Chad Warner

Chad Warner
Personal information
Nickname(s)	Curly
Date of birth	(2001-05-19) 19 May 2001 (age 23)
Place of birth	Willetton, Western Australia
Original team(s)	East Fremantle (WAFL)
Draft	No. 39, 2019 AFL draft, Sydney
Debut	12 July 2020, Sydney  vs. Richmond, at The Gabba
Height	185 cm (6 ft 1 in)
Weight	82 kg (181 lb)
Position(s)	Midfielder
Club information
Current club	Sydney
Number	1
Playing career1
Years	Club	Games (Goals)
2020–	Sydney	84 (77)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of preliminary finals, 2024.
Career highlights
All-Australian team: 2024 2021 AFL Rising Star nomination 2x Goodes-O’Loughlin Medal: 2023, 2024
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

Chad Warner (born 19 May 2001) is an Australian rules footballer who plays for the Sydney Swans in the Australian Football League (AFL). He was recruited by the Sydney Swans with the 39th draft pick in the 2019 AFL draft. ^{[1] [2]}

Early football

Warner played for the Willetton Junior Football Club in his home suburb of Willetton in Western Australia. ^{[3] [4]} He played for East Fremantle in the Western Australian Football League colts division for the 2019 season, playing 9 games and kicking 8 goals. ^{[5] [6]} He also represented Western Australia in the AFL Under 18 Championships. ^{[7] [8]} He also played football for his school Aquinas College, Perth in the Public Schools Association. ^[9]

His father Travis Warner, and grandfather Graeme Warner, both played football for the Nhill Football Club in the Wimmera Football League. Travis moved to Perth in the late 1990s to play for South Fremantle in the West Australian Football League (WAFL), playing 34 games in three seasons. ^{[10] [11]}

AFL career

Debut Seasons (2020–2021)

Warner debuted in the Swans' eight point loss to the Richmond Tigers in the 6th round of the 2020 AFL season, alongside teammate Dylan Stephens. ^{[12] [13] [14]} On his debut, Warner picked up 8 disposals, 2 marks and 2 tackles. ^[15]

After a great start to the 2021 AFL season, Warner received a 2021 AFL Rising Star nomination ^[16] after he kicked 2 goals, collected 20 disposals and had 417 metres gained in a career best performance against Richmond in Round 3. ^[17] He re-signed with the club the day he received his nomination, keeping him at the club until 2023. ^[18] The following week saw him named as one of the Swans' best ^[19] after he collected 23 disposals, his highest total in a game to that point.

In 2021 Warner missed Round 13 due to leg soreness. He returned in their 1-point loss to Greater Western Sydney in Week 1 of the Finals.

Rise (2022–2023)

Warner started the 2022 season by missing the opening round with COVID-19 but he played the next game and was the one who kicked the ball to Lance Franklin when he kicked his 1000th goal. He then enjoyed a breakout 2022 season with his incredible burst and impact per touch immediately marking him as one of the best young players of the competition. AFL journalist Damian Barrett spoke many times about the high esteem he places him in, even counting him a certainty to win the Brownlow at some stage. His incredible season was awarded when he was included in the All Australian Squad and was the runner-up in the Bob Skilton Medal. He was the clear best on ground for the Swans in their grand final loss.

In Round 5 of the 2023 season Warner played his first game alongside his younger brother Corey Warner in which Corey kicked his first goal. In Sydney’s Indigenous Round clash with Carlton Warner stepped up collecting 29 disposals and kicking 2 goals to be awarded with the Goodes-O’Loughlin Medal for Best on Ground in the game. Warner finished the 2023 season after playing 21 out of a possible 24 games for Sydney and polling his teams’ second most Brownlow votes with 16 on the night. His poll was only behind fellow young gun Errol Gulden who polled 27.

