Liam Jurrah Biography

Liam Jurrah hasn't given up hope of reviving his AFL career after his release from prison last month.

The 27-year-old has set his sights on taking the first step on a football comeback in an exhibition match for the Central Australian Redtails against Port Adelaide's SANFL team at Alberton Oval in February.

"It's something I'll have to discuss with whoever the coach is, but it's definitely something I'd be keen to do," Jurrah said.

"I've got to start training and get fit first, but I'd like to join the Redtails."

Ex-Dee Liam Jurrah turns up to watch his Melbourne teammates go through their paces in a training run at Traeger Park in Alice Springs.

A number of Jurrah's former Demons teammates shook hands and chatted with him before training.

"It's pretty amazing to see the boys training and a couple of the boys were coming up to me which was great," Jurrah said.

Liam Jurrah is sentenced to six months' jail after pleading guilty to aggravated assault when he hit a woman twice in the face outside a 24-hour store in Alice Springs.

The sentence was backdated to April 27 and will be suspended after three months.

Liam Jurrah has been arrested, locked up and refused bail after allegedly assaulting three women at an Alice Springs 24-hour store during the early hours of Thursday morning.

Liam Jurrah is arrested in Alice Springs after allegedly taking part in a disturbance.

AFL chief Andrew Demetriou says the league would welcome back Liam Jurrah after the troubled forward was found not guilty of assaulting his cousin.

"Of course he would. He's been found not guilty," Demetriou said.

"He's been through a very traumatic period, but he's had the opportunity to defend himself and he's been found not guilty and he would be welcome back into the industry, obviously."

Liam Jurrah is acquitted of assaulting his cousin during a wild brawl in Alice Springs and says he hopes to make a return to football.

"Yes, that is my dream ... it's very important to make my family happy again," Jurrah said about playing footy again.

"I'll probably be heading back to Adelaide now to see where I'm at ... I'm feeling pretty happy right now."

Liam Jurrah admits to a court to being armed but says he did not attack his cousin.

"I had a crowbar and a wooden stick from the couch," Liam Jurrah says in a police video.

"(I) didn't have any fight or fight with anybody that night."

A court is told that Liam Jurrah celebrated as he attacked his cousin with a machete by witness Esau Marshall.

Liam Jurrah's cousin tells a court he was attacked with a machete by his cousin in an incident when another man hit him with an axe and kicked him.

A court has heard that Liam Jurrah was just standing around and not involved in an alleged attack that saw his cousin injured.

Liam Jurrah pleads not guilty at his Supreme Court trial with witnesses expected to testify that he assaulted his cousin with a weapon and continued hitting him when he was on the ground, causing serious facial and skull lacerations.

A court is told Liam Jurrah was seen with crowbar on the day he allegedly assaulted his cousin.

Liam Jurrah has hands himself into police, a day after a warrant was issued for his arrest following his failure to appear in a South Australian court.

An arrest warrant is issued for Liam Jurrah after he fails to appear at a court hearing in Adelaide.

Jurrah's AFL career appears over despite Port Adelaide's best attempts to help the troubled forward.

"Port Adelaide has offered extensive support in an attempt to assist Liam, but unfortunately it appears that complex circumstances in his life away from football have prevented him from making the commitment required by the club," a statement from Port Adelaide said.

"Port Adelaide has been genuine in its desire to help and has attempted to maintain dialogue with Liam over recent months, but it is clear that he now needs to focus entirely on the matters he is dealing with in his personal life.

"The club wishes Liam well and will continue to offer what support it can, but it believes playing football cannot be a primary consideration at this time."

Port confirms it is re-thinking its position in regards to Liam Jurrah following the forward's high-level drink driving charge and apparent lack of commitment to the Port Adelaide Magpies.

"The club has been waiting on a commitment from Liam in relation to training and playing with Port Adelaide (Magpies) in the SANFL and working in the club's community department," a statement from the Power read.

"The club is disappointed with Liam's alleged driving offence but before making a decision on his future, the club needs time to assess all the information regarding Liam's situation."

Liam Jurrah is caught drink-driving at more than five times the legal limit.

"The 24-year-old from Elizabeth was detained after he appeared affected by alcohol and then breath tested returning a reading of 0.269, more than five times the legal limit of 0.05," South Australian police said in a statement.

"The man was reported for driving under the influence of alcohol, exceeding the prescribed level of alcohol and breaching a probationary licence.

"His driver's licence has been disqualified for 12 months and he will be summonsed to appear in the Holden Hill Magistrates Court at a date to be decided."

