View source for Fraser Gehrig

{{short description|Australian rules footballer, born 1976}}
{{Use Australian English|date=January 2018}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2023}}
{{BLP sources|date=February 2009}}
{{Infobox AFL biography
| name = Fraser Gehrig
| image =
| fullname = Fraser Gehrig
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1976|03|03|df=yes}}
| birth_place = 
| originalteam = [[Murray Bushrangers]] ([[TAC Cup]])
| draftpick = No. 16, [[1993 AFL draft|1993 National draft]], {{AFL WC}}<br>No. 57, [[2001 AFL draft|2007 National draft]], {{AFL StK}}
| height = 195&nbsp;cm
| weight = 109&nbsp;kg
| position = [[Australian rules football positions|Forward]]
| statsend = 2008
| years1 = 1995–2000
| club1 = {{AFL WC}}
| games_goals1 = 115 (159)
| years2 = 2001–2008
| club2 = {{AFL StK}}
| games_goals2 = 145 (390)
| games_goalstotal = 260 (549)
| careerhighlights = *[[All-Australian team]] 1997, 2004
*{{AFL WC}} [[List of West Coast Eagles leading goalkickers|leading goalkicker]] 1998
*{{AFL StK}} 5x [[List of St Kilda Football Club leading goalkickers|leading goalkicker]] 2003–2007
*[[Coleman Medal]] 2004, 2005
*[[Trevor Barker Award]] [[runner-up]] 2001
*Pre-season premiership 2004
*[[AFL Rising Star]] nominee: [[1995 AFL Rising Star|1995]]
| nickname = G-Train
}}

'''Fraser Gehrig''' (born 3 March 1976) is a retired [[Australian rules football]]er who played for the [[St Kilda Football Club]] and the [[West Coast Eagles]] in the [[Australian Football League]] (AFL) .

Gehrig was a versatile player during his AFL career, beginning his career at [[West Coast Eagles|West Coast]] before becoming known as a powerful goal kicker and Coleman Medalist at St Kilda.

Gehrig holds the bench press record at both West Coast and St Kilda as well as being the best [[bench press]] performer in the AFL, with many additionally regarding him as the strongest and most intimidating player in the AFL. While in the peak of his career, he was also widely regarded as the fastest player over 30 metres in any ball sport.<ref>[http://www.realfooty.theage.com.au/realfooty/articles/2004/04/23/1082616328700.html?from=storyrhs AFL News, Scores, Stats, Transfers]{{Dead link|date=July 2022 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} from The Age RealFooty</ref>

==Early life==
Gehrig grew up in [[Wodonga]], Victoria, and attended high school at [[Catholic College Wodonga]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=VFL/AFL Players from Catholic College (Wodonga) – Draftguru|url=https://www.draftguru.com.au/from/catholic_college_(wodonga)|access-date=2021-04-08|website=draftguru.com.au}}</ref> Gehrig held the school's athletics record in the 100-metre sprint for more than 20 years.

==Career==
===West Coast ===
Gehrig began his AFL career at the [[West Coast Eagles]] playing as a utility and on the wing. He was known for his strength and versatility.

Gehrig struggled to break into a powerful Eagles lineup during his first few years at the Western Australian club, but he stepped up in 1997 and won selection in the [[All-Australian team]] in a [[forward pocket]].

Gehrig had a season on the half-forward line in 1998, but he struggled with injury and form over the following two years and was traded to St Kilda at the end of the 2000 season. West Coast received [[David Sierakowski]] and [[2000 AFL draft]] selection number 18 ([[Daniel Kerr]]) from St Kilda in exchange for Gehrig.

===St Kilda===
Gehrig made his debut with the Saints in 2001. After initially playing at full-back in his first year at his new club, Gehrig finished second in the St Kilda [[best and fairest]] award. He switched to the full-forward position in 2003, and this move coincided with St Kilda's rise up the ladder, finishing 11th in 2003 and playing in finals matches in 2004, 2005 and 2006.

