Lachlan Hunter (born 13 December 1994) 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 plays for the

Melbourne Football Club The Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed the Demons, is a professional Australian rules football club that competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's elite competition. It is based in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, ...

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), having previously played for the . Hunter plays predominantly as an outside

midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

or wingman, but can also play as a

half-forward In the sport of Australian rules football, the half-forward line refers to a position on the field of play. 3 players are positioned in the half-forward line, a left and right half-forward flank player, as well as a centre half-forward. A hal ...

. He played top-level junior football with the Western Jets in the TAC Cup, as well as with the Vic Metro representative team in the

2012 AFL Under 18 Championships The 2012 NAB AFL Under 18 Championships was the 17th edition of the AFL Under 18 Championships. Eight teams competed in the championships: Vic Metro, Vic Country, South Australia and Western Australia in Division 1, and New South Wales/Australian ...

. Hunter was drafted with the 49th selection in the

2012 AFL draft The 2012 AFL draft consisted of five opportunities for player acquisitions during the 2012/13 Australian Football League off-season. These were: *2012 AFL trade week, trade period; which was held between 1 October and 26 October, and for the fir ...

, and made his debut for the the following year. He is a Bulldogs premiership player, a former vice-captain, a

Charles Sutton Medal The Charles Sutton Medal is an Australian rules football award presented annually to the player adjudged best and fairest for the Western Bulldogs throughout the Victorian Football League/ Australian Football League season. The medal is named a ...

list and Gary Dempsey Medallist, a winner of the Rose–Sutton Medal and a member of the 2016

22under22 The 22 Under 22 team (stylised as 22under22) is an honorary representative Australian rules football team created by the AFL Players' Association that seeks to recognise the best young talent in the Australian Football League (AFL) and AFL Wom ...

team. He has placed in the top 10 of the Bulldogs

best and fairest In Australian sport, the best and fairest award recognises the player(s) adjudged to have had the best performance in a game or over a season for a given sporting club or competition. The awards are sometimes dependent on not receiving a suspensi ...

voting for five consecutive years.

Early life

Hunter was born to former Western Bulldogs player Mark Hunter and former professional

Lacrosse Lacrosse is a team sport played with a lacrosse stick and a lacrosse ball. It is the oldest organized sport in North America, with its origins with the indigenous people of North America as early as the 12th century. The game was extensively ...

player Colleen Hunter (née McVeigh). Hunter played junior football for the Williamstown Juniors from the Under 9 divisions all the way until he finished the under 16 divisions. Hunter completed his schooling at St Kevin's College, where he played for the school team alongside future teammates

Tom Liberatore Thomas Francis Liberatore (born 16 May 1992) is an Australian rules footballer who plays for the in the Australian Football League (AFL). At and , he plays as a contested ball-winning midfielder who applies high amounts of pressure. He is the ...

and

Mitch Wallis Mitchell Wallis (born 24 October 1992) is an Australian rules footballer who last played for the Western Bulldogs in the Australian Football League (AFL). He is the son of former Bulldogs legend Stephen Wallis. Originally from Melbourne, Victo ...

. He also played with the Western Jets in the TAC Cup program. He had signs of becoming a prominent player early on, kicking 3 goals and having 37 disposals in a game against the

Eastern Ranges Football Club The Eastern Ranges is an Australian rules football team in the NAB League, the Victorian statewide under-18s competition. The club is a founding member of the competition (1992) and has produced several players for the Australian Football Leagu ...

. Hunter also featured in the Under 18 Vic Metro team in the

, playing four out of five games and picking up an influential 23 disposals in the team's 96-point demolition of Tasmania in the 2nd round of the championships. Hunter was recruited by the in the 2012 National Draft, with pick 49 under the father-son rule, as he was the son of Mark Hunter, who had played 130 games for the Bulldogs from 1988 to 1996, thus making him eligible for selection.

AFL career

2013-2015: Early career

In his debut year, Hunter played predominantly as a half-forward, usually named on the interchange. Hunter made his debut in Round 13,

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

, against at

Etihad Stadium The City of Manchester Stadium in Manchester, England, also known as the Etihad Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is the home of Premier League club Manchester City F.C., with a domestic football capacity of 53,400, making it the 6th-largest ...

. Before his debut, then Bulldogs coach

Brendan McCartney Brendan McCartney (born 23 October 1960) is the former senior coach of the Western Bulldogs football club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He coached 66 games in 3 seasons before he resigned from the job. He has served as the development ...

stated "He’s very creative, he just understands the game and when the ball is near him, good things happen – so we are looking forward to him debuting and going from there." In his debut game, Hunter collected 19 disposals, 5 marks, 2 behinds and kicked one goal with just his second kick in his AFL career. Hunter then played in all the remaining games for the season, except in the Bulldogs' 4- and 28-point victories over and in Rounds 15 and 20. Hunter received a Mark of the Year nomination in the 21st round of the season after he took a Spectacular mark over fellow teammate Tom Campbell and player

Ben Rutten Benjamin Rutten (born 28 May 1983) is a former Australian rules football player and coach. He was the senior coach of the Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL) in 2021 and 2022. As a player, he played for the Adelaide Fo ...

