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James Worpel
James Worpel
	Worpel playing for Hawthorn in August 2018
Personal information
Nickname(s)	Worpedo
Date of birth	24 January 1999 (age 25)
Original team(s)	Geelong Falcons (TAC Cup)
Draft	No. 45, 2017 national draft
Debut	Round 6, 2018, Hawthorn vs. St Kilda, at University of Tasmania Stadium
Height	186 cm (6 ft 1 in)
Weight	86 kg (190 lb)
Position(s)	Midfielder
Club information
Current club	Hawthorn
Number	5
Playing career1
Years	Club
2018–	Hawthorn
	1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 2024.
Career highlights
	Peter Crimmins Medal: 2019; 22under22 team: 2019;
	Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

James Worpel (born 24 January 1999) is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the Hawthorn Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL).

Early career

One of nine siblings growing up in the regional town of Bannockburn near Geelong, James was the second youngest and grew up with three other football obsessed brothers. An early developer James was selected at centre half back in the 2014 U/15 All Australian team.^[1] He also attended school at Western Heights College located in Geelong

Worpel spent two years developing his craft in the TAC with the Geelong Falcons. Worpel is a fierce competitor that goes in to win hard ball.^[2]

A natural leader he was appointed co-captain of the Falcons for the 2017 year. He would later lead the side to the premiership. He was captain of the Victoria Country team in the 2017 AFL Under 18 Championships and was later rewarded with being selected in the U/18 All-Australian team.^[2]

AFL career

Worpel was drafted by Hawthorn with their first selection and forty-fifth overall in the 2017 AFL draft. He made his AFL debut in the thirty-five point win against St Kilda at the University of Tasmania Stadium in round six of the 2018 season.^[3]^[4] He played three games before getting dropped. Back in the side for round 18 against Carlton, he put in an impressive four match performance for Worpel became Hawthorn’s second Rising Star nominee for the 2018 season.^[5]

2019 season

During the 2019 pre-season Worpel was given the number 5 guernsey that had been vacated due to Ryan Burton having been traded to Port Adelaide.^[6] Worpel wore number 38 for his debut season.^[7]

Worpel was picked for round one, and managed to play every game for the season. He set a league record for most disposals for a player under twenty years of age. Ultimately he was voted the best player for Hawthorn for the season, collecting the Peter Crimmins Medal,^[8] becoming the youngest winner of that record since Leigh Matthews won it in 1971.^[9] Worpel is considered a protégé of Senior Coach and former Hawthorn player Sam Mitchell.^[7]^[10]

In 2020 Worpel missed the last two games of the season when he injured of his right acromioclavicular (AC) joint against Western Bulldogs that required surgery to stabilise the joint.^[11]

Statistics

Updated to the end of 2024.^[12]

**Legend**
G	Goals	K	Kicks	D	Disposals	T	Tackles
B	Behinds	H	Handballs	M	Marks


Season	Team	No.	Games	Totals							Averages (per game)							Votes
Season	Team	No.	Games	G	B	K	H	D	M	T	G	B	K	H	D	M	T	Votes
2018	Hawthorn	38	11	5	5	95	98	193	23	43	0.5	0.5	8.6	8.9	17.5	2.1	3.9	0
2019	Hawthorn	5	22	9	8	309	275	584	72	107	0.4	0.4	14.0	12.5	26.5	3.3	4.9	10
2020^[a]	Hawthorn	5	15	2	7	167	120	287	39	81	0.1	0.5	11.1	8.0	19.1	2.6	5.4	0
2021	Hawthorn	5	20	10	8	232	194	426	54	82	0.5	0.4	11.6	9.7	21.3	2.7	4.1	0
2022	Hawthorn	5	11	3	2	86	83	169	20	24	0.3	0.2	7.8	7.5	15.4	1.8	2.2	0
2023	Hawthorn	5	23	10	9	286	314	600	52	92	0.4	0.4	12.4	13.7	26.1	2.3	4.0	11
2024	Hawthorn	5	25	6	11	280	265	545	52	110	0.2	0.4	11.2	10.6	21.8	2.1	4.4	14
Career			127	45	50	1455	1348	2803	312	537	0.4	0.4	11.5	10.6	22.1	2.5	4.2	35

Notes

^ The 2020 season was played with 17 home-and-away matches per team (down from 22) and 16-minute quarters with time on (down from 20-minute quarters with time on) due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.