Port Adelaide say they won't select Liam Jurrah in the rookie draft, but says it will try to resurrect his AFL career by offering him a spot in its SANFL side.

"We think that injury-related fitness concerns together with off-field issues he is dealing with means it is not yet the right time to fully integrate him back into the AFL system and all that it demands," Power football operations manager Peter Rohde said.

"We believe these measures will enable Liam to have the best possible opportunity to find his way back into the AFL system in great physical condition, with proven form at SANFL level and with those non-football matters fully dealt with.

"All going well, that could be through any club in the AFL, but we would love it to be with Port Adelaide if everything works out."

Port Adelaide admits they have concerns over drafting former Demon Liam Jurrah.

"As we've said before, Liam's talent is unquestioned. It's other things we have to weigh up. There are off-field issues and he's had a couple of serious injuries, so we'll work through all of that," Power football operations manager Peter Rohde said.

"We're in the process of doing that now and and we'll make a decision at our final (draft) meeting on Monday."

Port Adelaide great Warren Tredrea says the Power should abandon plans to draft high-flying forward Liam Jurrah.

"Jurrah's playing ability cannot be questioned, he has enormous talent, but he has a major court case hanging over his head and there is a chance he could go to jail," Tredrea said.

"Port is trying to rebuild after a few years of inconsistency, it's got a new coach, new players and a young playing group. The last thing the club needs is some off-field instability, so to me the risk of drafting Jurrah is too great."

Ex-Demon Liam Jurrah has turned out at Port Adelaide training and is looking fitter and slimmer than reports have suggested.

"He's really excited about getting an opportunity to show he can play AFL football still and we don't doubt he can play the game, we've just got to make sure he's physically able to play the game," Power coach Ken Hinkley said.

"His turning up here today ... in a new environment to train - and I would imagine he knows there's some scrutiny coming - (suggests) his focus is pretty right."

Liam Jurrah is expected to train with Port Adelaide in the next two weeks as the Power zero in on the troubled star.

"We won't be considering him for the national draft (where Port have three picks inside the top 31) but we might get him out to train with us just before or after that and we'll see where we go from there," Power football manager Peter Rohde said.

"Clearly he is an amazing talent but we need to see just how keen he is to play AFL football again, what his fitness is like and put him through a full medical because he has had injury problems and we don't know how his body is holding up.

"So we'll do our due diligence and see where that leads us."

The Power remain interested in troubled forward Liam Jurrah and Port Adelaide forward John Butcher is excited by the prospect of playing alongside him.

"[He's] one of the most exciting players in the AFL," Butcher said.

"It'd be great to have him running around in the forward line alongside you.

"But obviously that's up to the club, I think 'Kenny's' (Ken Hinkley) pretty keen to see him train or have a look at him, obviously interview him and meet with him again."

Melbourne has added to its list of trade departures, cutting a swathe of players which include Matthew Bate, Ricky Petterd, Jamie Bennell, Lucas Cook, Liam Jurrah and rookies Jai Sheahan, Leigh Williams and Kelvin Lawrence.

New Port Adelaide coach Ken Hinkley wants to meet Liam Jurrah before endorsing the Power's plan to rookie draft the ex-Melbourne Demons forward.

"Our view is Liam is an amazing talent, a great player. Everyone hopes to see him get another opportunity," Power football operations manager Peter Rohde said.

"But he certainly won't be on our list in October or November. We'll get him out to train at some stage and have Ken sit down with him."

Port Adelaide may offer former Melbourne forward Liam Jurrah a chance to resurrect his career.

"We need to better understand his position, but there's no doubt we'll be talking to him again at some stage; Ken (Hinkley) has an interest in it," Power football operations manager Peter Rohde said.

"We would only consider putting him on as a rookie perhaps or getting him to come out and train when we get back from overseas, so there's a fair bit of water to go under the bridge."

Liam Jurrah is living in Adelaide with relatives as his career remains in footy limbo almost a month after walking out on the Melbourne Demons.

Controversial Melbourne Demons forward Liam Jurrah quits the club as his court case looms and hopes to resurrect his AFL career in Adelaide.

Port Adelaide football manager Peter Rohde said the club had talked with Jurrah's management but was not ready to commit to recruiting him.

"We think he is a very talented player," Rohde said in a statement.

"He is working through some complicated issues which we are keen to better understand before making any decision regarding our interest in bringing him to Port Adelaide."

Liam Jurrah is unlikely to play again this season after being granted personal leave, raising questions about his AFL future.