. He finished the season with a disposal efficiency of 75.6% and an average of 13.2 disposals and 2.9 inside 50s per game. Hunter signed a contract extension that kept him at the club until 2016 in December 2013. Hunter had another consistent season in

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, playing 14 games. He had his best game for the season in the first round of the season in the ' 65-point loss to , kicking 2 goals and a behind, as well as collecting 24 disposals, 5 marks and 4 tackles. Hunter received his second Mark of the Year nomination for his career, after his mark on Todd Goldstein in the ' 29-point loss to in the 2nd round of the

2014 AFL season The 2014 AFL season was the 118th season of the Australian Football League (AFL), the highest level senior Australian rules football competition in Australia, which was known as the Victorian Football League until 1989. The season featured ei ...

. Hunter finished the season averaging 14 disposals a game, with coach

stating "He has displayed a range of admirable qualities in his short time at the Club and although Lachie’s best footy is still to come, we are pleased with the way he is tracking." Hunter was given the Number 7

guernsey Guernsey (; Guernésiais: ''Guernési''; french: Guernesey) is an island in the English Channel off the coast of Normandy that is part of the Bailiwick of Guernsey, a British Crown Dependency. It is the second largest of the Channel Islands ...

, swapping his previous number, 26. After a shaky start to the 2015 season, Hunter rapidly improved to secure a spot in the ' finals team. Hunter received a club-imposed ban for being late to club training, resulting in him missing many of the opening rounds of the season. Hunter was moved to the wing towards the late end of the season and he quickly became central to the team's efforts, averaging 30 disposals from Round 17 to Round 23 when he made the move to the wing. In the 17th round of the season, Hunter won the Rose–Sutton Medal, which was awarded to the player who displays the most courage, skill, leadership and sportsmanship in games between the and . In that game he was also named as

best on ground In team sport, a player of the match or man of the match or woman of the match award is often given to the most outstanding player in a particular match. This can be a player from either team, although the player is generally chosen from the winn ...

, as he broke his career record for most disposals by 8, reaching a new record of 32. He also collected 1 goal, 10 marks and 10 scoring involvements, as well as 516 metres gained. He had his best game for the season the very next round, in the ' 87-point demolition of . He collected 36 disposals, again breaking his career record for most disposals, and also kicked a behind, laid 4 tackles and took 6 marks. He was named as one of the Bulldogs'

2016-2019: Breakout

Hunter enjoyed a breakthrough season in 2016, cementing his place in the Bulldogs' senior team and enhancing a reputation as one of the league's most prolific wingmen. He played every game for the Bulldogs and at one stage in the season was considered in the running to make the

All-Australian team 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 ...

. Hunter got his first above-40 disposal count, collecting 44 in the ' 16-point loss to in the 10th round of the 2016 season, after he had to make up for the losses of important backmen

Bob Murphy Robert, Rob, Bob or Bobby Murphy may refer to: Sports Ice hockey *Robert Ronald Murphy or Ron Murphy (1933–2014), Canadian ice hockey player * Bob Murphy (ice hockey) (born 1951), Canadian retired professional ice hockey player *Rob Murphy (ice ...

, Matthew Suckling and

Jason Johannisen Jason Johannisen (born 8 November 1992) is a South African born professional Australian rules footballer who plays for the Western Bulldogs in the Australian Football League (AFL). At 180 cm (5ft 11in) tall and 82 kg (181 lb), he plays as a run ...

. Hunter also took 6 marks and made 4 clearances. An illegal tackle from player Lindsay Thomas saw Hunter go to hospital after the game with concussion-like symptoms, but he recovered in time for the next round. He also had good games in rounds 2 and 11, where he collected 35 and 38 disposals, and kicked a goal in both games. Hunter collected 85 disposals over the course of the

2016 AFL finals series The 2016 Australian Football League finals series was the 120th annual edition of the VFL/AFL final series, the Australian rules football tournament staged to determine the winner of the 2016 AFL Premiership Season. The series ran over four wee ...

, averaging around 21 disposals a game. He played in the ' 62 year premiership drought-breaking team, collecting 19 disposals, 1 behind, 4 tackles and 1 mark. He finished the season as the club's leading disposal getter with 719 in total, averaging nearly 28 disposals per game, ranking him sixth overall in the AFL. He was ranked as the number one uncontested ball winner in the

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 ...

