Anthony William Watson McDonald-Tipungwuti (born 22 April 1993) is a professional

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by k ...

player for the

Essendon Football Club The Essendon Football Club, nicknamed the Bombers, is a professional Australian rules football club. The club plays in the Australian Football League (AFL), the game's premier competition. The club was formed by the McCracken family in their A ...

in the

Australian Football League The Australian Football League (AFL) is the only fully professional competition of Australian rules football. Through the AFL Commission, the AFL also serves as the sport's governing body and is responsible for controlling the laws of the gam ...

(AFL). He was drafted by Essendon with their second selection in the 2015 rookie draft. McDonald-Tipungwuti made his debut in Round 1 of the 2016 season against the

Gold Coast Suns The Gold Coast Suns is a professional Australian rules football club that competes in the Australian Football League (AFL). The club is based on Queensland's Gold Coast in the suburb of Carrara. The club has been playing in the AFL since th ...

. He announced his retirement on 20 May 2022, however returned to Essendon on 10 November 2022.

Early life

McDonald-Tipungwuti was born and raised on the

Tiwi Islands The Tiwi Islands ( tiw, Ratuati Irara meaning "two islands") are part of the Northern Territory, Australia, to the north of Darwin adjoining the Timor Sea. They comprise Melville Island, Bathurst Island, and nine smaller uninhabited islands, wi ...

, off the coast of Darwin, into an

Indigenous Australian Indigenous Australians or Australian First Nations are people with familial heritage from, and membership in, the ethnic groups that lived in Australia before British colonisation. They consist of two distinct groups: the Aboriginal peoples ...

family. He played his junior football for the

Tiwi Bombers Tiwi can refer to: *Tiwi, Albay, a municipality in the province of Albay, Philippines * Tiwi, Kenya, a settlement in Kenya's Coast Province * Tiwi, Oman, an archaeological site *Tiwi, Northern Territory, a suburb of Darwin in Australia *The Tiwi Is ...

in the

Northern Territory Football League The Northern Territory Football League (NTFL) is an Australian rules football semi-professional league operating in Darwin in the Northern Territory. The league is one of few (and the highest level) Australian Rules competitions played during ...

before moving to Victoria at the age of 17 to better his chances of an AFL career. He was adopted by Jane McDonald in Gippsland and took on her name as recognition of her contribution to his journey, joining the family as the youngest brother. He attended school at

Chairo Christian School Chairo Christian School is a multi-campus co-educational independent non-denominational Christian School with campuses in Drouin, Victoria, Drouin East, Pakenham, Victoria, Leongatha, Victoria, and Traralgon, Victoria. Founded in 1983, Chairo ...

Drouin Drouin is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * André Drouin (c. 1947 – 2017), Canadian politician * Claude Drouin (born 1956), Canadian politician * Derek Drouin (born 1990), Canadian high jumper * Francis Drouin (born 1983), Ca ...

after moving to Victoria where he learnt to speak English. He spent six years playing for the

Gippsland Power The Gippsland Power is an Australian rules football team in the NAB League, the top statewide under-18 competition in Victoria, Australia. Honours *Premierships (1): 2005 *Runners-up (3): 1999, 2010, 2012 *Wooden Spoons (1): 2003 *Morrish Medal ...

in the

TAC Cup The NAB League Boys (also referred to as simply the NAB League and formerly known as the TAC Cup) is an under-19 Australian rules football representative competition held in Australia. It is based on geographic regions throughout country Victo ...

and

Essendon Essendon may refer to: Australia *Electoral district of Essendon *Electoral district of Essendon and Flemington *Essendon, Victoria **Essendon railway station **Essendon Airport *Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League United King ...

's reserves team in the VFL before realising his dream when he was rookie listed by Essendon at the end of 2015.

AFL career

Following the many suspensions handed out to Essendon players at the end of 2015 for the supplements controversy fallout, McDonald-Tipungwuti was elevated to the Bombers' senior list. He made his

AFL AFL may refer to: Sports * American Football League (AFL), a name shared by several separate and unrelated professional American football leagues: ** American Football League (1926) (a.k.a. "AFL I"), first rival of the National Football Leagu ...

debut in Round 1 of the 2016 season against the

Metricon Stadium Carrara Stadium (known commercially as Metricon Stadium) is a stadium on the Gold Coast in Queensland, Australia, located in the suburb of Carrara. The stadium is primarily used for Australian rules football, serving as the home ground of th ...

, and he retained his position in the team until his retirement. In July 2020, he broke the record for most consecutive AFL games for Essendon in the AFL era. His streak ended at 126 games when he decided not to play in Round 22, 2021, due to personal reasons. McDonald-Tipungwuti has finished in the top 10 for the

Crichton Medal The Crichton Medal is the name given to the best and fairest award for the Australian rules football team the Essendon Football Club. The naming of the award is in honour of Wally Crichton, a former administrator for Essendon (who was a commi ...

, Essendon's best-and-fairest award, each season of his career—5th in 2018; 7th in 2016, 2017, and 2020; 8th in 2019; and 10th in 2021 despite not playing in the club's final three games. He was also Essendon’s leading goalkicker in the shortened 2020 season, with 19 goals. McDonald-Tipungwuti announced his retirement on 20 May 2022, however he later revoked his retirement on 10 November 2022.

Statistics

:''Statistics are correct to the end of the 2022 season'' , - style="background-color: #EAEAEA" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

, , , 43 , , 21 , , 8 , , 9 , , 186 , , 127 , , 313 , , 89 , , 67 , , 0.4 , , 0.4 , , 8.9 , , 6.0 , , 14.9 , , 4.2 , , 3.2 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

, , , 43 , , 23 , , 34 , , 17 , , 179 , , 121 , , 71 , , 78 , , 84 , , 1.5 , , 0.7 , , 7.8 , , 5.3 , , 13.0 , , 3.4 , , 3.7 , - style="background-color: #EAEAEA" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

, , , 43 , , 22 , , 26 , , 14 , , 160 , , 110 , , 270 , , 75 , , 99 , , 1.2 , , 0.6 , , 7.3 , , 5.0 , , 12.3 , , 3.4 , , 4.5 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

, , , 43 , , 23 , , 32 , , 13 , , 166 , , 97 , , 263 , , 66 , , 99 , , 1.4 , , 0.6 , , 7.2 , , 4.2 , , 11.4 , , 2.9 , , 4.3 , - style="background-color: #EAEAEA" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...

, , , 43 , , 17 , , 19 , , 7 , , 86 , , 61 , , 147 , , 35 , , 57 , , 1.1 , , 0.4 , , 5.1 , , 3.6 , , 8.7 , , 2.1 , , 3.6 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...

, , , 43 , , 20 , , 34 , , 14 , , 129 , , 72 , , 201 , , 49 , , 56 , , 1.7 , , 0.7 , , 6.5 , , 3.6 , , 10.1 , , 2.5 , , 2.8 , - class="sortbottom" ! colspan=3, Career ! 126 ! 153 ! 74 ! 906 ! 588 ! 1265 ! 392 ! 462 ! 1.2 ! 0.6 ! 7.2 ! 4.7 ! 10.0 ! 3.1 ! 3.7

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:McDonald-Tipungwuti, Anthony 1993 births Living people Essendon Football Club players Indigenous Australian players of Australian rules football Tiwi Islands people Australian rules footballers from the Northern Territory