David Wirrpanda
David Wirrpanda | |||
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Personal information | |||
Full name |
David Selwyn Burralung Merringwuy Galarrwuy Wyal Wirrpanda[1] | ||
Nickname(s) | "Wirra" | ||
Date of birth | 3 August 1979 | ||
Place of birth | Carlton, Victoria, Australia | ||
Original team(s) |
Healesville ( YVMDFL ) | ||
Height | 173 cm (5 ft 8 in) | ||
Weight | 82 kg (181 lb) | ||
Position(s) | Defender, forward | ||
Playing career | |||
Years | Club | Games (Goals) | |
1996–2009 | West Coast | 227 (131) | |
International team honours | |||
Years | Team | Games (Goals) | |
2003 |
Australia | 2 (0) | |
Career highlights | |||
| |||
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com |
David Selwyn Burralung Merringwuy Galarrwuy Wyal Wirrpanda (
Limited by injuries in his first few seasons, Wirrpanda did not establish himself as a regular player until the early 2000s, usually playing out of a
Early life
Born in
Football career
Wirrpanda starred for
Wirrpanda made his debut with West Coast in Round 5 of the 1996 AFL Season, at the age of 16 years, 268 days, and remains the Eagles' youngest ever debutant. Unfortunately, injuries and fluctuating form hurt him early in his career, and he managed only 12 of a possible 71 AFL games (including finals) in his first 3 seasons. During these early years, he also played 25 games for East Perth in the WAFL.
By the mid-2000s, Wirrpanda's career started to get on track, and he became a consistent contributor for the Eagles, playing mainly as a small defender in the
Wirrpanda nearly missed out on the 2006 AFL Grand Final through injury, but came back to take his place in the side. He came in at the expense of Jaymie Graham, who had played every game of that season up until then, and out of respect for his younger teammate, Wirrpanda played in the match with Graham's #22 written on his hand.[citation needed]
In 2007 and 2008, Wirrpanda has shared time between his usual backline post and pinch-hitting up forward for his team, using his excellent footskills to both set up play and score some crucial goals for the Eagles in the process.
In 2008, Wirrpanda was met solidly by Geelong's
At the conclusion of Round 22, 2009, he had played in 227 of a possible 327 matches for the Eagles (including finals), and has scored 131 goals, averaging 16.6 disposals for his career.
In September 2009, Wirrpanda announced his retirement citing he may be standing in the way of another younger playing being fast tracked within the club. After the birth of his son, Wirrpanda also expressed his desire to move on citing his fatherhood is the most important aspect of his life, but also spending more time with the foundation that bears his name.
Wirrpanda has also announced his wishes to remain part of the West Coast Eagles, saying that he may one day serve on the board.[4]
Statistics
G
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Goals
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K
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Kicks | D
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Disposals | T
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Tackles |
B
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Behinds
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H
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Handballs | M
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Marks
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Season | Team | No. | Games | Totals | Averages (per game) | ||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
G | B | K | H | D | M | T | G | B | K | H | D | M | T | ||||
1996 | West Coast | 44 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 23 | 18 | 41 | 8 | 9 | 0.8 | 1.0 | 4.6 | 3.6 | 8.2 | 1.6 | 1.8 |
1997 | West Coast | 44 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 30 | 21 | 51 | 11 | 8 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 5.0 | 3.5 | 8.5 | 1.8 | 1.3 |
1998 | West Coast | 44 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 4.0 | 1.0 | 5.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
