Connor Budarick (born 4 April 2001) is an

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 ...

er playing for the

Gold Coast Football Club 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 ...

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).

Early life

Budarick was born in

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

and spent the early years of his life in the small

crayfish Crayfish are freshwater crustaceans belonging to the clade Astacidea, which also contains lobsters. In some locations, they are also known as crawfish, craydids, crawdaddies, crawdads, freshwater lobsters, mountain lobsters, rock lobsters, mu ...

ing town of

Robe A robe is a loose-fitting outer garment. Unlike garments described as capes or cloaks, robes usually have sleeves. The English word ''robe'' derives from Middle English ''robe'' ("garment"), borrowed from Old French ''robe'' ("booty, spoils" ...

before relocating to

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

Gold Coast Gold Coast may refer to: Places Africa * Gold Coast (region), in West Africa, which was made up of the following colonies, before being established as the independent nation of Ghana: ** Portuguese Gold Coast (Portuguese, 1482–1642) ** Dutch G ...

at the age of 9. His father, Craig, was a professional Australian rules footballer who initially played for Glenelg in the

SANFL The South Australian National Football League, or SANFL ( or ''S-A-N-F-L''), is an Australian rules football league based in the Australian state of South Australia. It is also the state's governing body for the sport. Originally formed as the ...

where he kicked 150 goals in 66 games and was drafted to the

Sydney Swans The Sydney Swans are a professional Australian rules football club based in Sydney, New South Wales. The men's team competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), and the women's team in the AFL Women's (AFLW). The Swans also field a reser ...

with pick 110 in the 1989 national draft. Connor played his junior football for the Labrador Tigers and joined the

Gold Coast Suns Academy 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 ...

at 12 years of age. He made his NEAFL debut for

Southport Southport is a seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. At the 2001 census, it had a population of 90,336, making it the eleventh most populous settlement in North West England. Southport lies on the Irish ...

at 16 years of age and became a regular selection for the Gold Coast Suns reserves team in 2018. Budarick attended

Helensvale State High School Helensvale High School is a public secondary school located in the suburb of Helensvale on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. It is situated on the corner of Discovery Drive and Helensvale Road. The school first opened in 1990 with Rod Cassid ...

throughout his teenage years and was given a scholarship to enter the school's AFL Sport of Excellence programme. Leading into his 2019 junior season, Budarick was named captain of the Suns academy team and was awarded the Hunter Harrison Medal for the top performing academy player in the

NAB League 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 ...

. He was then selected to represent the Allies at the

2019 AFL Under 18 Championships The 2019 NAB AFL Under-18 Championships was the 24th edition of the AFL Under-18 Championships. The tournament was played between five teams— Allies, South Australia, Vic Country, Vic Metro and Western Australia—playing each other acros ...

where his performances earned him

All-Australian The All-Australian team is an all-star team of Australian rules football in Australia, Australian rules footballers, selected by a panel at the end of each season. It represents a complete team, including an interchange bench, of the best-perf ...

selection. Budarick was drafted to the Gold Coast Suns as an academy pre-listed player in October 2019. Budarick has stated he grew up supporting the Suns in his younger years.

AFL career

Budarick 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 at 18 years of age against

Port Adelaide Port Adelaide is a port-side region of Adelaide, approximately northwest of the Adelaide CBD. It is also the namesake of the City of Port Adelaide Enfield council, a suburb, a federal and state electoral division and is the main port for the ...

in Round 1 of the

2020 AFL season The 2020 AFL season was the 124th season of the Australian Football League (AFL), the highest level senior men's Australian rules football competition in Australia, which was known as the Victorian Football League until 1989. The season feature ...

. He was awarded the round 3

AFL Rising Star The AFL Rising Star is an Australian rules football award presented annually to the player adjudged the best young player in the Australian Football League (AFL) for the year. It was first presented in the 1993 season, and was won by Nathan Buc ...

nomination for his brilliant defensive performance against the

Adelaide Crows The Adelaide Crows (officially the Adelaide Football Club) are a professional Australian rules football team based in Adelaide, South Australia. Founded in 1990. The Crows has fielded a men's team in the Australian Football League (AFL) sinc ...

, which included 16 disposals, six marks and his first AFL goal.

Statistics

: Statistics are correct to the end of round 16 2022 , - 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- ...

, , 35 , , 15 , , 1 , , 0 , , 92 , , 46 , , 138 , , 35 , , 25 , , 0.1 , , 0.0 , , 6.1 , , 3.1 , , 9.2 , , 2.3 , , 1.7 , - ! 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 ...

, , 35 , , 2 , , 0 , , 0 , , 19 , , 9 , , 28 , , 11 , , 4 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 9.5 , , 4.5 , , 14.0 , , 5.5 , , 2.0 , - style="background-color: #EAEAEA" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...

, , 35 , , 9 , , 0 , , 1 , , 106 , , 29 , , 135 , , 44 , , 22 , , 0.0 , , 0.1 , , 11.7 , , 3.2 , , 15.0 , , 4.8 , , 2.4 , - class="sortbottom" ! colspan=3, Career ! 26 ! 1 ! 1 ! 217 ! 84 ! 301 ! 89 ! 51 ! 0.0 ! 0.0 ! 8.3 ! 3.2 ! 11.5 ! 3.4 ! 1.9

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Budarick, Connor 2001 births Gold Coast Football Club players Australian rules footballers from the Gold Coast, Queensland Living people Labrador Australian Football Club players People from South Australia