James Worpel

Last updated

James Worpel
James Worpel 2018.3.jpg
Worpel playing for Hawthorn in August 2018
Personal information
Nickname(s) Worpedo
Date of birth (1999-01-24) 24 January 1999 (age 25)
Original team(s) Geelong Falcons (TAC Cup)
Draft No. 45, 2017 national draft
Debut Round 6, 2018, Hawthorn  vs. St Kilda, at University of Tasmania Stadium
Height 186 cm (6 ft 1 in)
Weight 86 kg (190 lb)
Position(s) Midfielder
Club information
Current club Hawthorn
Number 5
Playing career1
YearsClubGames (Goals)
2018– Hawthorn 107 (41)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of round 5, 2024.
Career highlights
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

James Worpel (born 24 January 1999) is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the Hawthorn Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL).

Contents

Early career

One of nine siblings growing up in the regional town of Bannockburn near Geelong, James was the second youngest and grew up with three other football obsessed brothers. An early developer James was selected at centre half back in the 2014 U/15 All Australian team. [1] He also attended school at Western Heights College located in Geelong

Worpel spent two years developing his craft in the TAC with the Geelong Falcons. Worpel is a fierce competitor that goes in to win hard ball. [2]

A natural leader he was appointed co-captain of the Falcons for the 2017 year. He would later lead the side to the premiership. He was captain of the Victoria Country team in the 2017 AFL Under 18 Championships and was later rewarded with being selected in the U/18 All-Australian team. [2]

AFL career

Worpel was drafted by Hawthorn with their first selection and forty-fifth overall in the 2017 AFL draft. He made his AFL debut in the thirty-five point win against St Kilda at the University of Tasmania Stadium in round six of the 2018 season. [3] [4] He played three games before getting dropped. Back in the side for round 18 against Carlton, he put in an impressive four match performance for Worpel became Hawthorn’s second Rising Star nominee for the 2018 season. [5]

2019 season

During the 2019 pre-season Worpel was given the number 5 guernsey that had been vacated due to Ryan Burton having been traded to Port Adelaide. [6] Worpel wore number 38 for his debut season. [7]

Worpel was picked for round one, and managed to play every game for the season. He set a league record for most disposals for a player under twenty years of age. Ultimately he was voted the best player for Hawthorn for the season, collecting the Peter Crimmins Medal, [8] becoming the youngest winner of that record since Leigh Matthews won it in 1971. [9] Worpel is considered a protégé of Senior Coach and former Hawthorn player Sam Mitchell. [7] [10]

In 2020 Worpel missed the last two games of the season when he injured of his right acromioclavicular (AC) joint against Western Bulldogs that required surgery to stabilise the joint. [11]

Statistics

Updated to the end of round 4, 2024. [12]

Legend
  G  
Goals
  K  
Kicks
  D  
Disposals  
  T  
Tackles
  B  
Behinds  
  H  
Handballs  
  M  
Marks
SeasonTeamNo.GamesTotalsAverages (per game) Votes
GBKHDMTGBKHDMT
2018 Hawthorn 381155959819323430.50.58.68.917.52.13.90
2019 Hawthorn 52298309275584721070.40.414.012.526.53.34.910
2020 [lower-alpha 1] Hawthorn 5152716712028739810.10.511.18.019.12.65.40
2021 Hawthorn 52010823219442654820.50.411.69.721.32.74.10
2022 Hawthorn 51132868316920240.30.27.87.515.41.82.20
2023 Hawthorn 52310928631460052920.40.412.413.726.12.34.011
2024 Hawthorn 5421615011111200.50.315.312.527.82.85.0
Career10641401236113423702714490.40.411.710.722.42.64.221

Notes

  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.

Honours and achievements

Team

Individual

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jimmy Bartel</span> Australian rules footballer, born 1983

James Ross Bartel is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Geelong Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). A utility, 1.87 m tall and weighing 89 kilograms (196 lb), Bartel contributed as a midfielder, forward, and defender.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Geelong Falcons</span>

The Geelong Falcons is a youth Australian rules football representative club in the Talent League, the Victorian statewide under-18s competition in Victoria, Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Luke Hodge</span> Australian rules footballer, born 1984

Luke Hodge is a former Australian rules football player who played with the Hawthorn Football Club and the Brisbane Lions in the Australian Football League (AFL). He played for the Hawthorn Football Club from 2002 to 2017, captaining the club from 2011 to 2016. In 2018, Hodge moved to the Brisbane Lions, before retiring in 2019. Hodge started his career playing on the half-back flank but as his career progressed he has been known to push up into the midfield. He is a four-time premiership player, three-time premiership captain and a two-time Norm Smith Medallist. Hodge is widely regarded as one of the most respected players, in particular as a captain, to have ever participated in the sport. As of 2023, Hodge has played the most VFL/AFL games of any number-one draft pick, is the only number-one draft pick to win a Norm Smith Medal, is one of just three number-one draft picks to have won a premiership, and has won the most premierships of any number-one draft pick (4).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jordan Lewis</span> Australian rules footballer

Jordan Michael Lewis is a former Australian rules football player who played with the Hawthorn Football Club and Melbourne Football Club in the Australian Football League.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sam Mitchell (footballer)</span> Australian rules footballer

Samuel Mitchell is an Australian rules football coach and former player who is the current coach of the Hawthorn Football Club in the Australian Football League.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Josh Gibson (footballer)</span> Australian rules footballer

