Nicola Barr

Nicola Barr
Barr playing for Greater Western Sydney in February 2018
Personal information
Nickname(s)	Bumper
Date of birth	(1996-06-13) 13 June 1996 (age 29)
Place of birth	Melbourne, Victoria
Original team(s)	Sydney University (SWAFL)
Draft	No. 1, 2016 AFL Women's draft
Debut	Round 1, 2017, Greater Western Sydney  vs. Adelaide, at Thebarton Oval
Height	168 cm (5 ft 6 in)
Position(s)	Midfielder
Club information
Current club	Greater Western Sydney
Number	8
Playing career1
Years	Club	Games (Goals)
2017–	Greater Western Sydney	61 (10)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of the 2024 season.
Career highlights
SWAFL best and fairest (2016) SWAFL Rising Star (2015)
Source: AustralianFootball.com

Nicola Barr (born 13 June 1996) is an Australian rules footballer playing for St Kilda ^[1] in the AFL Women's competition.

Early life

Barr was born in Melbourne but spent most of her early years living outside of Australia. ^[2] Barr's family settled in Sydney when she was 14. ^[3] She began playing football while in year ten at Queenwood on Sydney's North Shore. ^[4]

She was selected to play in the AFL youth girls national competition in 2014. ^[4]

Barr played soccer at an elite level as a junior. ^[4]

Amateur career

Barr played state-league football with North Shore in the Sydney Women's AFL (SWAFL). ^[5]

In 2016, Barr won the league's Rising Star award as the best young player in the league. ^[5] The following season she won the Mostyn Medal as the best and fairest player in the SWAFL. ^[3]

Barr represented the Sydney Swans academy in an AFL exhibition match in April 2016, winning best on ground honours. ^[3]

AFL Women's career

Barr was drafted by Greater Western Sydney with the first overall selection in the 2016 AFL Women's draft. ^[3] She played in all seven games, and was nominated for the AFL Women's Rising Star award after moving from midfield to half back late in the season. ^[6]

Greater Western Sydney signed Barr for the 2018 season during the trade period in May 2017. ^[7]

Barr became the first player in AFL Women's history to be sent directly to the AFL Tribunal owing to an incident involving North Melbourne's Ashleigh Riddell during the round two, 2019 match between Greater Western Sydney and North Melbourne played at Drummoyne Oval. ^[8] She was suspended for one match. ^[9]

Barr played 61 games over nine seasons for the Giants.

A hamstring injury limited game time for Barr in 2024. At the conclusion of the 2024 season, Barr signed a three-year deal with St Kilda, with the Executive General Manager of St Kilda's AFLW describing Barr as “a figurehead for football in NSW and the entire competition over her past nine seasons, finishing in the top five of the Giants’ Best and Fairest on multiple occasions... A proven leader on and off the field, we’re very excited to welcome Nicola and her family to St Kilda.” ^[10]

Statistics

Statistics are correct to the end of the 2024 season ^[11]

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
2017	Greater Western Sydney	8	7	0	0	55	23	78	10	22	0.0	0.0	7.9	3.3	11.1	1.4	3.1
2018	Greater Western Sydney	8	7	0	0	48	23	71	12	22	0.0	0.0	6.9	3.3	10.1	1.7	3.1
2019	Greater Western Sydney	8	5	0	0	29	11	40	6	17	0.0	0.0	5.8	2.2	8	1.2	3.4
2020	Greater Western Sydney	8	5	0	2	34	15	49	11	5	0.0	0.4	6.8	3	9.8	2.2	1
2021	Greater Western Sydney	8	6	0	1	42	20	62	19	18	0.0	0.2	7	3.3	10.3	3.2	3
2022 (S6)	Greater Western Sydney	8	10	5	2	58	38	96	20	22	0.5	0.3	7.3	4.8	12	2.5	2.8
2022 (S7)	Greater Western Sydney	8	8	4	1	75	54	129	25	30	0.5	0.1	7.5	5.4	12.9	2.5	3
2023	Greater Western Sydney	8	10	1	1	87	84	171	21	60	0.1	0.1	8.7	8.4	17.1	2.1	6
2024	Greater Western Sydney	8	3	0	0	26	30	56	12	7	0.0	0.0	8.7	10	18.7	4	2.3
Career			61	10	7	454	298	752	136	203	0.1	0.1	7.4	4.9	12.2	2.3	3.1

Personal life

Barr studies medical science at the University of Sydney. She has been dating Lloyd Perris since 2018. ^[2]

References

1. "Barr to call St Kilda home, Kelly departs in three-way trade". saints.com.au. 11 December 2024. Retrieved 25 June 2025.
2. "The balancing act: medical science student & AFL player". ENID. Retrieved 17 October 2016.
3. Buckley, James (12 October 2016). "GWS Giants take Sydney local Nicola Barr with No.1 pick in women's AFL draft". Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax. Retrieved 17 October 2016.
4. Arnold, Caitlin (1 June 2016). "Player profile: Nicola Barr". AFL NSW/ACT. Retrieved 17 October 2016.
5. Lusted, Peter (12 October 2016). "Nicola Barr chosen by GWS as number one pick in first Women's AFL Draft". ABC. Retrieved 17 October 2016.
6. Black, Sarah (21 March 2017). "Barr, Berry the final AFLW Rising Star nominees - AFL.com.au". AFL Media. Bigpond. Retrieved 21 March 2017.
7. "AFLW: All the clubs' full lists after trade period - AFL.com.au". afl.com.au. Telstra Media. 26 May 2017. Retrieved 26 May 2017.
8. Black, Sarah (11 February 2019). "Giant sent straight to Tribunal for off-the-ball bump". AFL Women's . Retrieved 12 February 2019.
9. Black, Sarah (12 February 2019). "Giant to miss Blues clash after ban for bump". AFL Women's . Retrieved 13 February 2019.
10. "Barr to call St Kilda home, Kelly departs in three-way trade". saints.com.au. 11 December 2024. Retrieved 25 June 2025.
11. "Nicola Barr–player stats by season". Australian Football. Retrieved 27 May 2024.

External links

• Nicola Barr's profile on the official website of the St Kilda Football Club
• Nicola Barr's profile on the official website of the Greater Western Sydney Giants
• Nicola Barr at AustralianFootball.com