| Lenny Hayes | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Hayes in April 2008 | |||
| Personal information | |||
| Full name | Lenny Hayes | ||
| Date of birth | 14 January 1980 | ||
| Place of birth | Sydney, New South Wales | ||
| Original team(s) | NSW/ACT Rams (TAC Cup)/Pennant Hills | ||
| Draft | No. 11, 1998 National Draft | ||
| Height | 186 cm (6 ft 1 in) | ||
| Weight | 83 kg (183 lb) | ||
| Position(s) | Midfielder | ||
| Playing career | |||
| Years | Club | Games (Goals) | |
| 1999–2014 | St Kilda | 297 (95) | |
| International team honours | |||
| Years | Team | Games (Goals) | |
| 2003 | Australia | 2 (0) | |
| Career highlights | |||
| |||
| Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com | |||
Lenny Hayes (born 14 January 1980) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the St Kilda Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL) from 1999 to 2014. He is currently an assistant coach at the St Kilda Football Club.
Growing up in Sydney, Hayes played TAC Cup football for the NSW/ACT Rams. He was recruited by St Kilda with the 11th pick in the 1998 National Draft and made his senior debut in round five of the 1999 season. He was nominated for the AFL Rising Star Award later in the year as well. Hayes was a first-choice player for St Kilda for virtually his whole career, other than in two seasons (2006 and 2011) where he would require knee reconstructions. After playing 297 games and kicking 95 goals, he retired at the end of the 2014 season.
Hayes would establish himself as one of the best midfielders in the league. He was named in the All-Australian team three times (in 2003, 2005 and 2009) and placed third in the 2009 Brownlow Medal (behind Gary Ablett and Chris Judd). Hayes was a three-time winner of the Trevor Barker Award as St Kilda's best and fairest player (in 2003, 2010 and 2012). He also spent two seasons as St Kilda's captain – in 2004 as sole captain and in 2007 as co-captain, alongside both Luke Ball and Nick Riewoldt. Hayes played in three Grand Finals without tasting premiership success, but won the Norm Smith Medal for his performance in the drawn 2010 AFL Grand Final. He was inducted into the Australian Football Hall of Fame in 2020.[1]
- ^ Cherny, Daniel (1 June 2020). "Hawthorn colossus Kennedy named 29th AFL legend". The Age. Retrieved 1 June 2020.