Marcus Windhager

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 (2003-05-16) 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 17
Playing career1
Years Club Games (Goals)
2022– St Kilda 37 (6)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of round 22, 2022.
Career highlights
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

Early life

Windhager 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

At 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
  1. "Marcus Windhager: pick-and-rolls and kicking goals". www.sandringhamdragons.com.au. Retrieved 25 November 2021.
  2. "Marcus Windhager: pick-and-rolls and kicking goals". www.sandringhamdragons.com.au. Retrieved 25 November 2021.
  3. "AFL - News, Fixtures, Scores & Results". afl.com.au. Retrieved 25 November 2021.
  4. "Academy pair right at home, Saints snare key defender". saints.com.au. Retrieved 25 November 2021.
  5. "Lengthy layoff possible as Saints NGA prospect suffers injury ahead of draft". afl.com.au. Retrieved 25 November 2021.
  6. "Owens makes history as inaugural Academy selection". saints.com.au. Retrieved 25 November 2021.
  7. "A star in the making: Windhager earns NAB Rising Star nomination". saints.com.au. Retrieved 15 August 2022.
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