Liam was born in New South Wales, Australia. His family moved to Beijing, China when Liam was 4 after his dad was given a job opportunity. Liam lived there until moving back to Australia at Sandringham, Victoria when he was 10. He completed his schooling in 2017 at Haileybury College. Liam played for the Sandringham Dragons in the TAC Cup. In 2018, he had a standout season, averaging 22 disposals, 13 contested possessions, and 5 clearances. What stood out to a lot of people was his endurance, professionalism and ability to kick the ball well on both feet. He was awarded the Morrish Medal, the best and fairest award for the TAC Cup, but sustained a jaw injury which saw him miss being able to play in the AFL Under 18 Championships. Nevertheless, he was still chosen by Vic Metro as one of their top prospects for the draft. A shoulder injury struck again and he missed the combine, leading him to admit that he 'had plans to TAC Cup footy next year'.
AFL career
Liam Stocker was selected at #19 of the 2018 National draft. His recruitment made national headlines as he was the first player to be picked using the new live trade system. Carlton, who seemingly weren't going to have any picks until night 2, made a trade with the Adelaide Crows which also saw the teams swap next year's first round picks. Instantly, pressure was mounted onto Stocker's debut season, as for the trade to be seen as a success in many journalists' eyes, Carlton must at least 14th in the 2019 season. Carlton coach Brendon Bolton backed Stocker, though, and questioned why 'he wasn't picked earlier'. He was presented his guernsey by Chris Judd and was given the number 13. Liam would make his debut in round 7 of the 2019 season, in a loss to. After a successful debut season playing 5 games and averaging 14 disposals, Liam was given a 3-year contract keeping him at the club until 2022.
Player Profile
An inside midfielder, Stocker's main qualities are his frame and his knack for getting the ball out of contests. Adept at kicking the ball on both feet, Stocker is also a scoreboard threat, using his versatility to attack the opposition around most of the playing area. Averaging 4 tackles in the TAC Cup and 5 clearances, he showed his grunt useful on the inside of contests along with his class on the outside.