Statistics

Updated to the end of 2023. ^[20]

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
2020 [a]	Sydney	1	2	0	0	9	5	14	3	3	0.0	0.0	4.5	2.5	7.0	1.5	1.5	0
2021	Sydney	1	13	8	5	135	81	216	31	48	0.6	0.3	10.3	6.2	16.6	2.3	3.6	1
2022	Sydney	1	24	20	24	327	220	547	80	97	0.8	1.0	13.6	9.2	22.8	3.3	4.0	12
2023	Sydney	1	21	15	15	309	209	518	65	90	0.7	0.7	14.7	10.0	24.7	3.1	4.3	16
2024	Sydney	1	21	31	16	295	201	496	87	74	1.5	0.8	14.1	9.6	23.6	4.1	3.5
Career			81	74	60	1075	716	1791	266	312	0.9	0.7	13.3	8.8	22.1	3.3	3.9	29

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.

Family

Warner is the older brother of fellow Swans player Corey Warner.

Honours and achievements

Team

• Minor Premiership: 2024 (Sydney Swans)

Individual

• AFL Rising Star nominee : 2021 (round 3)

References

1. Beveridge, Riley (14 February 2020). "'Calm down': Why Horse had a word to feisty Sydney smokey". AFL Media. Retrieved 26 August 2020.
2. Olle, Sarah (29 November 2019). "AFL draft gurus assess every club's draft haul – and there's some clear standouts". Fox Sports. Retrieved 26 August 2020.
3. "AFL draft 2019: Trent Rivers and Chad Warner share bromance ahead of big chance". The West Australian. 7 November 2019. Retrieved 26 August 2020.
4. Fogliani, Lenny (29 May 2020). "Our brightest stars: East Fremantle District" . Retrieved 26 August 2020.
5. "Chad Warner". Aussie Rules Draft Central. Retrieved 26 August 2020.
6. McArdle, Jordan (26 February 2020). "East Fremantle product Chad Warner targets early-season debut at Sydney Swans". The West Australian. Retrieved 26 August 2020.
7. "Pick 39: Chad Warner". Sydney Swans FC Media. 28 November 2019. Retrieved 26 August 2020.
8. "Five Sharks selected in 2019 AFL draft". East Fremantle FC Media. 29 November 2019. Retrieved 26 August 2020.
9. Gates, Zachary (3 December 2019). "Warner's blueprint". Sydney Swans FC Media. Retrieved 2 September 2020.
10. Crabtree, Richard (8 July 2020). "Nhill Tiger Graeme Warner excited for grandson's AFL debut". The Wimmera Mail-Times. Retrieved 6 April 2021.
11. "WAFL FootyFacts - WARNER, Travis". waflfootyfacts.net. Retrieved 6 April 2021.
12. Wu, Andrew (11 July 2020). "From Super Mario Kart to the big stage for two young Swans". The Age. Retrieved 26 August 2020.
13. Woodcock, Michael (7 July 2020). "WA-raised hard nut Chad Warner sets sights on Dustin Martin after being named for AFL debut". The West Australian. Retrieved 26 August 2020.
14. Beveridge, Riley (8 July 2020). "Two to debut: Swans to unveil No.5 pick, bull-at-a-gate mid". AFL Media. Retrieved 26 August 2020.
15. "Round 6 • Richmond v Sydney Swans - Player Stats" . Retrieved 26 August 2020.
16. "Historic hat-trick: Young Swan makes it three Rising Stars in a row". AFL Media. 6 April 2021. Retrieved 7 April 2021.
17. Balmer, Matt (4 April 2021). "'The Swan Rising Star': Sydney could receive ANOTHER nomination for young gun". Fox Sports. Retrieved 7 April 2021.
18. McGowan, Marc [@ByMarcMcGowan] (6 April 2021). "Not only is Swans midfielder Chad Warner this week's Rising Star nominee - making it the first time any club had three nominations in a row - but he's also re-signed for two more years until 2023.💫" (Tweet). Retrieved 7 April 2021– via Twitter.
19. Pegan, Martin (8 April 2021). "You Buddy beauty: Superstar seals thrilling win to keep Swans unbeaten" . Retrieved 9 April 2021.
20. "Chad Warner". AFL Tables. Retrieved 26 April 2021.

External links

• Chad Warner's profile on the official website of the Sydney Swans
• Chad Warner's playing statistics from AFL Tables
• Chad Warner at AustralianFootball.com