Joshua Gibson is a former Australian rules football player who played for the North Melbourne Football Club and Hawthorn Football Club in the Australian Football League. He is a member of Hawthorn's 2013, 2014 and 2015 premiership winning teams, winning the Peter Crimmins Medal in both 2013 and 2015 premiership seasons. Gibson was known for his spoiling prowess down back and holds the record for most one percenters in AFL history.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brad Sewell</span> Australian rules footballer

Brad Sewell is a former Australian rules football player who played for the Hawthorn Football Club in the Australian Football League.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hawthorn Football Club</span> Australian rules football club

The Hawthorn Football Club, nicknamed the Hawks, is a professional Australian rules football club based in Mulgrave, Victoria, that competes in the Australian Football League (AFL). The club was founded in 1902 in the inner-east suburb of Hawthorn, making it the youngest Victorian-based team in the AFL.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Liam Shiels</span> Australian rules footballer (born 1991)

Liam Shiels is an Australian rules footballer who plays for the North Melbourne Football Club, in the Australian Football League (AFL). Shiels is a midfielder who developed into a key member of the midfield for the Hawthorn Football Club that would win three premierships in a row from 2013 to 2015. Shiels would also serve as vice-captain for Hawthorn from 2017–2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Isaac Smith (footballer)</span> Australian rules footballer (born 2004)

Isaac Smith is a former Australian rules football player who previously played for the Hawthorn Football Club and Geelong Football Club in the Australian Football League. Smith was drafted by the Hawthorn with the 19th pick in the 2010 AFL draft and played ten seasons for the Hawks. He took part in each of Hawthorn's three consecutive Grand Final victories from 2013 to 2015. Following the 2020 season, Smith moved to the Geelong Football Club as a free agent and played with the Cats for three seasons. He won his fourth premiership with Geelong in 2022 and was awarded the Norm Smith Medal as the game's best player. Smith retired from AFL at the conclusion of the 2023 AFL season, his third year at Geelong.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Luke Breust</span> Australian rules footballer

Luke Breust is an Australian rules footballer who plays for the Hawthorn Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). Breust is widely regarded as one of the best small forwards of all time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tom Mitchell (Australian footballer)</span> Australian rules footballer

Thomas Mitchell is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the Collingwood Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He previously played for the Sydney Swans from 2012 to 2016, and the Hawthorn Football Club between 2017 and 2022. Mitchell won the Brownlow Medal as the league's best and fairest player in 2018 and set the record for the most disposals in a VFL/AFL match, accruing 54 in a game against Collingwood during that season. Whom he would later join in 2023, en route to winning the 2023 AFL Grand Final and his first AFL premiership.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jonathan Simpkin</span> Australian rules footballer

Jonathan Simpkin is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Geelong Football Club, Hawthorn Football Club and Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). Nicknamed "Joffa", his younger brother, Tom Simpkin was also a professional Australian rules footballer who played for St Kilda.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Sicily</span> Australian rules footballer

James Sicily is a professional Australian rules footballer and the current captain of the Hawthorn Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blake Hardwick</span> Australian rules footballer

Blake Hardwick is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the Hawthorn Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He grew up in Mitcham attending Nunawading Primary School and Mullauna Secondary College.

The 2018 season was the Hawthorn Football Club's 94th season in the Australian Football League and 117th overall, the 19th season playing home games at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, the 18th season playing home games at the University of Tasmania Stadium, the 14th season under head coach Alastair Clarkson, and the 2nd season with Jarryd Roughead as club captain. This was also the first season without either Luke Hodge or Sam Mitchell on the list since 2001.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nina Morrison</span> Australian rules footballer

Nina Morrison is an Australian rules footballer playing for the Geelong Football Club in the AFL Women's (AFLW). A midfielder who won multiple accolades at junior level and played in the VFL Women's (VFLW) as a teenager, Morrison was the first selection in the 2018 AFL Women's draft. She received a nomination for the 2019 AFL Women's Rising Star award in round 1 of the 2019 season, her debut match.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Olivia Purcell</span> Australian rules footballer

Olivia Purcell is an Australian rules footballer with the Melbourne Football Club in the AFL Women's (AFLW).

Dylan Moore is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the Hawthorn Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL).

The 2021 Hawthorn Football Club season was the club's 97th season in the Australian Football League and 120th overall, the 22nd season playing home games at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, the 21st season playing home games at the University of Tasmania Stadium, the 17th season under head coach Alastair Clarkson, and the 1st season with Ben McEvoy as captain.

References

  1. "Decorated U18 star does it by the numbers".
  2. 1 2 "James Worpel".
  3. "Worpel's wait is over". hawthornfc.com.au. 26 April 2018. Retrieved 29 April 2018.
  4. "James Worpel proves elusive". 28 April 2018.
  5. "Worpel, a future star".
  6. "Worpel signs on". Hawthorn Football Club. 11 February 2019. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
  7. 1 2 McClure, Sam (27 April 2019). "On the Worpel path: The master and the apprentice". The Age. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
  8. "Worpel crowned Peter Crimmins Medallist".
  9. Black, Sarah (6 October 2019). "Youngest since 'Lethal': Tough midfielder named top Hawk". Australian Football League. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
  10. "Complacency not a worry for Worps". Hawthorn Football Club. 4 February 2020. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
  11. "Worps returns to Melbourne for surgery".
  12. "James Worpel". AFL Tables. Retrieved 29 April 2018.