9.5	3.2	12.8	4.5	1.9
2020^[a]	St Kilda	25	15	10	5	96	46	142	48	29	0.7	0.3	6.4	3.1	9.5	3.2	1.9
2021	St Kilda	25	7	5	6	56	40	96	35	22	0.7	0.9	8.0	5.7	13.7	5.0	3.1
2022	St Kilda	25	2	1	0	5	3	8	3	5	0.5	0	2.5	1.5	4.0	1.5	2.5
Career			100	91	63	787	440	1227	344	224	0.9	0.6	7.9	4.4	12.3	3.4	2.2

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

^ ^a ^b Burgan, Matt (8 March 2013). "Clackline Kent becomes Demon Dean". MelbourneFC.com.au. Bigpond. Retrieved 21 November 2016.
^ Cordona, Paige (17 November 2012). "2012 AFL Phantom Draft". Bound for Glory. Archived from the original on 21 November 2016. Retrieved 21 November 2016.
^ "WAFL–Dean Kent". WAFL.com.au. Archived from the original on 21 November 2016. Retrieved 21 November 2016.
^ Leitch, Keith (17 September 2012). "Claremont Tigers midfielder Kane Mitchell wins Sandover Medal". Perth Now. News Corp Australia. Retrieved 21 November 2016.
^ "The full list: Greater Western Sydney clean up at the top of the draft as 94 players make AFL lists". Fox Sports (Australia). News Corp Australia. 22 November 2012. Retrieved 21 November 2016.
^ Burgan, Matt (2 May 2013). "Kent to debut, but Jamar out injured". MelbourneFC.com.au. Bigpond. Retrieved 21 November 2016.
^ Burgan, Matt (6 May 2013). "Dean delighted to have debuted". MelbourneFC.com.au. Bigpond. Retrieved 21 November 2016.
^ McFarlane, Glenn; Landsberger, Sam (18 March 2013). "Bryce Gibbs to miss another week with hamstring injury, Bombers overlook Dempsey and Cotchin back for the Tigers". Herald Sun. News Corp Australia. Retrieved 21 November 2016.
^ Paton, Al (30 May 2013). "Round 10 AFL teams: Collingwood names Heath Shaw, Alan Didak among four inclusions". Herald Sun. News Corp Australia. Retrieved 21 November 2016.
^ Burgan, Matt (9 January 2014). "Jones, Kent sign new deals". MelbourneFC.com.au. Bigpond. Retrieved 21 November 2016.
^ Phelan, Jennifer (4 April 2014). "Blues axe McLean, Trengove out for Demons". AFL.com.au. Bigpond. Retrieved 21 November 2016.
^ King, Travis (18 April 2014). "Demons lose forward ahead of Suns clash". AFL.com.au. Bigpond. Retrieved 21 November 2016.
^ ^a ^b "Player Profile–Dean Kent". VFL.com.au. Fox Sports Pulse. Retrieved 21 November 2016.
^ Gardiner, Gilbert (13 June 2014). "Round 13 teams: Carlton regains Chris Judd while North Melbourne adds Lindsay Thomas and Robbie Tarrant". Herald Sun. News Corp Australia. Retrieved 21 November 2016.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Dean Kent". AFL Tables. Retrieved 10 April 2014.
^ "AFL season 2015: Round one teams". The Age. Fairfax Media. 3 April 2015. Retrieved 21 November 2016.
^ Matthews, Bruce (24 April 2015). "Melbourne coach Paul Roos labels Friday night's win over Richmond the best in his time at the Demons". Herald Sun. News Corp Australia. Retrieved 21 November 2016.
^ Gutrhie, Ben (27 April 2015). "Surgery blow for speedy Dee, while small defender to miss Fremantle clash". AFL.com.au. Bigpond. Retrieved 21 November 2016.
^ Lewis, Georgina; Burgan, Matt (15 October 2015). "I'll be right for season start: Kent". MelbourneFC.com.au. Bigpond. Retrieved 21 November 2016.
^ Baldwin, Adam (15 February 2016). "Dean Kent primed for breakout 2016 season with Melbourne Demons". Fox Sports (Australia). News Corp Australia. Retrieved 21 November 2016.
^ Harrington, Anna (22 March 2016). "Competition for spots exciting: Kent". MelbourneFC.com.au. Bigpond. Retrieved 21 November 2016.
^ Harrington, Anna (24 March 2016). "Round one team selection". MelbourneFC.com.au. Bigpond. Retrieved 21 November 2016.
^ "AFL Teams Round 8: All of the ins and outs this weekend". Fox Sports (Australia). News Corp Australia. 13 May 2016. Retrieved 21 November 2016.
^ Schmook, Nathan (20 May 2016). "Final teams: All the ins and outs". AFL.com.au. Bigpond. Retrieved 21 November 2016.
^ Gutrhie, Ben (15 July 2016). "Speedy Demon inks new deal at the club". AFL.com.au. Bigpond. Retrieved 21 November 2016.
^ ^a ^b Swersky, Tiarne (6 August 2016). "Dees forward Dean Kent says he never expected to reach the 50-game mark at AFL level". Fox Sports (Australia). News Corp Australia. Retrieved 21 November 2016.
^ Burgan, Matt (6 September 2016). "Viney edges Jones to win first 'Bluey'". MelbourneFC.com.au. Bigpond. Retrieved 21 November 2016.
^ Di Giorgio, Giulio (22 August 2016). "Young Crows dominate 22under22 squad". AFL.com.au. Bigpond. Retrieved 21 November 2016.
^ Guthrie, Ben (24 January 2017). "Niggling back injury sidelines important Dee". AFL.com.au. Bigpond. Retrieved 16 January 2018.
^ Schmook, Nathan (6 April 2017). "TEAMS: Riewoldt returns, two new Lions and Dockers dump six". AFL.com.au. Bigpond. Retrieved 16 January 2018.
^ Collins, Ben (22 April 2017). "TEAMS: Pies recall ruckman, Dees name forgotten forward". AFL.com.au. Bigpond. Retrieved 16 January 2018.
^ "AFL Teams Round 8: Full squads for every game, ins and outs, injuries, suspensions and team news". Fox Sports (Australia). News Corp Australia. 12 May 2017. Retrieved 16 January 2018.
^ Cherny, Daniel (25 May 2017). "AFL teams: Gold Coast star Gary Ablett injured, Travis Cloke dropped by Western Bulldogs". The Age. Fairfax Media. Retrieved 16 January 2018.
^ Cherny, Daniel (10 July 2017). "Melbourne forward Dean Kent thankful for coaches' trust after drinking breach". The Age. Fairfax Media. Retrieved 16 January 2018.
^ Burgan, Matt (7 July 2017). "Four changes made in final 22". MelbourneFC.com.au. Bigpond. Retrieved 16 January 2018.
^ Guthrie, Ben (18 July 2017). "Dee waits for surgery, quartet could face Port". AFL.com.au. Bigpond. Retrieved 16 January 2018.
^ Nobes, Caitlin (12 October 2018). "Kent heads to St Kilda". MelbourneFC.com.au. Bigpond. Retrieved 12 October 2018.