List of VFL/AFL players born outside Australia

This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by adding missing items with reliable sources.

This is a list of players who have played at least one senior game in the Australian Football League (AFL), previously known as the Victorian Football League (VFL), who were born outside Australia.

Players born outside Australia

Peter Bell (South Korea) played 286 AFL games.

Jason Johannisen (South Africa) is a Norm Smith Medallist.

Héritier Lumumba (Brazil) is a premiership player.

Andrew McGrath (Canada) won the 2017 AFL Rising Star.

^		Denotes current player[1][2]

Name	Country of birth	Club(s)	First	Last	Games	Goals
Peter Agrums	Latvia	North Melbourne	1963	1964	11	4
Leek Aleer^	Kenya	Greater Western Sydney	2022		7	1
Aliir Aliir^	Kenya	Sydney, Port Adelaide	2016		135	5
Mac Andrew^	Egypt	Gold Coast	2022		28	0
Ivan Astruc	Mauritius	Fitzroy	1897	1897	6	1
Jack Baggott	South Africa	Essendon, Richmond	1927	1937	138	140
Jack Barnett	New Zealand	Richmond	1924	1926	13	11
Niels Becker	West Germany	Footscray	1962	1963	10	3
Peter Bell	South Korea	Fremantle, North Melbourne	1995	2008	286	250[3]
Peter Bennett	New Zealand	Essendon, Hawthorn	1976	1981	80	27
Peter Bevilacqua	Italy	Carlton	1953	1953	1	0[4]
Fred Birnstihl	Weimar Republic	Footscray	1927	1927	2	0
James Borlase^	Egypt	Adelaide	2023		9	0
Atu Bosenavulagi	Fiji	Collingwood, North Melbourne	2019	2022	20	1
Mordecai Bromberg	Israel	St Kilda	1978	1981	34	11
Bob Bryce	New Zealand	Sydney, Collingwood	1899	1902	18	12
Adam Campbell	New Zealand	Fremantle	2006	2009	13	13
Alipate Carlile	Fiji	Port Adelaide	2006	2016	167	5
Peter Castrikum	Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia)	Footscray	1965	1965	6
Mabior Chol^	Sudan	Richmond, Gold Coast, Hawthorn	2016		65	83
Alf Clay	South Africa	Hawthorn, Footscray, Fitzroy, North Melbourne	1937	1946	83	39
Brant Colledge	France	West Coast	2014	2015	3	0
Harold Collocott	Fiji	Geelong	1900	1900	1	0
Sudjai Cook	Thailand	Adelaide	1998	1998	7	2
Mason Cox^	United States	Collingwood	2016		118	117
Jim Cowcher	New Zealand	Carlton	1898	1898	5	0
Trent Croad	New Zealand	Fremantle, Hawthorn	1998	2008	222	189
Damian Cupido	South Africa	Brisbane Lions, Essendon	2000	2005	53	66
Ben Cunningham	New Zealand	Fremantle	2000	2005	33	22
Majak Daw	Sudan	North Melbourne, Melbourne	2013	2020	54	43
Donald Dickie	New Zealand	Port Adelaide	1997	2000	55	19
Colin Dufty	Fiji	Collingwood	1914	1914	1	1
Aaron Edwards	Samoa	North Melbourne, West Coast	2005	2011	73	107
Neil Erasmus^	South Africa	Fremantle	2022		23	2
Harry Frei	West Germany	Footscray	1973	1973	6	0
Ted Garside	South Africa	Hawthorn	1931	1931	6	0
Arthur Gilligan	New Zealand	Essendon, Fitzroy	1902	1905	32	15
Mil Hanna	Lebanon	Carlton	1986	1997	190	83[4]
Harry Haughton	New Zealand	Carlton	1912	1919	113	49[4]
Jason Holmes	United States	St Kilda	2015	2017	5	0
Karmichael Hunt	New Zealand	Gold Coast	2011	2014	44	6
Alex Ishchenko	Ukraine	Brisbane Bears, North Melbourne, West Coast	1987	1995	142	37
Bohdan Jaworskyj	East Germany	Hawthorn	1973	1975	67	3
Henri Jeanneret	Switzerland	Melbourne, South Melbourne	1898	1904	113	49
Alex Jesaulenko	Austria	Carlton, St Kilda	1967	1981	279	444[4]
Changkuoth Jiath^	Ethiopia	Hawthorn	2019		56	5
Tew Jiath^	Ethiopia	Collingwood	2024		1	0
Jason Johannisen^	South Africa	Western Bulldogs	2012		196	75
Tom Jok	Sudan	Essendon	2019	2019	1	0