"He certainly had not walked out on the club - he's just sorting out some personal issues," Jurrah's manager, Ned Guy, told The Age.

"Liam has made it clear to us that he wants to play next year. He just feels that he's had the worst year possible and he's struggling with a whole range of things," Melbourne chief executive Cameron Schwab added.

Melbourne's Liam Jurrah is still two weeks away from returning from an ankle injury in the VFL.

"He has now begun an intensive conditioning program designed to get him back playing when this is completed," Demons football manager Josh Mahoney said.

Mark Neeld says Liam Jurrah needs to show commitment on the track and in the VFL now that he is back in Melbourne.

"We just need Liam from a football point of view to come back the other way and show us commitment to his training program and start playing footy again," Neeld said.

An Alice Springs magistrate has ordered Melbourne's Liam Jurrah to stand trial on assault charges in what his lawyer, Jon Tippett, says is a case of the "tall-poppy syndrome".

"My client is not guilty. He will be found not guilty," Mr Tippett told reporters.

"He has a good case, but we move now from this jurisdiction into the Supreme Court where a trial will be held."

Melbourne star Liam Jurrah wasn't holding a machete on the night he was accused of attacking people with one, a court has been told.

Liam Jurrah's court hearing is delayed 45 minutes after no witnesses arrived in court on time.

Demons star Liam Jurrah was a leader in a fight and struck his cousin on the head with a machete, Alice Springs Magistrates Court has been told.

Melbourne forward Liam Jurrah is said to be 'a bit anxious' ahead of his committal trial hearing in Alice Springs on Monday.

"He's obviously a bit anxious over the whole thing, generally he's in pretty good spirits," Jurrah's mentor and biographer Bruce Hearn Mackinnon said.

"We're just saying, 'We're here for you mate, just be strong and just tell your story and the rest should look after itself'."

Melbourne forward Liam Jurrah has avoided an ankle fracture, but will still miss at least a month of football.

"Liam has worked extremely hard to get back into the AFL team. Unfortunately, this is another injury setback, however, he has shown his ability to cope with injuries and respond in the past," Melbourne football manager Josh Mahoney said.

"We expect him to make a full recovery and return in the second half of the year."

Liam Jurrah fractures a fibula against the Swans and could miss 10 weeks.

Melbourne drops a selection bombshell for Indigenous Round, selecting Liam Jurrah, who has not played since round 23 last year, to face the Swans.

Melbourne forward Liam Jurrah is facing four additional aggravated assault charges in the Northern Territory.

Jurrah has been granted a variation to his bail conditions that will allow him to still play AFL football.

Melbourne's Liam Jurrah is again expected to plead not guilty at his court appearance on Thursday.

"I think he's a little bit anxious and nervous, it's been a pretty traumatic experience," Jurrah's mentor and biographer Hearn Mackinnon said.

Melbourne decides on a conservative approach with Liam Jurrah, delaying his return for another week.

"Liam trained strongly this week and with another full week of training, he will be available for selection at Casey," Melbourne football manager Josh Mahoney said.

Liam Jurrah is set to play for Melbourne VFL affiliate Casey next week as his court case looms.

At this stage we just want him to play initially and if his form is good enough at Casey, then he will be available for selection after that," Demons football manager Josh Mahoney told The Age.

"His wrist has recovered well and it has just been a matter of building his fitness base over the next few weeks to the required levels."

Melbourne skipper Jack Trengove says he and co-captain Jack Grimes are still learning the ropes as leaders of the club.

"I feel we're up to it, but there are ... times where you need help from everyone because it's a team sport in the end," Trengove said.

"It's all pretty foreign to us, the captaincy thing, because we're both new to it, so it's important we have good people around us ... to guide us along the way."

Former Melbourne captain Brad Green says Liam Jurrah, who has had a troubled off-season, will have to train hard over a period of weeks before being eligible for selection this year.

"He basically has to do six or seven weeks of full on solid training to get his body and mind right to play games at AFL standard and that's what our sports science people has set him and the coaching staff,'' Green said.

"No doubt he has to do a hard slog on the training track and, once he has done that, I've no doubt that Liam will get out there and play some footy.''

Collingwood president Eddie McGuire interviews Liam Jurrah, much to the displeasure of the Demons, but says he is unrepentent about it.

"I'm not worried about the issues – I got the story, it went to air, full stop," McGuire said.

