Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti

Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti
McDonald-Tipungwuti playing in June 2017
Personal information
Full name Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti
Nickname(s) Walla,[1] Tippa[citation needed]
Date of birth (1993-04-22) 22 April 1993 (age 31)
Place of birth Tiwi Islands, Northern Territory
Original team(s) Tiwi Bombers (NTFL)
Gippsland Power (TAC Cup)
Essendon reserves (VFL)
Draft No. 22, 2015 rookie draft
Height 171 cm (5 ft 7 in)
Weight 82 kg (181 lb)
Position(s) Forward
Playing career1
Years Club Games (Goals)
2016–2023 Essendon 133 (157)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 2023.
Career highlights
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

Anthony William Watson McDonald-Tipungwuti[2] (born 22 April 1993) is a former professional Australian rules football player for the Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He was drafted by Essendon with their second selection in the 2015 rookie draft.[3]

Early life

Born as Anthony Tipungwuti on the Tiwi Islands into an Indigenous Australian family, off the coast of Darwin, Anthony was raised on Melville Island.[4] He played his junior football for the Tiwi Bombers in the Northern Territory Football League. Tipungwuti represented the Northern Territory at the U18 National Championships in both 2011 and 2012.

In 2011, he moved to Victoria at the age of 17—not being able to read or write, and speaking only a "bit of English"—to better his chances of an AFL career.[4] He was adopted by Jane McDonald in Gippsland and took on her name as recognition of her contribution to his journey, joining the family as the youngest brother.[4] Anthony attended school at Chairo Christian School in Drouin after moving to Victoria where he learnt to speak English. He spent six years playing for the Gippsland Power in the TAC Cup and Essendon's reserves team in the VFL before realising his dream when he was rookie listed by Essendon at the end of 2015.[5]

AFL career

Following the many suspensions handed out to Essendon players at the end of 2015 for the supplements controversy fallout, McDonald-Tipungwuti was elevated to the Bombers' senior list.[6] He made his AFL debut in Round 1 of the 2016 season against the Gold Coast Suns at Metricon Stadium, and he retained his position in the team until his retirement. In July 2020, he broke the record for most consecutive AFL games for Essendon in the AFL era.[7] His streak ended at 126 games when he decided not to play in Round 22, 2021, for personal reasons.[8]

McDonald-Tipungwuti has finished in the top 10 for the Crichton Medal, Essendon's best-and-fairest award, each season of his career—5th in 2018; 7th in 2016, 2017, and 2020; 8th in 2019; and 10th in 2021 despite not playing in the club's final three games. He was also Essendon’s leading goalkicker in the shortened 2020 season, with 19 goals.

McDonald-Tipungwuti announced his retirement on 20 May 2022; however, he revoked the announcement on 10 November 2022.[9] After a comeback season in 2023, he announced his retirement for good on 24 August 2023,[10] playing his last game, a loss against Collingwood, the following day.[11]

Statistics

Statistics correct as of the end of the 2023 season[12]
Legend
  G  
 Goals
  K  
 Kicks
  D  
 Disposals 
  T  
 Tackles
  B  
 Behinds 
  H  
 Handballs 
  M  
 Marks
Season Team No. Games Totals Averages (per game)
G B K H D M T G B K H D M T
2016 Essendon 43 21 8 9 186 127 313 89 67 0.4 0.4 8.9 6.0 14.9 4.2 3.2
2017 Essendon 43 23 34 17 179 121 300 78 84 1.5 0.7 7.8 5.3 13.0 3.4 3.7
2018 Essendon 43 22 26 14 160 110 270 75 99 1.2 0.6 7.3 5.0 12.3 3.4 4.5
2019 Essendon 43 23 32 13 166 97 263 66 99 1.4 0.6 7.2 4.2 11.4 2.9 4.3
2020[a] Essendon 43 17 19 7 86 61 147 35 57 1.1 0.4 5.1 3.6 8.7 2.1 3.6
2021 Essendon 43 20 34 14 129 72 201 49 56 1.7 0.7 6.5 3.6 10.1 2.5 2.8
2022 Essendon 43 0 — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
2023 Essendon 43 7 4 5 27 23 50 15 15 0.6 0.7 3.9 3.3 7.1 2.1 2.1
Career 133 157 79 933 611 1544 407 477 1.2 0.6 7.0 4.6 11.6 3.1 3.6
  1. ^ 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.

References

  1. ^ https://twitter.com/essendonfc/status/1278924012513419265 [bare URL]
  2. ^ "Anthony McTipungwuti on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved 18 May 2016.
  3. ^ McGowan, Marc (27 November 2015). "Former Tiwi Bomber Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti gets rookie-list chance at Essendon". NT News. Retrieved 8 December 2021.
  4. ^ a b c Bomber Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti's long journey to overnight success by Emma Quayle for The Age 27 May 2016
  5. ^ Ralph, Jon (7 April 2016). "Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti's remarkable journey from Tiwi Islands to the AFL". Herald Sun. Nationwide News Pty Ltd. Retrieved 8 December 2021.
  6. ^ Cherny, Daniel (24 March 2016). "Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti, Jason Holmes elevated from rookie list". The Age. Nine Publishing. Retrieved 8 December 2021.
  7. ^ @essendonfc (2 July 2020). "Our club record is broken tonight. A mighty achievement, Walla 👏" (Tweet). Retrieved 8 December 2021 – via Twitter.
  8. ^ De Silva, Chris (20 August 2021). "Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti sidelined due to 'personal reasons', no timeline on AFL return". nine.com.au. Nine Publishing. Retrieved 8 December 2021.
  9. ^ Twomey, Callum (10 November 2022). "Back in red and black: Fan favourite commits to Bombers return". AFL Media. Retrieved 10 November 2022.
  10. ^ "McDonald-Tipungwuti calls time, set for farewell game". essendonfc.com.au. 24 August 2023. Retrieved 24 August 2023.
  11. ^ "From the top: Pies clinch minor premiership with Bomber blitz". afl.com.au. 25 August 2023. Retrieved 19 February 2024.
  12. ^ "Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti". AFL Tables. Retrieved 26 August 2022.
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