Warren Jones	New Zealand	Carlton, St Kilda	1978	1988	123	36[4]
Buku Khamis^	Sudan	Western Bulldogs	2019		27	7
Robbert Klomp	Netherlands	Carlton, Footscray	1979	1984	93	20[4]
Stephen Lawrence	South Africa	Hawthorn	1988	1998	146	30
Mykelti Lefau^	New Zealand	Richmond	2024		10	14
Heritier Lumumba	Brazil	Collingwood, Melbourne	2005	2016	178	25
Artie Machin	New Zealand	Sydney	1898	1898	3	0
Aubrey MacKenzie	South Africa	Melbourne, St Kilda	1914	1924	12	17
Frank Macky	New Zealand	University	1911	1911	7	2
Oleg Markov^	Belarus	Richmond, Gold Coast, Collingwood	2016		86	7
Rowan Marshall^	New Zealand	St Kilda	2017		132	67
Kris Massie	Sweden	Carlton, Adelaide	1998	2008	131	23[4]
Daniel McAlister	New Zealand	Essendon	1997	2002	6	0
Dave McColl	New Zealand	South Melbourne	1904	1904	5	0
Marty McDonnell	New Zealand	Footscray	1939	1950	92	2
Abe McDougall	New Zealand	Fitzroy	1898	1902	59	28
Andrew McGrath^	Canada	Essendon	2017		157	20
Charlie Meadway	New Zealand	Carlton, Collingwood	1906	1907	4	0
Bill Mearns	New Zealand	St Kilda	1910	1910	3	1
Eddie Melai	Netherlands	South Melbourne	1964	1964	7	2
Mal Michael	Papua New Guinea	Brisbane Lions, Collingwood, Essendon	1997	2008	238	33
Charlie Moore	Fiji	Essendon	1897	1899	30	34
Ian Muller	South Africa	Carlton, St Kilda	1984	1991	27	2[4]
Bigoa Nyuon	Kenya	Richmond, North Melbourne	2020	2024	4	0
Hewago Oea	Papua New Guinea	Gold Coast	2022	2024	13	5
Thomas O'Halloran	New Zealand	Richmond	1925	1934	142	120
Daniel Pearce	New Zealand	Western Bulldogs	2012	2015	5	0
Val Perovic	Croatia	Carlton, St Kilda	1973	1985	174	13[4]
Ian Perrie	Zimbabwe	Adelaide	1998	2007	115	133
Cameron Polson	Hong Kong	Carlton	2017	2020	19	4
Fred Pringle	India	Carlton	1923	1924	22	7[4]
Don Pyke	United States	West Coast	1989	1996	132	97
Mike Pyke	Canada	Sydney	2009	2015	110	48
Willis Reeve	Myanmar	Fitzroy	1927	1932	86	0
Brent Renouf	New Zealand	Hawthorn, Port Adelaide	2008	2011	52	9
Bruce Reville^	Papua New Guinea	Brisbane Lions	2024		12	4
David Rodan	Fiji	Port Adelaide, Richmond, Melbourne	2002	2013	166	127
Brian Roet	Cuba	Melbourne	1961	1968	88	1
Jose Romero	Chile	Footscray/Western Bulldogs, North Melbourne	1988	2001	211	169
Alex Ruscuklic	East Germany	Carlton, Fitzroy	1966	1974	117	209[4]
Shane Savage	New Zealand	Hawthorn, St Kilda	2009	2020	165	63
Wayne Schwass	New Zealand	North Melbourne, Sydney	1988	2002	282	154
Joe Sellwood	New Zealand	Geelong	1930	1945	180	97
Dannie Seow	Singapore	Collingwood, Melbourne	1986	1990	25	10
Ben Sexton	Papua New Guinea	Carlton, Footscray	1991	1996	43	33[4]
Michael Sexton	Papua New Guinea	Carlton	1990	2000	200	23[4]
Jack Southern	New Zealand	South Melbourne	1897	1899	31	3
Bob Svorinich	Italy	South Melbourne	1969	1971	8	7
Ron Tenabel	Netherlands	South Melbourne	1965	1967	17	0
Heinz Tonn	Weimar Republic	Fitzroy	1947	1947	6	2
Wennie Van Lint	Netherlands	Sydney	1967	1967	2	0
Ron Van T'Hag	Netherlands	Geelong	1959	1959	2	0
Eric Vinar	Czech Republic	Fitzroy	1964	1964	8	3
Paul Vinar	Czech Republic	Geelong	1959	1966	132	45
Brandon Walker^	Ghana	Fremantle	2021		64	2
Fred Warry	Seychelles	St Kilda	1900	1900	2	0
Arthur Watson	New Zealand	Hawthorn	1929	1929	2	0
Tom Watson	New Zealand	Carlton, Melbourne	1902	1904	15	0
Sanford Wheeler	United States	Sydney	1989	1994	43	7
Reuben William	Sudan	Brisbane Lions	2016	2017	3	0
Rupert Wills	New Zealand	Collingwood	2016	2020	23	1
Barney Wood	New Zealand	Melbourne	1928	1928	5	0