"If I'm being dammed because I got a massive exclusive, with a player who trusted me and invited me into his home to do an interview with him and his nanna, and accurately reported it and did it in a tasteful way that didn't cause any ructions between club and player and actually soothed the situation and gave it a human dimension - that to me is what journalism is all about."

The AFL has given Liam Jurrah approval to play again, despite facing two charges stemming from an alleged machete attack.

"Our team are still awaiting information from the relevant authorities. There's still lots of issues that are unclear,'' AFL chief Andrew Demetriou said.

"We are in constant dialogue with the Melbourne Football Club and at this point in time I understand that Liam can't play for a few weeks (through injury), but notwithstanding that, in the event that there's so much uncertainty I see no reason why he wouldn't play pending the outcome of a charge."

Liam Jurrah returns to Melbourne and is told that he cannot return to Alice Springs until it is time to again face the court.

Prior to that time he must report to a Melbourne police station twice a week and abstain from alcohol.

Jurrah has been charged with unlawfully causing serious injury and being armed with an offensive weapon. Bail was set at $3000.

"This is a difficult and traumatic situation for everyone involved. Melbourne Football Club has kept the AFL informed and we will continue to liaise with the club as more details emerge," AFL general manager of football operations Adrian Anderson said.

Liam Jurrah has been released on bail after facing court on Friday morning and Melbourne CEO Cameron Schwab says the club is still trying to find out the details of the events that led Jurrah's arrest.

"We're trying to establish the facts to how it evolved, and what's actually happened here," he said.

"We understand the reasons why Liam was in Central Australia and Alice Springs. But exactly how and what happened over the last 24 hours we can't be entirely sure of. And the second part is that it is a police matter."

Melbourne forward Liam Jurrah is being held by police over an alleged machete attack in Alice Springs.

On arrival police found a 35-year-old man with serious head injuries alleged to have been inflicted by a machete," a police spokesperson said.

"Two men aged 23 years are currently in police custody with investigations continuing."

Melbourne acknowledged Jurrah's arrest in a statement on its website.

"The Melbourne Football Club has been advised that Liam Jurrah, who is currently on personal leave to deal with family and community issues in Central Australia, is being held by police following an incident overnight," the statement read.

"No charges have been laid."

Melbourne has given forward Liam Jurrah leave to return home to Yuendumu in Central Australia to deal with personal issues, allowing him to "support his family and community through a challenging period".

Melbourne dynamo Liam Jurrah went under the knife to fix a minor issue with his wrist.

Melbourne president and Irishman Jim Stynes says Liam Jurrah has made a remarkable journey from central Australia to become a key Melbourne forward.

"It's been incredible, it's one thing for me because I came from a background that wasn't dissimilar to Australia. Whereas for Liam, even though he's from within Australia, he really has come from a totally different cultural background, languages, the whole lot," Stynes said.

"He was coming from a long way back and to his credit he has been sensational."

Liam Jurrah says his football philosophy is simple i.e. have fun.

"Growing up as a kid, all you want to do is have fun with the footy," Jurrah told the Herald Sun.

"So, when I'm out there with my teammates, it's like I take my mind back to the past where I'm having fun and it really makes me play the game the way I want to play it. The way I play footy, I want to make my teammates stand tall and feel the pride."

Liam Jurrah's spectacular grab over Port Adelaide's Nick Salter wins the 2010 Mark of the Year award while Lance Franklin is awarded Goal of the Year after his spectacular running goal along the boundary against Essendon.

Melbourne forward Liam Jurrah is over his shoulder injury and will play for the Casey Scorpions this weekend.

"We've been very conservative with his rehab," Demons football operations manager Chris Connolly.

"He'll play on the weekend, whether he plays seniors or reserves, I'm not sure. That decision will be made later on, but the club is absolutely rapt to have him back playing."

Liam Jurrah, Jamie Bennell and Neville Jetta have committed to the Demons for two more years.

"All three boys - Neville, Jamie and Liam - are all exciting players who bring a real vibrancy to our playing list," Melbourne list manager Tim Harrington said.

"We've already seen Liam's mercurial talent, but Neville is extremely strong in his defensive work and Jamie has shown he can play in a variety of roles already - down back, up forward and we think there is some scope for Jamie and Neville in the future to play in the midfield."

Young Melbourne forward Liam Jurrah will be out for four months after injuring his shoulder against the Crows in a NAB Challenge match.

"This is disappointing news to learn of the severity of Liam's injury. Liam met with the surgeon this afternoon, and he'll have the operation to reconstruct his right shoulder on Wednesday. At this stage, he will miss approximately 16 weeks of football," Demons football manager Chris Connolly said.

