Andrew Lovett
Andrew Lovett (born 11 November 1982) is an Aboriginal Australian rules footballer who played in the Australian Football League (AFL) for Essendon between 2005 and 2009. He was traded to St Kilda at the end of the 2009 season, but his contract was terminated in February 2010 before he ever played a game for the club. Early life. Lovett has Indigenous Australian heritage and his tribal ancestry can be traced to the Gunditjmara. He is the cousin of Nathan Lovett-Murray. Lovett played for the Northern Knights in the TAC Cup and North Heidelberg in the Northern Football  League before relocating to Perth to play for East Perth in the West Australian Football League (WAFL), where he hoped he could be drafted into the AFL. AFL career. Lovett was selected by Essendon in 2003 in the Rookie Draft. He remained a rookie, playing for the Bendigo Bombers, until he made his AFL debut against Hawthorn. Lovett was a member of the Australian team that won the Cormac McAnallen Cup during the 2005 International Rules Series. He also won the Anzac Day Medal in 2005. At the end of the 2008 season, Lovett was mentioned as a potential trade  for Essendon. The Geelong Football Club were said to be the most interested in securing the lively forward who still had one year to run on his contract at Essendon. Although a trade did not eventuate, his form in the 2009 season saw another offer - this time from St Kilda, who traded their first round pick (#16). Lovett accepted the move despite other offers (from the Brisbane Lions and Port Adelaide) to remain in Melbourne with his family and friends whilst having the prospects of being involved in a premiership team. He was later given the number 9 guernsey, which  was last worn by goalkicker Fraser Gehrig. In December 2009 Lovett was suspended indefinitely by the St Kilda Football Club following allegations of being involved in a sexual assault and on 16 February 2010 he was dismissed from the club when rape charges were laid. On 25 July 2011, Lovett was acquitted of the charges. In the time between his dismissal from St Kilda and his acquittal, Lovett returned to East Perth to play the latter half of the 2010 WAFL season. He then played for the NFL's Fitzroy Stars Football Club in 2011. Lovett nominated for the AFL  rookie draft in 2011 and again in 2014 but was not selected in either draft. On December 17, 2021, it was reported that Lovett was behind bars and faces at least 11 assault charges over alleged incidents since February 2020. According to a "Seven News" report, Lovett fronted the Dandenong Magistrates’ Court—represented by top lawyer David Grace—and did not apply for bail. The 39-year-old is scheduled to next appear in court on January 11, 2022.