[1][2] The son of Robert Snr and Sue, Robbie Gray spent his early years with his two older sisters and parents in Bairnsdale.

He also played for the Victoria Metro's under 18 side, in a team composed of fellow AFL draftees Bachar Houli, Matthew Kreuzer, Tom Hawkins and David Mackay.

Head recruiter at the time, Mick Moylan was impressed with his off-field discipline, with Gray maintaining an 8 and a half-hour job.

[citation needed] After showing strong form in the SANFL with West Adelaide, Gray was given his AFL debut, along with fellow draftee Justin Westhoff.

[citation needed] Gray started the 2008 pre-season strongly, suggesting he was over chronic soft tissue injuries and ready to have a larger impact.

[7] Gray missed the start of the season through injury and only received his first senior game for the year in round 7, after showing good form for West Adelaide.

Gray played all matches until round 14, before injuring his ankle at training, with his best performance being a 20 possession and 12 mark game against Hawthorn.

He returned for two matches late in the 2008 season and played a pivotal role in Port Adelaide's surprise defeat of North Melbourne, by scoring 3 goals.

His standout performance of the year was against Hawthorn, where he kicked 4 goals in a tight win to the Power, earning 3 Brownlow votes for his efforts.

[12] In 2016, Grey was awarded the Merv Agars Medal as the best performed South Australian based AFL player.

[13] In October 2017, Port Adelaide FC released the news that Gray had been diagnosed with testicular cancer after the end of their finals campaign.