Melbourne coach Dean Bailey says exciting forward Liam Jurrah can only build on his breakthrough season.

"He's going to be a management issue for us next year, because this year he had no pre-season and we had to make sure he played enough games to get him ready for AFL footy," Bailey said.

"He'll now start pre-season on October 12 and we see him as only getting better."

Liam Jurrah continues to excite Demons fans after kicking four goals in Matthew Whelan's final AFL game.

"The funny thing is my Dad played with Wheels and then I played with Wheels. I stayed back home with my grandmother, when my Dad was playing up in Darwin," Jurrah said.

"Just to play with Wheels in his last game is great. It would've been fantastic to get a win for Wheels, Wheats and Robbo."

"Aaron and Matty Whelan have taken me under their wing and taught me everything and I thank Matty Whelan and Aaron."

Sydney Swan Michael O'Loughlin has tipped Melbourne's Liam Jurrah to become a future star.

"I had the pleasure of meeting him a couple of times and he's an outstanding prospect," O'Loughlin said.

"To see him come in and play the game and have an impact in the forward line for Melbourne has been outstanding. What's he's done at Melbourne has been phenomenal."

The playing future of Melbourne forward Russell Robertson remains unclear beyond this year.

"Robbo is an interesting one. His form was OK in the last couple of weeks and all of a sudden you see some opportunities being given to Petterd, Jurrah and Matthew Bate has been reasonably consistent," Melbourne coach Dean Bailey said.

"At the end of the year, we'll sit down and discuss our list management and I'm sure there'll be lots of players discussed and he'll be one of them."

Liam Jurrah's four-goal performance against Port Adelaide has earned him a NAB AFL Rising Star nomination.

"It's pretty amazing and I feel happy that I got the Rising Star nominee," Jurrah said.

Jurrah's teammate Aaron Davey was full of praise for the youngster.

"Liam has brought a lot of excitement and he's one of those guys who has got everything that you could ask for in a footy player," Davey said.

"He's got the pace and the awareness that a lot of people talk about us indigenous boys having, so he's been super and hopefully he can keep that form up and keep kicking goals."

Melbourne forward Liam Jurrah can excite the crowd in a similar way to Hawthorn superstar Lance Franklin, according to Demon veteran Cameron Bruce.

"Every time he goes near the ball they get excited, I liken it to the way the crowd are with 'Buddy' and every time he went near the ball. It's something you don't experience too often," Bruce said.

"I was doing cartwheels in the backline, watching him go up for those marks."

Melbourne coach Dean Bailey hopes his team has unveiled a forward who can do some "special things" after a promising debut from Liam Jurrah.

Jurrah was a bright spot in an otherwise disappointing performance from the Demons, who lost by 48 points to Essendon at Etihad Stadium.

"It was good for LJ to show a little bit," Bailey said.

"I think it's good for him, confidence for him. It was a big occasion for LJ. He had a couple of nice chases, but his aerial stuff will only get better.

"I think he showed tonight that he has got a reasonable football brain. Hopefully we have uncovered a quick forward who can do some special things."

Melbourne coach Dean Bailey says Liam Jurrah's goalkicking form in the VFL prompted his elevation to AFL.

The indigenous 20-year-old forward has kicked 11 goals for the Casey Scorpions in the past three matches.

"His form at Casey in the last two weeks has been good and he's shown some really good signs at training, so the players are excited for him. And even though he might not say much, hopefully tomorrow we'll see a bit of speed and excitement," Bailey said.

National recruiting manager Barry Prendergast will watch his fourth debutant from last year's drafts when Liam Jurrah takes the field against Essendon.

"It's a tick in the sense that you've got another drafted player playing senior AFL footy. I'd like the ticks to be bigger when they play 50 AFL games and 100 AFL games - that's what it's all about," Prendergast said.

"We've got an exciting young group of players, who are keen to play AFL footy and be exposed, but there is a big difference between being exposed and playing 100 AFL games and being an influential player.

"So the story with Liam Jurrah is his background and where he's come from, so from that sense, we can tick off the challenge as a footy club and that's a tick for us that we got him to this point. But roll Friday night, we're hoping for bigger ticks."

Melbourne could unveil its fifth debutant of the 2009 season in the form of exciting forward Liam Jurrah.

"Liam's form in the last couple of weeks has been pretty good, so he's obviously under some consideration for this week," Melbourne coach Dean Bailey said.

Melbourne's Liam Jurrah is a "trainee elder" for whom English doesn't roll off the tongue.