George Wardlaw

George Wardlaw
Personal information
Full name George Anthony Wardlaw
Nickname(s) Warlord, Georgie[1]
Date of birth (2004-06-11) 11 June 2004 (age 20)
Original team(s) Oakleigh Chargers
Height 182 cm (6 ft 0 in)
Weight 80 kg (176 lb)
Position(s) Midfielder
Club information
Current club North Melbourne
Number 6
Playing career1
Years Club Games (Goals)
2023– North Melbourne 26 (8)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 2024.
Career highlights
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

George Anthony Wardlaw[1] (born 11 June 2004) is a professional Australian rules footballer who was drafted to play for North Melbourne in the Australian Football League (AFL) in the 2022 draft.

Early life

Wardlaw completed his secondary education at St Kevin's College in Toorak. He was selected for Vic Metro in the NAB AFL Under 18 Championships and played for Oakleigh Chargers in the NAB League.[2] Despite several injuries to his hamstring in the 2022 year, he was still considered to be among the top prospects in the 2022 AFL Draft.[3]

As a midfielder he has been described as 'powerful' and drawn comparisons to Melbourne Demons star Clayton Oliver.[2][3]

Wardlaw attracted favourable attention from the AFL community after his performance for the Australian Academy team against the Collingwood Magpies VFL side where he won the 'best on ground' award for his team with 18 disposals and 8 tackles.

He is a close friend of fellow 2022 draftee Elijah Tsatas, with the pair having played together since the age of 11 for various Vic Metro teams.[4]

Wardlaw grew up supporting the Essendon Bombers.[4] He first played junior football for St Peter’s Football Club in the South Metro Junior Football League.[5]

AFL career

Wardlaw was highly rated by recruiters and deemed likely to be selected in the first 5 picks of the 2022 AFL Draft.[6] He was selected by North Melbourne Football Club using pick number 4.[7] In round 2 of 2024, Wardlaw became just the 18th player to earn his second AFL Rising Star nomination.

As of round six of the 2024 AFL season, Wardlaw has yet to play in a winning AFL side for North Melbourne.[8]

Statistics

Updated to the end of 2024.[9]

Legend
  G  
 Goals
  K  
 Kicks
  D  
 Disposals 
  T  
 Tackles
  B  
 Behinds 
  H  
 Handballs 
  M  
 Marks
Season Team No. Games Totals Averages (per game) Votes
G B K H D M T G B K H D M T
2023 North Melbourne 6 8 1 1 58 59 117 18 46 0.1 0.1 7.3 7.3 14.6 2.3 5.8 2
2024 North Melbourne 6 18 7 6 203 141 344 60 78 0.4 0.3 11.3 7.8 19.1 3.3 4.3 2
Career 26 8 7 261 200 461 78 124 0.3 0.3 10.0 7.7 17.7 3.0 4.8 4

References

  1. ^ a b Gullan, Scott (16 June 2023). "From WOW to Warlord: Wardlaw bags Rising Star, Gun nod". Herald Sun. Archived from the original on 16 June 2023. Retrieved 21 September 2023.
  2. ^ a b "AFL - News, Fixtures, Scores & Results". afl.com.au. Retrieved 15 November 2022.
  3. ^ a b "Top five draft prospect that's drawing comparisons to Melbourne superstar". www.sen.com.au. Retrieved 15 November 2022.
  4. ^ a b "'Best mates' and AFL draft's top 'one-two combo': Eerie similarities between (very different) top-five prospects". Fox Sports. 27 October 2022. Retrieved 15 November 2022.
  5. ^ Jennings, Zac (6 December 2022). "2022 SMJFL NATIONAL DRAFT ALUMNI". SMJFL. Retrieved 24 March 2024.
  6. ^ "'It's a privilege': Gun mid still in No.1 race despite luckless year". afl.com.au. 6 October 2022. Retrieved 15 November 2022.
  7. ^ "Gun mid heads to Arden St with pick No.4". nmfc.com.au. 28 November 2022. Retrieved 2 December 2022.
  8. ^ Smith, Martin (22 April 2024). "Heading south: North players hit lows not seen since before WWII". Australian Football League.
  9. ^ "George Wardlaw's player profile at AFL Tables". AFL Tables.