Brett Edward Deledio (born 18 April 1987) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played 243 games over 12 seasons with the Richmond Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL), and a further 32 matches over three seasons with the Greater Western Sydney Giants. He was a two-time All-Australian, two-time Richmond best and fairest winner and recipient of the league's Rising Star award in his debut year in 2005. Between 2013 and 2016, he served as Richmond's vice-captain. Deledio was drafted to Richmond with the number one overall pick in the 2004 AFL draft and made his debut in round 1 of the 2005 season.
Early life and junior career
Deledio was born in Kyabram, Victoria, in 1987 to Judy and Wayne Deledio. His father played a single game for in 1975, then spent a season with Brunswick in the Victorian Football Association before heading back to the country.
Deledio began playing competitive football at age 8. Playing well above his age bracket, Deledio starred alongside future teammate Troy Chaplin, who was one year his senior, in the local under-13 competition. At age 15, Deledio played his first game of senior football for the Kyabram Bombers in the Goulburn Valley Football League. He won best-afield honours for his performance in the match.
In 2003 Deledio was a joint winner of the Kevin Sheehan Medal as the best player in the under-16 national championships.
Deledio played for the Murray Bushrangers in the TAC Cup in 2003 and 2004, the leading junior competition in the country. In 2004, his final season, he kicked 21 goals from just 11 games and averaged 23.9 disposals as well. He was also named as a half-forward in the 2004 TAC Cup team of the year.
He went on to represent the Victorian Country side at the under-18 national championships, winning All-Australian honours in the process.
Deledio attended Kyabram High School prior to his AFL draft selection and subsequent move to Melbourne. He enrolled at Caulfield Grammar School to complete his year 12 studies in 2005, but pulled out after just two days.
Instead, he would complete his studies at Richmond, in private tutoring sessions alongside fellow underage club recruits Richard Tambling and Luke McGuane.
In addition to his footballing prowess, Deledio was also a promising young cricket player. A fast-bowler, he represented Victoria at the 2003–04 under-17 national championships. He was also highly capable with the bat, scoring an 85 in the competition's final and leading the Victorians to a national championship. Following this performance, the then coach of the Victorian Bushrangers David Hookes invited Deledio to join the state men's team. Deledio would however decline the offer, instead leaving cricket behind to focus on the prospect of a future career in the AFL.
AFL career
Richmond
Debut year (2005) Deledio was selected by the Richmond Football Club with the first overall pick in the 2004 National Draft.
He made his debut at age 17 years and 343 days in Round 1 the following year, in a Richmond loss to . He recorded 9 disposals and 6 marks for the match.
He kicked his first career goal in a Round 4 game at the MCG against . Deledio was nominated for the Rising Star award following his Round 8 match against Collingwood in which he recorded 13 disposals.
He played all 22 games in his debut season and on 31 August 2005, he was rewarded with the AFL Rising Star award, receiving 43 of a possible 45 votes. Deledio followed this by also winning the Richmond Best First-Year player award and AFL Players' Association Best First-Year Player Award as voted by his peers.
He also represented the club at the 2005 AFL Grand Final Sprint and won.
Capping off his debut season, Deledio was chosen to represent Australia in the International Rules series for 2005, becoming the youngest Australian player in the competition's history.
An emerging talent (2006–2007) Deledio played 21 out of 22 matches in 2006 and was again a consistent performer, only missing the one game with an injured knee. He was often the target of attention from opposition taggers due to his abilities, and found it difficult to break the tag. However he still produced impressive figures, averaging 18.8 possessions and 6.5 marks a game.