Gehrig became a powerful and dominant force in the goalsquare and weighed in at 109 kilograms. He quickly became a prolific goalkicker, booting 55 goals in 2003 and 103 in 2004. A large [[pitch invasion]] by fans occurred following his 100th goal, a typical occurrence for feats of this nature.<ref>[http://afltables.com/afl/stats/games/2004/PASK20040917.html Image]{{dead link|date=January 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> Gehrig won back-to-back [[Coleman Medal]]s in 2004 and 2005 and was named at full-forward in the All-Australian team in 2004.

Gehrig's unique style of play earned him the nicknames "G-Train" for his locomotive-like leads and strong marking. He twice kicked 10 goals in a match during his AFL career: once against Richmond and again against the Kangaroos.<ref name="playerstats">[http://afltables.com/afl/stats/players/F/Fraser_Gehrig.html AFL Tables – Fraser Gehrig] from AFL Tables</ref>

Gehrig was close to retirement at the end of the 2003 season, but coach [[Grant Thomas (footballer)|Grant Thomas]] managed to convince him to play on.

Gehrig played his 200th game in 2005, kicking seven goals against opponent [[Leo Barry]], to help St Kilda to a 43-point win over [[Sydney Swans|Sydney]]. He kicked a total of 36 goals playing against Sydney.<ref name="playerstats"/>

Gehrig signed a one-year deal at the end of the 2006 season and was again a prolific goal-kicker for the Saints, booting 59 goals from 20 matches.

Gehrig's 250th game came against Carlton in round 17, 2007. Again, the Saints emerged victorious.

===Temporary retirement===
Immediately before St Kilda's last game of the 2007 season, on 1 September, Gehrig announced his retirement to the team. Unusually, he waved to the dedicated fans in the cheer squad when he came on the field, and then played well in a tight contest against Richmond. In the dying seconds of the match, Gehrig took a strong mark in St Kilda's forward line and kicked his 540th career goal, one of five that day, to secure the win.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20091103115728/http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/09/01/2021412.htm Saints farewell champs with tight win] from ABC News</ref>
Gehrig was chaired off the ground by St Kilda players [[Nick Riewoldt]] and [[Justin Koschitzke]], bare-chested after giving his famous number-nine jumper to a young female fan in the stands.

===Comeback===
Three months later Gehrig shocked many by changing his mind and deciding that he wished to continue playing with St Kilda. Having already been removed from St Kilda's playing list, Gehrig was forced to return via one of the AFL drafts and opted for the [[2007 AFL draft|national draft]] over the [[pre-season draft]]. This option forced Gehrig onto the standard two-year draftees' contract, but allowed the club to redraft him without using an early pre-season draft selection. St Kilda re-drafted Gehrig with its fourth-round selection (#57 overall).

After a few lacklustre games, many feared that Gehrig had lost his form and fitness and he was dropped to the reserves. In a last-ditch effort to kickstart his playing career, the coach selected him in the senior list, but he failed to have any impact. Gehrig revealed that he was suffering from painful arthritis, which affected his game and required surgery. St Kilda then put him on its long-term injury list.<ref>[http://www.foxsports.com.au/story/0,8659,24007423-23211,00.html That may be it: Gehrig]</ref> This move onto the long-term injury list, instead of retirement, meant that St Kilda were able to elevate [[Robert Eddy]] from the [[rookie list]]. Gehrig's subsequent return to the senior list was a precaution in case of injury to other players, though he did not play for the remainder of the season.<ref>[http://afl.com.au/tabid/208/default.aspx?newsid=64527 Gehrig taken off St Kilda's long-term injury list] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091001013200/http://www.afl.com.au/tabid/208/default.aspx?newsid=64527 |date=1 October 2009 }}</ref>

==Statistics==
<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://afltables.com/afl/stats/players/F/Fraser_Gehrig.html|title = AFL Tables – Fraser Gehrig – Stats – Statistics}}</ref>

