Will Ashcroft is a 182-centimetre midfielder who has already built one of the most decorated young careers in AFL history. The son of Brisbane Lions great Marcus Ashcroft, he was drafted at pick No.2 in 2022 as a father-son selection and has since won back-to-back premierships and back-to-back Norm Smith Medals. At just 22, he has signed until 2030 and is now chasing a third consecutive flag.
Where is Will Ashcroft from?
Will Ashcroft was born on May 6, 2004, and grew up on the Gold Coast in Queensland. His father, Marcus Ashcroft, played 318 games for the Brisbane Lions and won three premierships from 2001 to 2003, so football was in his blood from day one.
Ashcroft spent much of his childhood around the Gold Coast Suns, using their facilities and watching players like Gary Ablett and Touk Miller train. The family moved to Melbourne in 2019 when Marcus took a talent pathways role with the AFL, pitching Will into a much more competitive football environment.
He attended school in Victoria and played for the Sandringham Dragons, where he captained the side and became one of the most sought-after prospects in the country. He also started a sports management course at Deakin University and launched a training app called Wash Performance for young athletes.
How did Will Ashcroft become an AFL player?
Ashcroft was drafted by Brisbane with pick No.2 in the 2022 National Draft as a father-son selection. He had been linked to the Lions for years given his father’s legacy, and the club had signed him through to the end of 2026 before he had even made his debut.
He debuted in Round 1 of the 2023 season and immediately showed the poise and maturity that had been expected of him. He played 18 games in his debut season before disaster struck in Round 19 — he ruptured his ACL against Geelong and was ruled out for the rest of the year, missing Brisbane’s Grand Final campaign.
What is Will Ashcroft famous for?
Ashcroft’s comeback from that ACL injury became one of the great stories in recent AFL history. He returned in 2024 and helped Brisbane win the premiership, then produced a stunning Grand Final performance to claim the Norm Smith Medal.
He backed it up in 2025, winning a second consecutive premiership and a second Norm Smith Medal, becoming just the fifth multiple Norm Smith medallist since the award was introduced in 1979. He also won the Gary Ayres Award as the best player across the finals series.
In 2026, Ashcroft took his game to another level. He produced a six-week stretch where he averaged 30-plus disposals, 10-plus score involvements and one-plus goals — the first Lion to ever do so. He finished the season with a career-best 28.7 disposals per game and polled 27 Brownlow votes, the most ever by a Queenslander in a single season.
What is Will Ashcroft’s contract situation?
In October 2025, Ashcroft signed a four-year contract extension keeping him at the Brisbane Lions until the end of 2030. He was already contracted for 2026, but the new deal locked him in long-term and ended any speculation about his future.
“I am obviously stoked to sign on and play at this great club, and I am super excited for what’s to come in the future,” Ashcroft said. “We have a club of great people, so it made my decision really easy.”
Lions List Manager Dom Ambrogio said the club was thrilled to have him commit. “It’s exciting to have a player of Will’s calibre re-sign for a further four years and be fully invested in where we are heading as a Club.”
What has been said about Will Ashcroft?
Ashcroft’s professionalism and curiosity have been recurring themes throughout his career. He travelled to Doha in January 2026 to work with sports medicine specialists at Aspetar, searching for marginal gains to improve his body and recovery.
“I’ve always been really curious. That’s the word I’d use for how my mind works,” Ashcroft said. “I’ve got extensive things that I do day-to-day, week-to-week, whether that be recovery or nutrition or training, whatever it is, my brain never really switches off.”
His humility has also been a defining trait. He credits his mother Bekky for keeping him grounded despite the hype that has followed him since his junior days.
His father Marcus has played a key role in his development, with Ashcroft describing their relationship as one where he can review games and pick his brain about what he could have done better.
In 2026, Ashcroft was controversially left out of the All-Australian team despite finishing fourth in the AFL Coaches’ Association award and recording fewer than 30 disposals just once in his final 10 games. He responded on social media with a series of bemused NBA reaction images, sparking plenty of discussion.
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