Alex Silvagni

Alex Silvagni
Personal information
Full name	Alex Silvagni
Date of birth	(1987-09-29) 29 September 1987 (age 35)
Original team(s)	Casey Scorpions (VFL)
Draft	No. 24, 2010 rookie draft
Height	192 cm (76 in)
Weight	92 kg (203 lb)
Position(s)	Defender
Playing career1
Years	Club	Games (Goals)
2010–2016	Fremantle	53 (10)
2017–2018	Carlton	07 0(0)
Total		60 (10)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 2018.
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

Alex Silvagni (born 29 September 1987) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Fremantle and Carlton Football Clubs in the Australian Football League (AFL).

Early career

Silvagni did not play in the TAC Cup as a junior, but instead played for his school, Haileybury College winning a premiership in his final year in 2005. ^[1] He joined the Casey Scorpions in the Victorian Football League in 2006, winning selection in the VFL's under-23 team. He had two successful seasons in 2008 and 2009, playing mainly at full back, but also pinch-hitting in the ruck or forwardline, finishing 5th in 2008 (2nd best non-AFL aligned player) and then third in 2009 in Casey's best and fairest award, being awarded the most consistent award in 2008 ^[2] and winning selection in the 2009 VFL Team of the year. ^[3]

AFL career

Silvagni attended the Victorian state screening session prior to the 2006 AFL Draft, but was not selected by any teams. In 2009, Silvagni moved to Western Australia to train with the Fremantle Football Club, who selected him with their second selection in the 2010 Rookie Draft, the 24th overall. He was one of eight players from the VFL selected in the rookie draft, including Michael Barlow, who was also drafted to Fremantle from the Werribee Football Club. ^[4]

After playing well in Fremantle's three NAB Cup pre-season games, ^[5] Silvagni was promoted to Fremantle's senior list and was selected to make his AFL debut in the opening round of the 2010 AFL season. ^[6]

Silvagni made his debut for Fremantle in the opening round of the 2010 AFL season and performed well, taking 7 marks and gathering 14 possessions, including an impressive 55-metre goal as Fremantle recorded a 56-point victory over the Adelaide Football Club. ^[7] The celebrations, however, were tempered when Silvagni's former captain at the Casey Scorpions, Kyle Matthews, was knocked unconscious when he was involved in a fight after watching the game at a hotel in Hawthorn. ^[8]

His drafting as a "mature-aged rookie" and subsequent composed performances in his first few games are seen as an indication of a change to the recruiting philosophy to not only draft the best 18-year-old players, but also to consider older players. ^{[4] [9] [10]}

At the conclusion of the 2016 season, he was delisted by Fremantle. ^[11]

Silvagni was then drafted by Carlton in the 2017 rookie draft. ^[12] He had a widely-remembered best on ground performance on his Carlton debut in Round 6, 2017 against the Sydney Swans, where he lined up as the direct opponent to the season's Coleman medallist Lance Franklin, and kept him to one goal, and bested Franklin one-on-one in several spectacular open-field chases and contests. ^[13] He played a string of six games, before injury forced him out for the rest of the 2017 season. Despite having played only seven games for the club and still being on the rookie list, Silvagni was elevated to the club's leadership group in 2018; ^[14] but persistent injuries prevented him from playing at all during the season. He retired at the end of the season, ending his brief but eventful career with the Blues. ^[15]

Post-AFL career

In 2023 Silvagni was a contestant on the Australian reality television show The Summit.

Personal life

Silvagni is the second cousin of Carlton legend and AFL full-back of the century, Stephen Silvagni. Alex's father Eric and Stephen's father Sergio are first cousins. ^[16] His mother is Anglo-Indian. ^{[17] [18]}

Statistics

Statistics are correct to the end of the 2016 season ^[19]

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
2010	Fremantle	36	15	4	0	120	46	166	66	52	0.3	0.0	8.0	3.1	11.1	4.4	3.5
2011	Fremantle	36	9	1	0	74	45	119	46	26	0.1	0.0	8.2	5.0	13.2	5.1	2.9
2012	Fremantle	36	5	0	0	37	16	53	24	15	0.0	0.0	7.4	3.2	10.6	4.8	3.0
2013	Fremantle	36	10	5	3	56	32	88	43	26	0.5	0.3	5.6	3.2	8.8	4.3	2.6
2014	Fremantle	36	7	0	0	51	19	70	29	19	0.0	0.0	7.3	2.7	10.0	4.1	2.7
2015	Fremantle	36	2	0	0	14	8	22	11	3	0.0	0.0	7.0	4.0	11.0	5.5	1.5
2016	Fremantle	36	5	0	0	44	27	71	29	6	0.0	0.0	8.8	5.4	14.2	5.8	1.2
Career			53	10	3	396	193	589	248	147	0.2	0.1	7.5	3.6	11.1	4.7	2.8

References

1. McGowan, Marc (2 May 2008). "Silvagni rediscovers his passion". Berwick News. Archived from the original on 6 August 2008. Retrieved 26 March 2010.
2. McGowan, Marc (9 October 2008) Wall claims Scorpions' top award Archived 13 September 2012 at archive.today
3. Pickering, Paul (8 October 2009). "Solid Wall is top Scorpion". Berwick News. Archived from the original on 11 October 2009. Retrieved 26 March 2010.
4. Diamond, Brent (27 December 2009). "Docker signings could help set a trend". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 26 March 2010.
5. Washbourne, Alex (22 February 2010). "Michael Barlow leads Fremantle's rookie charge". PerthNow. Archived from the original on 24 February 2010. Retrieved 26 March 2010.
6. Clarke, Tim (25 March 2010). "Silvagni name back in the AFL". WA Today. Retrieved 26 March 2010.
7. Young Dockers get it done
8. Silvagni debut almost ends in tragedy
9. Breen, Daniel (2 April 2010) AFL's mature age recruits are hot property; Geelong Advertiser
10. Walsh, Courtney (30 March 2010). "Rise of the second generation". The Australian . Archived from the original on 27 September 2012. Retrieved 19 October 2011.
11. Malcolm, Alex (26 October 2016). "Another Docker down as Freo cuts veteran defender". AFL.com.au. BigPond . Retrieved 29 October 2016.
12. Browne, Ashley (28 November 2016). "Giants reunite ex-Dockers Mzungu and de Boer". AFL.com.au. Bigpond . Retrieved 28 November 2016.
13. "Blues stun Swans with upset AFL win". SBS. 29 April 2017. Retrieved 20 February 2021.
14. "Murphy steers new-look leadership group". Carlton Football Club. 31 January 2018. Retrieved 31 January 2018.
15. "Former Fremantle Docker Alex Silvagni calls time on AFL career". The West Australian. 21 August 2018. Retrieved 20 February 2021.
16. Carlton news
17. The Footy Almanac - Asia-Pacific Team of the Century
18. Kastanis, Costa (18 July 2014). "A multicultural Freo". Archived from the original on 8 August 2014. Retrieved 14 April 2015.
19. Alex Silvagni's player profile at AFL Tables

External links

• Alex Silvagni's profile on the official website of the Fremantle Football Club
• Alex Silvagni's playing statistics from AFL Tables
• Alex Silvagni's profile on the official website of the WAFL