{{AFL player statistics legend}}
{| class="wikitable"
|-
|style="background:#CFECEC; width:1em"|
|Led the league for the season only
|-
|style="background:#b7e718; width:1em"|
|Led the league after finals only
|-
|style="background:#DD6E81; width:1em"|
|Led the league after season and finals
|}
{{AFL player statistics start}}
|-style="background-color: #EAEAEA"
! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | [[1995 AFL season|1995]]
|style="text-align:center;"|{{AFL|WC}}
| 25 || 16 || 21 || 4 || 119 || 51 || 170 || 73 || 11 || 1.3 || 0.3 || 7.4 || 3.2 || 10.6 || 4.6 || 0.7
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | [[1996 AFL season|1996]]
|style="text-align:center;"|{{AFL|WC}}
| 7 || 24 || 12 || 8 || 183 || 117 || 300 || 99 || 22 || 0.5 || 0.3 || 7.6 || 4.9 || 12.5 || 4.1 || 0.9
|-style="background-color: #EAEAEA"
! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | [[1997 AFL season|1997]]
|style="text-align:center;"|{{AFL|WC}}
| 7 || 22 || 31 || 17 || 223 || 80 || 303 || 115 || 21 || 1.4 || 0.8 || 10.1 || 3.6 || 13.8 || 5.2 || 1.0
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | [[1998 AFL season|1998]]
|style="text-align:center;"|{{AFL|WC}}
| 7 || 23 || 42 || 19 || 200 || 92 || 292 || 144 || 18 || 1.8 || 0.8 || 8.7 || 4.0 || 12.7 || 6.3 || 0.8
|-style="background-color: #EAEAEA"
! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | [[1999 AFL season|1999]]
|style="text-align:center;"|{{AFL|WC}}
| 7 || 11 || 19 || 9 || 85 || 46 || 131 || 61 || 8 || 1.7 || 0.8 || 7.7 || 4.2 || 11.9 || 5.5 || 0.7
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | [[2000 AFL season|2000]]
|style="text-align:center;"|{{AFL|WC}}
| 7 || 19 || 34 || 17 || 164 || 77 || 241 || 108 || 15 || 1.8 || 0.9 || 8.6 || 4.1 || 12.7 || 5.7 || 0.8
|-style="background-color: #EAEAEA"
! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | [[2001 AFL season|2001]]
|style="text-align:center;"|{{AFL StK}}
| 9 || 20 || 3 || 5 || 173 || 83 || 256 || 97 || 16 || 0.2 || 0.3 || 8.7 || 4.2 || 12.8 || 4.9 || 0.8
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | [[2002 AFL season|2002]]
|style="text-align:center;"|{{AFL StK}}
| 9 || 12 || 12 || 9 || 81 || 64 || 145 || 60 || 9 || 1.0 || 0.8 || 6.8 || 5.3 || 12.1 || 5.0 || 0.8
|-style="background-color: #EAEAEA"
! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | [[2003 AFL season|2003]]
|style="text-align:center;"|{{AFL StK}}
| 9 || 21 || 55 || 34 || 190 || 62 || 252 || 129 || 22 || 2.6 || 1.6 || 9.0 || 3.0 || 12.0 || 6.1 || 1.0
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | [[2004 AFL season|2004]]
|style="text-align:center;"|{{AFL StK}}
| 9 || 23 || bgcolor="DD6E81"| '''103''' || 39 || 184 || 54 || 238 || 131 || 18 || bgcolor="DD6E81"| '''4.5''' || 1.7 || 8.0 || 2.3 || 10.3 || 5.7 || 0.8
|-style="background-color: #EAEAEA"
! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | [[2005 AFL season|2005]]
|style="text-align:center;"|{{AFL StK}}
| 9 || 22 || bgcolor="CFECEC"| '''78''' || bgcolor="DD6E81"| '''49''' || 177 || 41 || 218 || 114 || 12 || bgcolor="DD6E81"| '''3.5''' || bgcolor="DD6E81"| '''2.2''' || 8.0 || 1.9 || 9.9 || 5.2 || 0.5
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | [[2006 AFL season|2006]]
|style="text-align:center;"|{{AFL StK}}
| 9 || 22 || 71 || 37 || 173 || 39 || 212 || 123 || 12 || 3.2 || 1.7 || 7.9 || 1.8 || 9.6 || 5.6 || 0.5
|-style="background-color: #EAEAEA"
! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | [[2007 AFL season|2007]]
|style="text-align:center;"|{{AFL StK}}
| 9 || 20 || 59 || 35 || 173 || 34 || 207 || 110 || 14 || 3.0 || 1.8 || 8.7 || 1.7 || 10.4 || 5.5 || 0.7
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | [[2008 AFL season|2008]]
|style="text-align:center;"|{{AFL StK}}
| 9 || 5 || 9 || 3 || 25 || 7 || 32 || 18 || 1 || 1.8 || 0.6 || 5.0 || 1.4 || 6.4 || 3.6 || 0.2
|- class="sortbottom"
! colspan=3| Career
! 260
! 549
! 285
! 2150
! 847
! 2997
! 1382
! 199
! 2.1
! 1.1
! 8.3
! 3.3
! 11.5
! 5.3
! 0.8
|}