1999 | West Coast | 44 | 24 | 4 | 4 | 278 | 126 | 404 | 91 | 27 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 11.6 | 5.3 | 16.8 | 3.8 | 1.1 |
2000 | West Coast | 44 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 129 | 28 | 157 | 33 | 8 | 0.8 | 0.6 | 16.1 | 3.5 | 19.6 | 4.1 | 1.0 |
2001 | West Coast | 44 | 21 | 5 | 7 | 245 | 57 | 302 | 66 | 30 | 0.2 | 0.3 | 11.7 | 2.7 | 14.4 | 3.1 | 1.4 |
2002 | West Coast | 44 | 21 | 26 | 22 | 254 | 72 | 326 | 70 | 49 | 1.2 | 1.0 | 12.1 | 3.4 | 15.5 | 3.3 | 2.3 |
2003 | West Coast | 44 | 19 | 10 | 10 | 251 | 57 | 308 | 62 | 26 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 13.2 | 3.0 | 16.2 | 3.3 | 1.4 |
2004 | West Coast | 44 | 22 | 2 | 3 | 259 | 104 | 363 | 56 | 59 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 11.8 | 4.7 | 16.5 | 2.5 | 2.7 |
2005 | West Coast | 44 | 20 | 2 | 2 | 297 | 111 | 408 | 93 | 34 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 14.9 | 5.6 | 20.4 | 4.7 | 1.7 |
2006 | West Coast | 44 | 24 | 8 | 7 | 297 | 115 | 412 | 90 | 48 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 12.4 | 4.8 | 17.2 | 3.8 | 2.0 |
2007 | West Coast | 44 | 21 | 25 | 12 | 268 | 94 | 362 | 109 | 43 | 1.2 | 0.6 | 12.8 | 4.5 | 17.2 | 5.2 | 2.0 |
2008 | West Coast | 44 | 17 | 25 | 16 | 212 | 63 | 275 | 88 | 30 | 1.5 | 0.9 | 12.5 | 3.7 | 16.2 | 5.2 | 1.8 |
2009 | West Coast | 44 | 18 | 11 | 3 | 257 | 94 | 351 | 85 | 37 | 0.6 | 0.2 | 14.3 | 5.2 | 19.5 | 4.7 | 2.1 |
Career | 227 | 131 | 98 | 2804 | 961 | 3765 | 862 | 408 | 0.6 | 0.4 | 12.4 | 4.2 | 16.6 | 3.8 | 1.8 |
Personal life
For most of his career, Wirrpanda has been known as "Wirrpunda", but in 2005 it was pointed out that his actual birth name was Wirrpanda. In the West Australian before the 2006 season Wirrpanda said that he had allowed his name to be misspelt to ensure it was pronounced correctly.
Wirrpanda is also known for his community work in helping to improve the lives of young Indigenous Australians, first and foremost through The David Wirrpanda Foundation, which he launched in 2005.
He was named the 9th most influential Aboriginal Australian by The Bulletin magazine in 2007[6] and 2008. He also received the 2009 award for Young Western Australian of the Year.[7]
He and model Shannon McGuire have two sons together, Marley, born in August 2009, which caused him to miss West Coast's Round 22 match against Richmond that was played the previous evening[8] and Eli born in 2010.
He hosts a Saturday morning radio show called "Dead Set Legends" in Perth on MIX 94.5.[citation needed]
In 2010, Wirrpanda participated in the
In 2015 Wirrpanda was caught drunk driving recording a reading of 0.154, more than three times the legal limit. In court he was found guilty of driving under the influence, fined $900 and lost his driver's licence for 10 months.[12]
References
- ^ Gleeson, Michael (2005). "David Selwyn Burralung Merringwuy Galarrwuy Wyal WIRRPANDA – and don't you forget it" – The Age. Published 24 September 2005. Retrieved 18 June 2013.
- ^ AFL Record. Round 9, 2009. Slattery Publishing. pg 75.
- ^ Never iron out the shirt-front by Campbell Brown for The Age. 13 April 2008
- ^ "Wirra stands aside for youth – Official AFL Website of the West Coast Eagles Football Club". westcoasteagles.com.au. Archived from the original on 5 September 2009.
- ^ David Wirrpanda's player profile at AFL Tables
- ^ Wirrpanda recognised for work Archived 6 June 2012 at the Wayback Machine 30 November 2007, AFL BigPond Network
- ^ Australian of the Year Award 2009 Archived 6 January 2009 at the Wayback Machine National Australia Day Council
- ^ David Wirrpanda, Shannon McGuire have a baby son
- PerthNow. Published 18 May 2010. Retrieved 18 June 2013.
- ^ Pepper, Daile (2010). "Nice guy Wirra's shock exit" – WAToday. Published 16 August 2010. Retrieved 18 June 2013.
- ^ Byrne, Fiona (2010). Dancing too much for David Wirrpanda" – Herald Sun. Published 17 August 2010. Retrieved 18 June 2013.
- ^ "David Wirrpanda: Ex-West Coast Eagle fined for drink driving". 19 May 2015.
External links
- David Wirrpanda's profile on the official website of the West Coast Eagles
- David Wirrpanda's playing statistics from AFL Tables
- David Wirrpunda at IMDb