Travis Alexander Boak^[1] (born 1 August 1988) is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the Port Adelaide Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). Boak captained the club from 2013 to 2018, and is the club's AFL games record holder with 356 games. He is also a three-time All-Australian, dual John Cahill Medallist and three-time Showdown Medallist.

Boak was selected with Port Adelaide's first selection and fifth overall in the 2006 AFL draft from the Geelong Falcons in the TAC Cup. He made his AFL debut in a 31-point victory in round 12 of the 2007 season against Essendon. Boak continued to rise since his debut, accumulating 23 possessions against the Western Bulldogs in only his third match. The following week, against Richmond, Boak kicked his first ever AFL goal. In round 19 against Carlton, he earned a NAB Rising Star nomination for his 28 possessions and 2 goals. Boak went on to play in the Port Adelaide team which competed in the 2007 AFL Grand Final against Geelong, losing by a record margin. At the start of 2008, Boak picked up where he left off, playing a greater role in the Port Adelaide midfield alongside senior players such as Domenic Cassisi, Kane Cornes and Shaun Burgoyne. He played in 17 games and averaged 20.1 disposals. Boak continued to improve in 2009 winning the Gavin Wanganeen Medal and averaging 23.7 disposals for the season.

The 2010 season was Boak's best season to date with a career best average of 23 possessions per game. His season ended with a flourish when he kicked three goals in each of the final two rounds. He became the first-tagged player in the Port Adelaide midfield and finished the season with 16 Brownlow Medal votes. The 2011 season saw Boak play in 21 games and lead the club in disposals (458), clearances (79) and inside 50s (85). He along with Jackson Trengove were jointly crowned the John Cahill Medallist, the first time that there had been a tie at the club's best and fairest award since 1893.^[2]

For the 2013 season, Boak was announced as the captain of the club, therefore replacing his number 10 guernsey with number 1, in accordance with Port Adelaide tradition.^[3] 2013 was considered to be Boak's best AFL season up to that point, with an average of 25.3 disposals a game, and kicking a season best of 20 goals. He was named in the 2013 All-Australian team. In 2014, Boak continued where he left off from 2013, averaging a career best 26.6 disposals a game and tolling a season best 21 Brownlow votes to finish equal 4th. He was named in the 2014 All-Australian team, his second consecutive selection.

Boak shifted between the midfield and half-forward over the following few seasons. In 2019, after stepping down from the captaincy at the end of the previous season, Boak made a permanent shift back to the midfield, enjoying career-best numbers.^[4][5] He played his 250th match in the Power's loss to Collingwood in round 7, becoming the fourth player to play 250 AFL matches for the club.^[6] Boak would go on to win his second John Cahill Medal after averaging a career-best 30 disposals,^[7][8] before having a shoulder operation in the off-season.^[9]

Upon the resumption of the 2020 season after it was curtailed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Boak gathered 24 disposals and a goal in Port Adelaide's record-breaking 75-point Showdown win in round 2 to win his second Showdown Medal.^[10] He went on to have a career-best season, earning selection as vice-captain in the 2020 All-Australian team^[11] and finishing second and third respectively in votes for the Leigh Matthews Trophy and AFLCA champion player of the year award.^[12] He also finished as runner-up in the 2020 Brownlow Medal with an equal-career-high 21 votes, ten votes behind winner Lachie Neale.^{[13][14][15][16][17]}

Boak played his 300th match, also against Collingwood, in round 19 of the 2021 season; he recorded 30 disposals^[18] as he equalled the club's AFL games record held by Kane Cornes.^[19][20] The next week he broke the club record in a 27-point win over GWS. Following the 2021 home-and-away season, Boak was awarded the Jim Stynes Community Leadership Award as recognition for his work with the Childhood Cancer Association. Following almost 12 years of work with the association, Boak regularly volunteers his time to visit children and teens in hospitals. He played a key role in raising more than $1m annually via their ‘Captain for a Day’ experiences, which allows a young patient to experience the inner sanctum of the Port Adelaide Football Club.^[21]

Updated to the end of round 10, 2024.^[22]

Notes

Team

• McClelland Trophy (Port Adelaide): 2020

Individual

• Port Adelaide captain: 2013–2018
• Port Adelaide AFL games record holder
• 3× All-Australian team: 2013, 2014, 2020
• 2× John Cahill Medal: 2011, 2019
• 2× Australia representative honours in international rules football: 2014, 2017
• Victoria representative honours in State of Origin for Bushfire Relief Match
• 3× Showdown Medal: 2013 (game 1), 2020, 2021 (game 1)
• 3× Peter Badcoe VC Medal: 2014, 2015, 2019
• AFL Rising Star nominee: 2007