Players born in the British Isles

Jim Stynes (Ireland) won the Brownlow Medal in 1991.

Zach Tuohy (Ireland) played a record 288 AFL games.

Bill Eason (England) was Geelong's first player to reach 200 appearances.

Tadhg Kennelly (Ireland) is a premiership player.

^		Denotes current player[1][2]

Name	Country of birth	Club(s)	First	Last	Games	Goals
Bill Ahern	Ireland	Carlton	1897	1897	1	0
Ramsay Anderson	Scotland	Essendon, University	1910	1912	31	0
Bert Ashby	England	Hawthorn	1928	1935	25	6
Harry Aylwin	England	St Kilda	1897	1899	29	0
Alf Bartlett	England	Fitzroy	1901	1907	80	5
Keith Baskin	England	South Melbourne	1964	1973	75	78
Mark Bayliss	England	Collingwood	1989	1989	4	6
Colm Begley	Ireland	Brisbane Lions, St Kilda	2006	2009	30	7
Ted Besford	England	Fitzroy	1939	1941	2	0
Bernie Bignell	England	Carlton	1940	1945	6	0[4]
Lawrence Bingham	England	Hawthorn, St Kilda	1989	1993	25	0
Wayne Blackwell	England	Carlton	1984	1990	110	80[4]
Bill Bourke	Ireland	Richmond	1908	1909	32	45
Percy Bowyer	England	Collingwood	1928	1938	154	33
Ted Brewis	England	Carlton	1925	1928	60	12[4]
Alan Broadley	England	South Melbourne	1941	1941	3	1
Callum Brown^	England	Greater Western Sydney	2021		42	42
Chris Burton	England	Footscray, Richmond	1980	1988	117	35
Ciarán Byrne	Ireland	Carlton	2014	2018	22	0
Dick Campbell	Northern Ireland	St Kilda	1909	1909	1	0
Martin Clarke	Ireland	Collingwood	2007	2013	72	19
Ted Cordner	England	Melbourne	1941	1946	52	0
Aidan Corr^	Northern Ireland	Greater Western Sydney, North Melbourne	2013		162	3
Ian Dargie	England	St Kilda, West Coast	1989	1991	11	1
Harry Davie	England	Carlton, Melbourne	1924	1928	58	186[4]
Jim Davies	Wales	Carlton	1949	1950	16	1[4]
Reg Davies	Wales	Hawthorn	1930	1931	3	0
Bart Dinsmore	Scotland	St Kilda	1903	1903	2	3
Paul Earley	England	Melbourne	1984	1984	1	1
Bill Eason	England	Geelong	1902	1915	220	187
Jack Edgeley	England	Fitzroy	1907	1908	8	1
Bob Edmond	Scotland	Carlton	1967	1968	10	0[4]
Jim Edmond	Scotland	Footscray, Sydney, Brisbane Bears	1977	1988	188	287
Dinny Fagan	England	Sydney	1929	1931	19	0
Fred Fairweather	England	North Melbourne	1944	1946	54	14
Dick Fowler	England	Melbourne	1908	1908	1	0
Jack Frost	England	Carlton	1897	1897	4	0[4]
Conor Glass	Ireland	Hawthorn	2017	2020	21	2
Fred Godfrey	England	Footscray	1938	1938	6	5
Andy Goodwin	England	Melbourne, Richmond	1987	1993	73	9
John Gray	Scotland	University	1908	1913	85	3
Dick Hall	Wales	Collingwood	1897	1897	1	0
