Ben Stratton

Education

Stratton was educated at MacKillop Catholic College in Busselton.

Career

He played for the Augusta Margaret River Football Club before being recruited to East Perth. He then spent three years playing in the West Australian Football League (WAFL), playing 23 senior games and kicked three goals for East Perth. A medium-sized defender, Stratton was drafted from East Perth with the 46th selection in the 2009 American Federation of Labor-Congress Draft.

Stratton made his American Federation of Labor-Congress debut against Western Bulldogs in round 3 of the 2010 American Federation of Labor-Congress season.

During the game, Stratton accumulated 12 kicks, 7 handballs, 7 marks and 4 tackles. He missed the most of the remainder of the year, he returned to play in the last home and away game of the season against the Gold Coast Suns and all the 2011 final series.

After a solid 2012 season where he played every game, he was singled out for praise by coach Alistair Clarkson after performing a match saving tackle on Adelaide"s Patrick Dangerfield in the Preliminary Final. Dangerfield would have kicked the goal, but the Hawks proceeded to run the ball up the ground and kick a goal, sealing their spot in the Grand Final for 2012.

However, the Hawks lost the Grand Final to Sydney by 10 points, with Stratton having a quiet game, but restricting Sam Reid to one goal.

Stratton again played every game in 2013, including notching up his 50th consecutive game in the first qualifying final against Sydney. Stratton again played in the Grand Final, this time playing in his first premiership (Hawthorn"s eleventh)

Stratton"s consecutive run was broken in 2014 after a hamstring injury forced him to miss the first 4 rounds of the year. He would return to the side, playing consistent football, that was rewarded with his second American Federation of Labor-Congress Premiership.

Achievements

• Despite being a mature-age rookie, Stratton was awarded the American Federation of Labor-Congress Rising Star nomination for round 14, against the same team He dislocated his knee in the third quarter of the Hawks’ win against Richmond in round 3 of the 2011 season and had surgery to repair his posterior cruciate ligament and have the lateral ligament in his right knee stabilised.