Clara Fitzpatrick

Last updated

Clara Fitzpatrick
Clara Fitzpatrick 2019.1.jpg
Fitzpatrick playing for the Southern Saints in May 2019
Personal information
Date of birth (1990-10-01) 1 October 1990 (age 34)
Original team(s) Down LGFA / Southern Saints (VFLW)
Draft 2019 rookie signing
Debut Round 1, 2020, St Kilda  vs. Western Bulldogs, at RSEA Park
Height 184 cm (6 ft 0 in)
Position(s) Defender
Club information
Current club Gold Coast
Number 9
Playing career1
YearsClubGames (Goals)
2020–2021;
S7 (2022)		 St Kilda 12 (0)
2023– Gold Coast 08 (0)
Total20 (0)
International team honours
YearsTeamGames (Goals)
2017 Ireland
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of the 2023 season.
2 State and international statistics correct as of 2017.
Source: AustralianFootball.com

Clara Fitzpatrick (born 1 October 1990) is a dual-code international footballer (Australian rules football and Gaelic football) currently playing in the AFL Women's (AFLW) for the Gold Coast. She has previously played for St Kilda.

Contents

Early life

Fitzpatrick is from Bryansford in County Down, Northern Ireland. [1] She began playing Gaelic football at the University of Ulster in Jordanstown. [2] She also played for Bryansford Gaelic Football Club in her home town [3] and represented Down LGFA in the All-Ireland Junior Football Championship. She also played international gaelic football tournaments while touring England and Portugal. [2] From 2012 to 2014 she played for University College team in Dublin. [4]

In 2016 she arrived in Melbourne while travelling Australia and joined the Melbourne University Football Club where she learned to play with the oval ball. [2] Shortly afterward she and Irish international Laura Duryea joined the Diamond Creek Football Club. Fitzpatrick's game developed quickly and she became one of the best Irish players in Australia receiving a call up, along with Duryea, for Ireland's women's national team, the Banshees for the 2017 Australian Football International Cup as a ruck. [5] She was part of the side that defeated Canada in the final to take the trophy and was named in the Women's World Team, alongside Duryea, in the ruck. [6]

In 2019 she tried out for St Kilda Football Club's VFLW side Southern Saints. After dominating in the backline she was offered an AFLW rookie contract with St Kilda and was drafted during the 2019 rookie signing period. [7]

AFLW career

She made her debut against Western Bulldogs at RSEA Park in the opening round of the 2020 season. [8] In June 2021, she was delisted by the club after missing the 2021 AFL Women's season due to visa issues. [9] In June 2022, after being not listed for a season, Fitzpatrick returned to St Kilda. [10]

In March 2023, Fitzpatrick was traded to the Gold Coast as part of a five-club deal. [11]

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References

  1. ↑ Down ladies Championship finals match reports 19 August 2013
  2. 1 2 3 Clara Fitzpatrick: It's my shot By Chris Nice 31 January 2020
  3. ↑ Club call and family first - Down star eyeing glory after AFLW stint and three-and-a-half years away from The 42 Ireland 27 March 2021
  4. ↑ St.Kilda AFLW: Player Profile Clara Fitzpatrick – Irish Warrior 17 March 2020
  5. ↑ Diamond Creek defender Laura Duryea to lead Ireland into battle in AFL Women’s International Cup final against Canada by Tim Michell for the Herald Sun 17 August 2017
  6. ↑ 2017 AFL International Cup Women's World Team by Troy Thompson for Worls Footy News] 19 August 2017
  7. ↑ Black, Sarah (6 November 2019). "Your club's 2020 list: Who's in, who will miss the season?". AFL Women's. Telstra Media. Retrieved 9 February 2020.
  8. ↑ "Round 1 AFLW teams and expert tips". The Age . Fairfax Media. 6 February 2020. Retrieved 9 February 2020.
  9. ↑ "Twenty-five Saints sign on for upcoming AFLW season". St Kilda . Telstra. 29 June 2021.
  10. ↑ "Welcome back, Clara: Fitzpatrick re-joins St Kilda". St Kilda . Telstra. 7 June 2022.
  11. ↑ Black, Sarah (17 March 2023). "Seven players, five clubs: Biggest AFLW trade ever in motion". AFL Women's . Telstra.
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