Pearce Hanley	England	Brisbane Lions, Gold Coast	2008	2020	169	60
Paul Harding	England	Hawthorn, St Kilda, West Coast	1987	1994	116	14
Bob Hay	Scotland	Fitzroy	1899	1901	9	1
Connor Idun^	England[5]	Greater Western Sydney	2019		93	0
Bill Johnstone	Scotland	Collingwood	1941	1941	2	0
Denis Lanigan	Ireland	Collingwood, Melbourne, Carlton	1897	1899	41	6
Darragh Joyce^	Ireland[6]	St Kilda, Brisbane Lions	2018		24	0
Mark Keane^	Ireland[6]	Collingwood, Adelaide	2019		31	0
Frank Kelly	England	Footscray	1941	1944	8	0
Tadhg Kennelly	Ireland	Sydney	2001	2011	197	30
Bob Kenny	Ireland	St Kilda	1899	1899	2	0
Barney Lazarus	Ireland	Carlton	1902	1902	7	0[4]
Thomas Leather	Scotland	North Melbourne	1932	1933	16	11
Harry Lees	England	Collingwood	1908	1908	1	0
Johnny Leonard	England	South Melbourne	1932	1932	12	17
Cameron Mackenzie^	England	Hawthorn	2023		43	12
James Madden	Ireland	Brisbane Lions	2021	2024	11	1
Stuart Magee	Northern Ireland	Footscray, South Melbourne	1962	1975	216	149
Fred Mann	England	Essendon	1901	1903	27	1
Frank Maple	England	Hawthorn	1926	1926	2	1
Nick Marshall	Scotland	Geelong	1907	1908	4	0
William Marshall	England	Melbourne, University	1905	1908	12	0
Bryan Martin	England	Melbourne	1942	1943	5	0
John McCarthy	Wales	Fitzroy, North Melbourne	1986	1996	163	178
Alan McCrory	Ireland	Richmond, South Melbourne	1938	1941	9	4
Bob McIlveen	Scotland	Richmond	1943	1943	6	0
Niall McKeever	Northern Ireland	Brisbane Lions	2011	2012	17	1
Conor McKenna^	Northern Ireland	Essendon, Brisbane Lions	2015		123	27
Hugh McLaughlin Sr.	Scotland	South Melbourne, Footscray	1929	1937	129	0
Tom McNeil	Scotland	St Kilda	1951	1952	8	0
Dermot McNicholl	Ireland	St Kilda	1990	1990	3	0
Henry McPetrie	Scotland	Carlton	1897	1897	5	2[4]
Donald Mills	Jersey	Hawthorn	1929	1931	15	0
Jim Money	Scotland	Geelong	1928	1928	2	1
Caolan Mooney	Ireland	Collingwood	2012	2014	6	2
Brad Moran	England	Adelaide, North Melbourne	2006	2011	21	8
Doug Morgan	Wales	Geelong	1909	1911	18	3
Oisín Mullin^	Ireland[6]	Geelong	2023		18	0
Brian Mulvihill	England	North Melbourne	1971	1972	24	25
Brian Mynott	England	St Kilda	1964	1975	210	75
Conor Nash^	Ireland[6]	Hawthorn	2018		98	17
Eric Needham	England	St Kilda	1933	1933	1	0
Ingy Norman	Wales	Fitzroy	1938	1938	1	0
Jack Norman	Wales	Fitzroy	1938	1938	1	0
Liam O'Connell^	Ireland[6]	St Kilda	2025		1	0
Mark O'Connor^	Ireland[6]	Geelong	2017		122	9`
Laurie Ogilvie	Scotland	Melbourne	1901	1901	4	3
Joe O'Grady	Ireland	St Kilda	1897	1897	9	0
