Ben Hobbs

Ben Hobbs (born 16 September 2003) is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He was drafted by Essendon with their first pick in the 2021 AFL draft, number 13 overall.

Early life
Hobbs grew up in the Victorian country town of Horsham and played local football for Horsham Demons. He won a senior premiership in the Wimmera Football League at just 15 years old. He attended Ballarat Clarendon College as a boarder.

AFL career
At the 2021 AFL draft, Essendon selected Hobbs with their first pick, no. 13 overall. Hobbs made his debut for the Bombers in round 5 of the 2022 AFL season, and was later nominated for the 2022 AFL Rising Star in round 14.

Statistics
Updated to the end of 2023.

! colspan=3| Career ! 35 !! 14 !! 16 !! 316 !! 283 !! 599 !! 132 !! 116 !! 0.4 !! 0.5 !! 9.0 !! 8.1 !! 17.1 !! 3.8 !! 3.3]
 * 2022 || || 8
 * 17 || 8 || 12 || 121 || 124 || 245 || 60 || 43 || 0.5 || 0.7 || 7.1 || 7.3 || 14.4 || 3.5 || 2.5
 * 2023 || || 13
 * 18 || 6 || 4 || 195 || 159 || 354 || 72 || 73 || 0.3 || 0.2 || 10.8 || 8.8 || 19.7 || 4.0 || 4.1
 * - class="sortbottom"
 * 18 || 6 || 4 || 195 || 159 || 354 || 72 || 73 || 0.3 || 0.2 || 10.8 || 8.8 || 19.7 || 4.0 || 4.1
 * - class="sortbottom"
 * }