Francis Evans (footballer)

Francis Evans
Evans with Carlton's VFL side in April 2025
Personal information
Full name	Francis Evans
Nickname(s)	Frank the Tank [1]
Date of birth	(2001-08-23) 23 August 2001 (age 24)
Place of birth	Melbourne, Victoria
Original team(s)	Calder Cannons (NAB League) Brunswick NOBS (VAFA)
Draft	No. 41, 2019 AFL draft
Debut	Round 2, 2021, Geelong  vs. Brisbane Lions, at Kardinia Park
Height	182 cm (6 ft 0 in)
Weight	78 kg (172 lb)
Position(s)	Forward
Club information
Current club	Carlton
Number	44
Playing career1
Years	Club	Games (Goals)
2021–2022	Geelong	07 0(3)
2023–2024	Port Adelaide	27 (19)
2025–	Carlton	010 0(13)
Total		44 (35)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 2025.
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

Francis Evans (born 23 August 2001) is an Australian rules footballer who plays for the Carlton Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). Drafted in 2019 by Geelong, Evans also played for Port Adelaide between 2023 and 2024.

Early life

Evans did not come through the traditional talent pathway to the AFL, spending most of his junior career playing for Brunswick NOBS in the VAFA. He only played two matches for the NAB League's Calder Cannons; thus Evans' selection as an 18-year-old with pick 41 by the Geelong Football Club in the 2019 AFL draft was a surprise to most draft gurus. ^{[2] [3]}

AFL career

Geelong

Evans made his AFL debut in round 2, 2021 against Brisbane Lions at GMHBA Stadium. ^[4] He spent three years on the Geelong list, playing seven senior games, before being delisted after its premiership year. ^[5]

Port Adelaide

Evans signed for the Port Adelaide Football Club as a delisted free agent, and played 26 games for the club over the next two years, including 17 games as a regular player in 2024. He was delisted by Port Adelaide at the end of the 2024 season. ^[6]

Carlton

Evans signed to play for the Carlton reserves for the 2025 season, ^[7] but after impressing in pre-season training was added to the club's rookie list during the supplemental signing period. ^[8] Evans earned a round one debut for the club, starting his 2025 season against Richmond, ^[9] where he managed to score his first goal for the club.

In the round 19 clash against Melbourne, Evans was knocked out by demons defender Steven May, who was suspended for 3 weeks. He returned back in round 21, and played every game for the rest of the year, and kicked 11 goals in those 4 games, including 4 against Gold Coast in round 22, and 3 against Essendon in round 24

Statistics

Statistics are correct to the end of the 2025 season ^[10]

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
2020	Geelong	31	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
2021	Geelong	31	2	2	1	8	0	8	4	1	1	0.5	4	0	4	2	0.5
2022	Geelong	31	5	1	0	14	24	38	8	7	0.2	0	2.8	4.8	7.6	1.6	1.4
2023	Port Adelaide	31	10	10	4	51	24	75	20	16	1	0.4	5.1	2.4	7.5	2	1.6
2024	Port Adelaide	31	17	9	7	86	44	130	35	41	0.5	0.4	5.1	2.6	7.6	2.1	2.4
2025	Carlton	44	10	13	6	72	42	114	31	31	1.3	0.6	7.2	4.2	11.4	3.1	3.1
Career			44	35	18	231	134	365	98	96	0.8	0.4	5.3	3	8.3	2.2	2.2

References

1. "Debutant alert Frank 'the Tank' Evans will make his AFL debut against the Lions". Twitter. Geelong Football Club . Retrieved 27 March 2021.
2. "Pick 41: Francis Evans". geelongcats.com.au. Retrieved 27 March 2021.
3. Cleary, Mitch. "Who is Francis Evans? Cats pluck massive left-field bolter". afl.com.au. Retrieved 27 March 2021.
4. McPherson, David (25 March 2021). "Evans' Rise From Draft Smokey to AFL Debutant". geelongcats.com.au. Retrieved 27 March 2021.
5. Zita, David (20 October 2022). "Shock exit meetings and brutal list calls: Inside key AFL delistings ... and what comes next". foxsports.com.au. Fox Footy.
6. Slevison, Andrew (5 November 2024). "Small forward in limbo as he waits to settle on VFL club after "unlucky" Port delisting". SEN 1116.
7. Cristian Filippo (9 December 2025). "Great Evans: VFL Blues sign Francis Evans". Carlton Football Club.
8. Will Faulkner (21 February 2025). "Three AFL clubs in four years! Blues sign SSP bolter as heartbreak hits hopeful quartet". Fox Sports. Retrieved 22 February 2025.
9. Smith, Martin (12 March 2025). "TEAMS: Recruit named, six new faces for Tigers-Blues blockbuster". afl.com.au.
10. "Francis Evans - Stats - Statistics". AFL Tables. Retrieved 12 March 2025.

External links

• Francis Evans's profile on the official website of the Carlton Football Club
• Francis Evans's playing statistics from AFL Tables
• Francis Evans at AustralianFootball.com