George Anthony Wardlaw (born 11 June 2004) 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 ...

er who was drafted to play for

North Melbourne North Melbourne is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, north-west of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Melbourne local government area. North Melbourne recorded a population of 14,953 at the ...

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) in the 2022 draft.

Early life

Wardlaw completed his secondary education at St Kevin's College in Toorak. He was selected for Vic Metro in the NAB AFL Under 18 Championships and played for Oakleigh Chargers in the NAB League. Despite several injuries to his hamstring in the 2022 year, he was still considered to be among the top prospects in the

2022 AFL Draft The 2022 AFL draft will consist of the various periods where the 18 clubs in the Australian Football League (AFL) can trade and recruit players during and following the completion of the 2022 AFL season. 2022 Covid top-up players Due to the L ...

. As a midfielder he has been described as 'powerful' and drawn comparisons to Melbourne Demons star

Clayton Oliver Clayton Oliver (born 22 July 1997) is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the Melbourne Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). A midfielder, tall and weighing , Oliver is known for his capabilities on the ins ...

. Wardlaw attracted favourable attention from the AFL community after his performance for the Australian Academy team against the Collingwood Magpies VFL side where he won the 'best on ground' award for his team with 18 disposals and 8 tackles. He is a close friend of fellow 2022 draftee Elijah Tsatas, with the pair having played together since the age of 11 for various Vic Metro teams. Wardlaw grew up supporting the Essendon Bombers.

AFL career

Wardlaw was highly rated by recruiters and deemed likely to be selected in the first 5 picks of the 2022 AFL Draft. He was selected by North Melbourne Football Club using pick number 4.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wardlaw, George Living people 2004 births Sportspeople from Melbourne Australian rules footballers from Melbourne Oakleigh Chargers players 2022 Australian Football League season Australian Football League draft North Melbourne Football Club players