Flynn Appleby (born 21 January 1999) is an

American college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football in the United States, American football rules first gained populari ...

punter with the

Rutgers Scarlet Knights The Rutgers Scarlet Knights are the athletic teams that represent Rutgers University's New Brunswick campus. In sports, Rutgers is famously known for being the "Birthplace of College Football", hosting the first ever intercollegiate football ...

and a former professional

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 played for Collingwood 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 ...

State football

As a junior, Appleby played for local club Cohuna Kangas. In 2014 he moved to

Ballarat Ballarat ( ) is a city in the Central Highlands (Victoria), Central Highlands of Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. At the 2021 Census, Ballarat had a population of 116,201, making it the third largest city in Victoria. Estimated resid ...

, playing junior football in the

Ballarat Football League The Ballarat Football League (BFL) is an Australian rules football competition that operates in the Ballarat region of Victoria, Australia. The competition formed in 1893 as the Ballarat Football Association and was renamed Ballarat Football ...

with

in 2015 and with North Ballarat City in 2016. He also played with the

Greater Western Victoria Rebels The Greater Western Victoria Rebels is an Australian rules football club which plays in the NAB League, the statewide under-18s competition in Victoria, Australia. Initially known as the Ballarat Rebels and wearing green and gold, the team was ...

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 ...

, being named among the best players 12 times in the 18 matches he played, as well as playing one

Victorian Football League The Victorian Football League (VFL) is an Australian rules football league in Australia serving as one of the second-tier regional semi-professional competitions which sit underneath the fully professional Australian Football League (AFL). It ...

(VFL) game with

North Ballarat North Ballarat Football & Netball Club, nicknamed ''The Roosters'', is an Australian rules football and netball club based at Mars Stadium in Ballarat. The club currently fields senior, reserve and Under 19 sides in the Ballarat Football Lea ...

. He tested at the Rookie Me Combine in October 2017, then trained with Collingwood's affiliate in the VFL. Due to this, Collingwood were fined $20,000, since players are not allowed to train with an AFL club or state-league counterpart if they attend a combine, with half of the fine being suspended until 31 October 2018.

AFL career

Appleby was drafted by Collingwood with the sixth pick of the 2018 rookie draft, which was their first selection. He made his debut in round 6 of the 2018 season against

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

at the

Melbourne Cricket Ground The Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), also known locally as "The 'G", is an Australian sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, Victoria. Founded and managed by the Melbourne Cricket Club, it is the largest stadiu ...

, as a late replacement for

Tom Langdon Thomas Langdon (born 9 June 1994) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Collingwood Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). State football Langdon played junior football with Prahran and with ...

. During the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

, Appleby returned to his parents'

dairy farm Dairy farming is a class of agriculture for long-term production of milk, which is processed (either on the farm or at a dairy plant, either of which may be called a dairy) for eventual sale of a dairy product. Dairy farming has a history that ...

Cohuna Cohuna is a town situated north of Melbourne, on the Murray Valley Highway, in northern Victoria, Australia. At the , Cohuna had a population of 2,428. History A post office opened in the area on 18 September 1875, known as Mologa until 1876, ...

, helping out with the farm-work while training four times a week at the

Cohuna Football Oval Cohuna is a town situated north of Melbourne, on the Murray Valley Highway, in northern Victoria, Australia. At the , Cohuna had a population of 2,428. History A post office opened in the area on 18 September 1875, known as Mologa until 1876 ...

with

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

player Marty Hore, whose family has a dairy farm near in

Leitchville Leitchville is a town in northern Victoria, Australia. The town is in the Shire of Gannawarra local government area, 262 kilometres from the state capital, Melbourne. At the , Leitchville had a population of 558. History The district was ...

. In November 2020, Appleby was delisted by Collingwood. Appleby was unsuccessful in his attempt to regain a spot on an AFL club's list, though was appointed as captain of the North Melbourne reserves ahead of the

2021 VFL season The 2021 Victorian Football League season was the 139th season of the Victorian Football Association/Victorian Football League Australian rules football competition. The season commenced on 16 April was curtailed without a premiership awarded o ...

. He is now signed with the Rutgers Scarlet Knights Football Team.

Personal life

Appleby grew up in

Cohuna, Victoria Cohuna is a town situated north of Melbourne, on the Murray Valley Highway, in northern Victoria, Australia. At the , Cohuna had a population of 2,428. History A post office opened in the area on 18 September 1875, known as Mologa until 1876, ...

and is the cousin of golfer

Stuart Appleby Stuart Appleby (born 1 May 1971) is an Australian professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour Champions. He was a nine-time winner on the PGA Tour. Early life Appleby was born in Cohuna, Victoria, and grew up on a nearby dairy farm. He began ...

. His parents, Graham and Megan, own a

in Cohuna. After moving to

, Appleby studied and boarded at

Ballarat Clarendon College Ballarat Clarendon College is an independent, co-educational, day and boarding school, located in Ballarat, Victoria, Australia. Formerly affiliated with the Presbyterian Church of Australia, it now operates in association with the Uniting Ch ...

Statistics

:''Statistics are correct to the end of the 2020 season'' , - 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 ...

, , 31 , , 9 , , 0 , , 1 , , 72 , , 37 , , 109 , , 36 , , 12 , , 0.0 , , 0.1 , , 8.0 , , 4.1 , , 12.1 , , 4.0 , , 1.3 , - ! 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 ...

, , 31 , , 1 , , 0 , , 0 , , 3 , , 4 , , 7 , , 2 , , 1 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 3.0 , , 4.0 , , 7.0 , , 2.0 , , 1.0 , - 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- ...

, , 31 , , 1 , , 1 , , 2 , , 4 , , 5 , , 9 , , 1 , , 2 , , 1.0 , , 2.0 , , 4.0 , , 5.0 , , 9.0 , , 1.0 , , 2.0 , - class="sortbottom" ! colspan=3, Career ! 11 ! 1 ! 3 ! 79 ! 46 ! 125 ! 39 ! 15 ! 0.1 ! 0.3 ! 7.2 ! 4.2 ! 11.4 ! 3.5 ! 1.4

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Appleby, Flynn Collingwood Football Club players North Ballarat Football Club players Living people 1999 births Australian rules footballers from Victoria (Australia)