Setanta Ó hAilpín	Ireland	Carlton, Greater Western Sydney	2005	2013	88	82
Bill Perkins	England	Richmond	1940	1949	148	0
Jamie O'Reilly	Northern Ireland	Richmond	2010	2011	4	0
Colin O'Riordan	Ireland	Sydney	2015	2022	34	1
Michael Quinn	Ireland	Essendon	2009	2011	8	2
Jim Redstone	England	South Melbourne	1938	1938	4	5
George Renwick	England	Carlton	1909	1909	4	0
Ralph Robertson	England	St Kilda	1898	1900	14	1
Eddie Rosenbrock	England	South Melbourne	1929	1930	4	0
Bobby Royle	England	Melbourne	1898	1898	3	0
Fred Scott	Northern Ireland	Essendon, Carlton	1899	1904	50	36[4]
Ciarán Sheehan	Ireland	Carlton	2014	2017	6	0
Arthur Sowden	England	Melbourne	1897	1906	117	13
Ted Staniland	England	Fitzroy	1897	1897	5	3
George Stewart	Scotland	Carlton	1909	1909	2	0
Wilfred Stott	England	Essendon, Richmond	1913	1920	11	1
Jack Strong	Scotland	Melbourne	1901	1912	78	29
Brian Stynes	Ireland	Melbourne	1992	1992	2	0
Jim Stynes	Ireland	Melbourne	1987	1998	264	130
George Sutherland	Scotland	St Kilda	1900	1901	16	14
Jim Tarbotton	England	Fitzroy	1923	1926	37	1
Syd Tate	England	Geelong	1947	1951	85	13
Ewan Thompson	Scotland	Richmond	1997	1997	4	1
Anton Tohill	Ireland	Collingwood	2019	2021	1	0
Will Thursfield	England	Richmond	2005	2011	77	0
Zach Tuohy	Ireland[4]	Carlton, Geelong	2011	2024	288	101
Tommy Walsh	Ireland	Sydney	2012	2014	5	3
Clive Waterhouse	England	Fremantle	1996	2004	106	178
Fergus Watts	England	Adelaide, St Kilda	2004	2007	6	3
Fred West	England	Hawthorn	1928	1929	12	3
Sean Wight	Scotland	Melbourne	1985	1995	150	63
Art Wilkinson	England	Collingwood, Essendon	1912	1913	13	8
Arnie Wilson	England	St Kilda	1909	1910	2	0
Josh Worrell^	England	Adelaide	2021		30	0
Syd Young	England	South Melbourne	1941	1941	2	0

See also

• VFL/AFL players with international backgrounds
• Australian rules football around the world

References

1. Rohan Connolly (15 May 2010). "International rules OK". The Age. Melbourne. Retrieved 15 May 2010.
2. "Multicultural players putting AFL on the map". AFL Players Association. 7 August 2015.
3. Wilson, Caroline (30 March 2003). "Bell tolls in Fremantle and beyond". The Sunday Age. p. 14.
4. "From "Media City" to premiership glory". Carlton FC. 3 August 2015.
5. Zell, Alison (2 August 2019). "Idun to Debut". gwsgiants.com.au. Retrieved 2 August 2019.
6. Nolan, Pat (5 March 2025). "The lowdown on the 12 Irish AFL players as 2025 season gets underway down under". irishmirror.ie.