Errol Gulden (born 18 July 2002) is an

Australian rules footballer 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 ...

who plays for 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 ...

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 recruited by the

with the 32nd draft pick in the

2020 AFL draft The 2020 AFL draft consisted of the various periods where the 18 clubs in the Australian Football League (AFL) could trade and recruit players following the completion of the 2020 AFL season. Due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Natio ...

Early life

Gulden was born in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

to a

Turkish Turkish may refer to: *a Turkic language spoken by the Turks * of or about Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities and mi ...

-born father and an Australian mother. He began playing junior

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 ...

for the Maroubra Saints as a child and joined the Sydney Swans academy at 11 years of age. In 2018 Gulden was named as an Under 16s All-Australian after his stellar season with the NSW/ACT Under-16s Rams, and was also named as the team's most valuable player. He played in the 2019 NAB All Stars futures Match alongside future teammate

Braeden Campbell Braeden Campbell (born 4 February 2002) is an Australian rules footballer who plays for the Sydney Swans in the Australian Football League (AFL). He was recruited by the Sydney Swans with the 5th draft pick in the 2020 AFL draft. after the ...

and Logan Mcdonald. Gulden also played for the

UNSW-Eastern Suburbs Bulldogs UNSW-Eastern Suburbs Bulldogs is an Australian rules football club competing in the Sydney AFL competition. They are based in the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney, and affiliated with the University of New South Wales. History The club formed in 1999 ...

in three seasons from 2018 to 2020 for a total of 33 games and was named as best on ground in their 2019 premiership win over

Sydney University The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's six ...

AFL career

Gulden debuted in the opening round of the

2021 AFL season The 2021 AFL season was the 125th 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 featu ...

, starring for Sydney in their shock win over . In his first game, he kicked 3 goals and collected 19 disposals and earned himself a Rising Star nomination for the round. In addition, Gulden polled two votes in the

2021 Brownlow Medal The 2021 Brownlow Medal was the 94th year the award was presented to the player adjudged the best and fairest player during the Australian Football League (AFL) home-and-away season. For the second year in a row, due to the travel restrictions ...

, becoming the fifth Swan to poll votes on debut. He backed up his groundbreaking round one performance with a 22 disposal, 1 goal performance the next week in the team's 33 point win over . After this performance, Champion Data statistics described him as having two of the best games recorded by a debutant ever. Gulden played the first eight games of the 2021 season, before being sidelined for an extended period of time due to stress reactions in his foot. He returned in Round 15 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 ...

and remained in the side for the rest of the year. Gulden became a key part of Sydney's best 22, helping the team qualify for

finals Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...

after a 16th-placed finish the year before. He played 15 games and kicked 12 goals, and was recognised by his peers when he won the AFLPA Best First Year Player award. He also polled in the top 5 for the Rising Star, and was the highest-polling first-year player.

Statistics

''Updated to the end of the 2022 season''. , - ,

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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 ...

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Honours and achievements

Individual * AFLPA Best First Year Player Award: 2021 * AFL Rising Star nominee: 2021 (round 1)

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gulden, Errol 2002 births Living people Sydney Swans players Australian rules footballers from New South Wales Australian people of Turkish descent