View source for John Gastev

{{short description|Australian rules footballer}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2016}}
{{Use Australian English|date=January 2016}}
{{Infobox AFL biography
| name = John Gastev
| image = 
| fullname = John Gastev
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1964|8|11|df=y}}
| birth_place = 
| death_date = 
| death_place = 
| originalteam = [[West Perth Football Club|West Perth]]
| draftpick = No. 2, [[1988 VFL draft|1989 pre-season draft]]<!--do not capitalise draft or pre-season draft per 1988 AFL draft article title and the Wikipedia manual of style-->
| height = 177 cm
| weight = 76 kg
| position = Midfielder, half-back
| guernsey = 4
| statsend = 1994
| repstatsend = 1990
| years1 = 1983–1988
| club1 = [[West Perth Football Club|West Perth]]
| games_goals1 = {{0}}61 (81)
| years2 = 1987–1988
| club2 = {{AFL|WC}}
| games_goals2 = {{0}}30 (31)
| years3 = 1989–1994
| club3 = {{AFL BB}}
| games_goals3 = 113 (41)
| games_goalstotal = 204 (153)
| sooyears1 = 1990–1993
| sooteam1 = [[Western Australia Australian rules football team|Western Australia]]
| soogames_goals1 = 2 (1)
| nationalyears1 = 1990
| nationalteam1 = [[Australia international rules football team|Australia]]
| nationalgames_goals1 = 3 (?)
| careerhighlights = *2× [[Brisbane Bears Club Champion]]: 1989, 1992
}}

'''John Gastev''' (born '''John Gastevich'''; 11 August 1964) is a former [[Australian rules football]]er who played in the [[Australian Football League]] (AFL).

A cult figure and "crowd favourite" standing at only {{convert|177|cm|ftin}} and weighing just {{convert|73|kg|lb|0}}, Gastev began with [[West Perth Football Club|West Perth]] [[1983 WAFL season|in 1983]]. However, Gastev's career did not take off until [[1985 WAFL season|1985]] when he gave up a career as an [[engraver]] to concentrate upon football full-time and became a mainstay for the Falcons<ref>Stocks, Gary; ‘Gastev Lifts His Game’; ''[[The West Australian]]'', 10 June 1986, p. 91</ref> before debuting with the [[West Coast Eagles]] in [[1987 VFL season|their inaugural season]] in the Victorian Football League (VFL). After only two seasons and 30 games, Gastev was dumped and joined the [[Brisbane Bears]] for 1989.<ref>{{Ref AFL Encyc|4th|223}}</ref> Gastev's main roles were as a [[Football (Australian rules) positions#Taggers|tagger]], though he occasionally played as a forward in his early years. In an upset win over the [[Sydney Swans]] early [[1989 VFL season|in 1989]], Gastev kicked seven goals after half-time, a feat made more remarkable by the fact that he kicked no other goal in the first thirteen rounds of 1989. In this first year at the Bears he won the [[best and fairest]], repeating the feat [[1992 AFL season|in 1992]].

After 1990, Gastev played chiefly in defence, and his career was ended when he suffered a major hit at the hands of [[Gary Ablett Sr.|Gary Ablett]] in a match in [[1994 AFL season|1994]] at [[Kardinia Park]]. Gastev announced his retirement during the off-season,<ref>[http://www.afl.com.au/news/newsarticle/tabid/208/newsid/143371/default.aspx 1994 Bears]{{dead link|date=September 2021|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> despite being only thirty years old.

His other honours include playing for [[Western Australia Australian rules football team|Western Australia]] in [[Interstate matches in Australian rules football#State of origin|state of origin]].

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{AFL Tables}}
* {{AustralianFootball}}
* {{WAFL FootyFacts}}

{{Brisbane Bears Club Champion}}
{{1990 Australian international rules team}}
{{1993 Western Australia State of Origin players}}
{{1989 VFL pre-season draft}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gastev, John}}
[[Category:Brisbane Bears players]]
[[Category:West Coast Eagles players]]
[[Category:1964 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Sportsmen from Western Australia]]
[[Category:West Perth Football Club players]]
[[Category:Western Australian State of Origin players]]
[[Category:Brisbane Bears Club Champion winners]]
[[Category:Australian rules footballers from Perth, Western Australia]]
[[Category:Australia international rules football team players]]
[[Category:20th-century Australian sportsmen]]