==Career highlights==

* AFL Rising Star nominee, 1995
* All-Australian 1997, 2004
* West Coast leading goalkicker, 1998
* 2nd in St Kilda Best and Fairest, 2001
* St Kilda leading goalkicker, 2003–2007
* St Kilda's [[2004 Wizard Home Loans Cup]]–winning side, 2004<ref>{{cite web|url=http://images.slatterymedia.com/image/?image_id=114726 |title=AFL 2004 Wizard Cup Grand Final – Geelong v St Kilda |work=Slattery Media Group |date=13 March 2004 |access-date=2009-11-07 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110716083757/http://images.slatterymedia.com/image/?image_id=114726 |archive-date=16 July 2011 }}</ref>
* Coleman Medalist 2004, 2005

==Controversies==
Gehrig was involved in some off-field indiscretions during his time with both St Kilda and West Coast. It was alleged that Gehrig urinated on a patron at a nightclub, although no formal accusations were made.<ref>[http://www.searchingkangaroo.com/forum/upload/index.php?s=47f0c4c75e1e18818c4ba4390cb826bf&showtopic=251&st=0&p=3100&#entry3100]{{Dead link|date=September 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

Gehrig was also charged with the unlawful assault of a woman in an alleged incident during Grand Final week in 2006. Gehrig, with [[Steven Lawrence]] and former [[Brisbane Lions]] captain [[Michael Voss]], were all charged over a fight in a St Kilda hotel.<ref>[http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,22363343-2862,00.html Fraser Gehring to face court] – Herald Sun, 5 September 2007</ref>

Some of Gehrig's on-field incidents earned him penalties, with suspensions mainly for striking incidents against opposition players (once in [[2003 AFL season|2003]], twice in [[2004 AFL season|2004]], once in [[2005 AFL season|2005]] and once in [[2007 AFL season|2007]]). As well as this, in the "[[AFL siren controversy|Sirengate]]" match in 2006, Gehrig conceded five consecutive free kicks whilst scuffling with Fremantle's defenders, three of which were converted into 50-metre penalties, which led to his direct opponent, [[Michael Johnson (Australian rules footballer)|Michael Johnson]], walking the length of the field to give Fremantle a 33-point lead. Gehrig was benched after the indiscretions, but it also appeared to be the turning point in the match, and St Kilda eventually only lost by one point in controversial circumstances.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
<!-- *{{Stkplayer|ref=13484}} -->
* {{AFL Tables}}
* {{AustralianFootball}}
* {{WAFL FootyFacts}}

{{St Kilda leading goalkickers}}
{{AFL Coleman Medallists}}
{{2004 All-Australian team}}
{{2007 AFL national draft}}
{{West Coast leading goalkickers}}
{{1997 All-Australian team}}
{{Glendinning–Allan Medal}}
{{1995 AFL Rising Star nominees}}
{{1993 AFL national draft}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gehrig, Fraser}}
[[Category:1976 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:St Kilda Football Club players]]
[[Category:West Coast Eagles players]]
[[Category:Australian people of German descent]]
[[Category:Coleman Medal winners]]
[[Category:All-Australians (AFL)]]
[[Category:Australian rules footballers from Victoria (state)]]
[[Category:Murray Bushrangers players]]
[[Category:Wodonga Raiders Football Club players]]
[[Category:Sportspeople from Wodonga]]
[[Category:Perth Football Club players]]