Marcus Windhager (born 16 May 2003) is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the St Kilda Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He was drafted in the 2021 AFL Draft at pick number 47 overall.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Marcus Anthony Windhager | ||
| Nickname(s) | Windy | ||
| Date of birth | 16 May 2003 | ||
| Place of birth | Melbourne | ||
| Original team(s) | Sandringham Dragons(NAB League)/Beaumaris | ||
| Draft | No. 47, 2021 AFL Draft | ||
| Debut | 10 April 2022, Round 4, St Kilda vs. Hawthorn, at MCG | ||
| Height | 185 cm (6 ft 1 in) | ||
| Weight | 85 kg (187 lb) | ||
| Position(s) | Midfielder | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | St Kilda | ||
| Number | 2 | ||
| Playing career1 | |||
| Years | Club | Games (Goals) | |
| 2022– | St Kilda | 52 (6) | |
|
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of round 14, 2024. | |||
| Career highlights | |||
| |||
| Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com | |||
Early life
editWindhager was a promising basketballer as a junior, and at 15, represented Australia in the 2018 FIBA Under-15 Oceania Basketball Championships, averaging 9.2 points, 3.7 rebounds and 3.2 assists across the tournament collecting a gold medal in their final against New Zealand.[1]
As a junior footballer, Windhager was the SMJFL 2019 Under 16's Division one Best & Fairest winner and second in the goalkicking table with 23 majors from 10 games playing for Beaumaris, including a bag of 11 against Bentleigh.[2]
Windhager was a member of St Kilda's Next Generation Academy, a pathway for indigenous and multicultural footballers who are typically under-represented and clubs incentivised with draft concessions.[3] He was also an AMC Next Generation Academy Indigenous Scholarship holder.[4]
Windhager was selected for Vic Metro in the 2021 Under 19 National Carnival and played an impressive 25-disposal game in a trail match against Vic Country. He then kickied a goal and had 12 disposals and three inside-50s in the U19 Championships game at Windy Hill in July. Windhager was tipped to be a top 30 pick at the 2021 draft, but suffered a back injury late in the year.[5] Windhager also played for the Sandringham Dragons.
AFL career
editAt the 2021 AFL draft, St Kilda matched a bid by Geelong with draft points for Windhager, and ultimately took him with pick 47 overall.[6] Windhager made his AFL debut in 2022 in Round 4 against Hawthorn. In Round 8 Windhager kicked his first ever AFL goal in their loss to Melbourne at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. In the later half of 2022, Windhager was used as a tagger on players such as Tim Kelly and Cameron Guthrie, and in round 22 received a Rising Star nomination for keeping Brisbane player and Brownlow medallist Lachie Neale to 16 disposals, while collecting 21 touches himself.[7]
References
edit- ^ "Marcus Windhager: pick-and-rolls and kicking goals". www.sandringhamdragons.com.au. Retrieved 25 November 2021.
- ^ "Marcus Windhager: pick-and-rolls and kicking goals". www.sandringhamdragons.com.au. Retrieved 25 November 2021.
- ^ "AFL - News, Fixtures, Scores & Results". afl.com.au. Retrieved 25 November 2021.
- ^ "Academy pair right at home, Saints snare key defender". saints.com.au. Retrieved 25 November 2021.
- ^ "Lengthy layoff possible as Saints NGA prospect suffers injury ahead of draft". afl.com.au. Retrieved 25 November 2021.
- ^ "Owens makes history as inaugural Academy selection". saints.com.au. Retrieved 25 November 2021.
- ^ "A star in the making: Windhager earns NAB Rising Star nomination". saints.com.au. Retrieved 15 August 2022.
External links
edit- Marcus Windhager's profile on the official website of the St Kilda Football Club
- Marcus Windhager at AustralianFootball.com
- Marcus Windhager's playing statistics from AFL Tables