Josh Battle

Josh Battle (born 1 September 1998) is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the Hawthorn Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He was originally drafted by St Kilda Football Club with their second selection and thirty-ninth overall in the 2016 national draft. He made his debut in the sixty-one point loss to at Etihad Stadium in round seventeen of the 2017 season. Battle joined Hawthorn as an unrestricted free agent following the 2024 AFL season and won an All Australian Blazer in his first year at Hawthorn.

Early career

Battle played his junior football for Hallam Hawks football club and Narre South Lions in the South East Juniors. Battle was a Hawthorn supporter as a child.

Before committing to AFL, Battle was a talented cricketer as a junior receiving a cricket scholarship to Haileybury College. He also played in the Victorian Under-17 side. Battle eventually chose AFL after he was selected by the AIS/AFL Academy. On his choice, Battle stated that "in Year 10, when footy was starting to ramp up with bottom-age Stingrays and trying to play cricket, I knew I couldn't do both, because it was just too hard on the body. I was missing trainings for either one of the two, so it wasn't fair on other guys that were missing out. I sat down with Dad and he said, 'Do whatever you find most enjoyable and what you see yourself doing in the future', and that was footy." Prior to commencing at Haileybury in year 9, he attended Fountain Gate Secondary College in Narre Warren.

Battle was regarded as one of the best forwards in his draft year, after kicking the most goals of any division at the under-18s championships - 11 goals in four games for Vic Country. Battle also impressed at TAC Cup level, booting 24.13 across eight games. Battle was invited to the AFL Draft Combine where he impressed with his elite endurance by running a 10:07 3km time-trial and reaching 13.7 in the Beep Test. He also won the 3km test at the AFL Academy camp in January that year.

AFL career

St Kilda Battle completed year 12 studies in his first season at the Saints. Of juggling both high school and football commitments, Battle stated that "at the time I just wanted to play footy and wasn't too keen on school, but I had good people in my corner who said it would be best to finish school because you don't know how long footy will last. It was difficult because I was only at footy one day a week and the rest of the time I'd train on my own with a couple of coaches, but I was lucky enough to make my debut on the school holidays – that was pretty cool." In 2017 and 2018, Battle spent 90% of his time playing as a key forward.

In 2019, Battle played primarily as a defender, a position he'd never played prior. Coach Richardson saw Battle able to play a James Sicily-type role.

2020 saw the Saints reach finals for the first time since 2011, and Battle played a big part in a COVID-interrupted season. Battle was unable to break into the side early in the season, with new defender Dougal Howard cementing a place in defence. Battle was called up in round four and played four straight games, including three wins. Battle suffered a concussion following the round seven win over Adelaide. He returned the week later, and played nine consecutive games before a foot injury ruled him out of the Saints' elimination final. Battle recovered and played his first AFL final in the Saints' Semi Final loss to eventual premiers Richmond. He ultimately played 14 of a possible 19 games that year.

2021 saw Battle playing as a utility, seeing action in most parts of the ground. According to Champion Data, he spent 39.5 per cent of his time as a key forward, 34.2 per cent of his time on a wing, 21.2 per cent of his time as a key defender, and 5.1 percent of his time in the ruck.

Ahead of the 2022 season, Battle was asked to play as a key defender. The move was made official on 4 October.

Battle made his debut for Hawthorn in a 20-point victory over the Sydney Swans at the Sydney Cricket Ground in Opening Round of the 2025 season. Battle played every match for Hawthorn in his first season, and was rewarded with his first selection in an All-Australian team.

Statistics Updated to the end of round 22, 2026.

168 !! 32 !! 29 !! 1738 !! 893 !! 2631 !! 972 !! 322 !! 0.2 !! 0.2 !! 10.3 !! 5.3 !! 15.7 !! 5.8 !! 1.9 !! 5