Ashcroft began playing football as a child at the age of six. The son of Marcus Ashcroft, a three-time AFL premiership player, Ashcroft's talent as a footballer was identified by the Gold Coast Suns Football Club at the age of ten. He played for various teams in Queensland as a child, before moving to Melbourne in 2019 at the age of 15 where he commenced playing for the Sandringham Dragons. During his time with the Sandringham Dragons, Ashcroft was promoted to captain and received the Larke Medal for best player at the national championships.
At the 2022 AFL Draft, Ashcroft was chosen to play for the Brisbane Lions. Ashcroft is widely considered the best player in the 2022 draft class by AFL club recruiters.
Early life
Ashcroft was born on 6 May 2004 on the Gold Coast, to parents Rebecca and Marcus Ashcroft.[1][2] He has two siblings,[3] one of which is fellow professional footballer Levi Ashcroft.
Ashcroft played a variety of sports while growing up on the Gold Coast and was selected to represent Queensland in swimming as well as athletics before focusing on Australian rules football.[6] He played junior football from a young age, and was at 10 years old selected by the Gold Coast Suns to take part in their academy program.[6]
Ashcroft has stated that his personal training standards were inspired by Gary Ablett Jr. and Touk Miller.[7] At 11 years of age, he switched clubs and began playing for Southport in the under-14s Gold Coast AFL competition. Several years later he represented Queensland at the 2018 U15 AFL National Championships, where his performances earned him All-Australian honours as a bottom-ager.[8] He was also awarded the Gold Coast Suns under-14s Academy Player of the Year award after the 2018 season.[9] Ashcroft relocated to Melbourne in 2019 where he began attending Brighton Grammar and once again competed in the U15 AFL National Championships, although this time he would captain Victoria to an undefeated gold medal performance.[10]
Ashcroft temporarily moved back to Queensland in 2020 to play in the QAFL junior league for Morningside during the COVID-19 pandemic-affected year which cancelled all junior football competitions within Victoria.[11] In 2021, after moving back to Victoria, Ashcroft was deemed a top draft prospect after performing well for Victoria Metro in the U17 National Championships.[12] Despite spending most of his childhood on the Gold Coast and five years in the Suns academy, the AFL ruled in April 2021 that Ashcroft was ineligible to be academy-drafted by the Gold Coast Suns.[13]
In 2022, Ashcroft captained the Sandringham Dragons to a NAB League premiership and Victoria Metro to an U18 National Championship, later receiving the captaincy honour in the U18 All-Australian team as well as the Larke Medal.[14] After finishing his Victorian Certificate of Education at Brighton Grammar toward the end of 2021, he began studying commerce and sport management at Deakin University.[15]
AFL career
Ashcroft was nominated as a father–son selection for the Brisbane Lions in the 2022 AFL draft, and was accepted as Pick 2 after the Brisbane Lions matched North Melbourne's bid.[16] He since agreed to remain with the Brisbane Lions until at least the end of the 2026 season.[17] Ashcroft made his AFL debut in Round 1 against Port Adelaide, gathering 13 disposals and a goal in a 54-point defeat. In Round 2, Ashcroft collected 31 disposals against Melbourne and received a Rising Star nomination as one of the best players on the ground in only his second game, earning widespread praise from the AFL media and community.
In Round 19, Ashcroft ruptured his ACL against the Geelong Cats, ending his debut season prematurely and therefore missing the 2023 finals series. The AFL community all widely expressed their support for Ashcroft, who was the Rising Star favourite and had been a standout player for Brisbane despite it being his debut season. He documented his recovery process through his website, WASH Performance and Wellbeing.
Ashcroft's was nominated for and won the Goal of the Year, announced at the 2023 Brownlow Medal. He finished the year with 10 Brownlow votes, the third-most for the Lions, finishing behind Joe Daniher with 12, and Lachie Neale, who won the award with 31.
He returned from his ACL injury mid-way through the 2024 season, returning against Melbourne in Round 16 and playing a crucial role in the Lions' mid-season resurgence that saw them bounce back from a below-average season start to make finals with a fifth-place finish. Ashcroft would be instrumental in the Lions finals run, and was part of the Brisbane Lions 2024 premiership winning team,[18] winning the Norm Smith Medal as best afield in the Grand Final with 30 disposals and a goal.[19]