, ending the year with 514 uncontested possessions. Hunter also came second at the club for inside 50s and equal third for goal assists. Hunter was recognized for his achievement when he finished third in the club's

count, winning the Gary Dempsey Medal. He also received 13 Brownlow votes. Hunter played every game in the 2017 season, proving himself as one of the ' key players. Hunter signed a new contract in April which kept him at the Bulldogs until the end of 2019. He had one of his best games for the season in the ' 16-point loss to in the 3rd round of the season, where he kicked the first 3 goals for the Bulldogs, collected 26 disposals, took 6 marks and had 4 inside-50s. He had a similarly good game in the ' 14-point win against in round 1 of the season, where he kicked 3 goals, collected 21 disposals, and took 6 marks and 2 tackles. He was named as one of the ' best on ground. Hunter finished the season in 6th place in the

count, gathering 125 votes, 60 votes behind first-placed

Marcus Bontempelli Marcus Bontempelli (born 24 November 1995) is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the Western Bulldogs in the Australian Football League (AFL). He has served as Western Bulldogs captain since the 2020 season, and was previ ...

. In November of that year, Hunter was elevated to the leadership group of the Bulldogs, alongside

Jordan Roughead Jordan Roughead (born 3 November 1990) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Collingwood Football Club and the Western Bulldogs in the Australian Football League (AFL). Roughead is the 2024 backline coach of the Collingwood ...

, Jack Redpath and

The

2018 AFL season The 2018 AFL season was the 122nd 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 ...

saw Hunter have one of his best seasons yet, obtaining the club's

award. In round 7, Hunter captained the Bulldogs in their 9-point win over in an AFL match, filling in for the injured captain and vice-captain

Easton Wood Easton Phillip Wood (born 4 September 1989) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Western Bulldogs in the Australian Football League (AFL). He grew up in Camperdown, Victoria while attending Geelong Grammar School. He was ...

and Marcus Bontempelli. Hunter, alongside Jack Macrae and

, was named as best on ground for the Bulldogs, after gathering 34 disposals, 9 marks and 3 tackles. Hunter played his 100th game in the Bulldogs' 54-point loss to in the 18th round of the

. He collected 28 disposals, took 5 marks and laid 4 tackles, named as one of the team's best on ground in the big loss. Hunter tied his career record for most disposals in a game in a standout performance in the Bulldogs' 7-point win over in round 21, getting 44 disposals. Hunter was rewarded with the

at the end of the season. He collected 191 votes, just 1 vote ahead of second-placed Jack Macrae. Hunter led the club in marks and disposals for the total season, getting 117 and 626 respectively. 2019 was another consistent season for Hunter in his second year as a member of the team's leadership group, playing every game of the season, including the Bulldogs' elimination final loss to . Hunter signed a major 5-year contract extension on 12 March 2019, tying him to the club until 2024. Hunter stated that "I’ve clearly wanted to play for this club my whole life, and to be able to do that over an extended period now is a really good feeling," Hunter was a crucial part of the Bulldogs' 8-point win over in the 17th round of the

2019 AFL season The 2019 AFL season was the 123rd 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 ...

, gathering 37 disposals, kicking a goal, taking 10 marks and laying 5 tackles, getting named in the Bulldogs' best for the game. Hunter also bolstered the Bulldogs' effort against in Round 6 of the season, collecting 32 disposals, 8 marks and a goal. He was named as the Bulldogs' best on ground. Hunter finished in 6th place in the

count, 138 votes behind first-placed Marcus Bontempelli. This made it his fourth consecutive year in a row getting named in the Top 10 of the

voting. In December 2019, Hunter was appointed the vice-captain of the Western Bulldogs, after previous vice-captain Marcus Bontempelli stepped up to the role of captaincy.

2020-2022: Struggles and injury, trade to Melbourne

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 ...

was a chaotic one for Hunter, with drink-driving offences and personal issues pushing him out of the team, reducing him to a total of just 10 games played in the

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

affected season. Hunter only vice-captained the Bulldogs for one game, the team's 52-point loss to in the opening round of the season. In April 2020, after a drunk driving offence, he was suspended for four games and voluntarily relinquished the vice captaincy. He was also fined $5000 for drink driving and given suspended fines for offences involving breaching of social distancing. Hunter came back into the team for Rounds 6 and 7, and averaged 26.5 disposals and 4 marks per game, but then took a break for personal reasons, missing the next five rounds. Hunter had one of his best games for the season in his return to the team in Round 12, collecting 29 disposals, a goal and 6 marks in a game where he ruled out rumours of a trade, after grabbing his Bulldogs jumper in celebration at kicking a goal. Hunter was praised as one of the team's best players in the match. He had his best game for the season in the Bulldogs' season-defining 5-goal win over in the final round of the home and away season, which saw the team obtain a place in the finals series. In this game, he collected 35 disposals, kicked 1 goal and 3 behinds, and took 7 marks. He was named the second best player for the Bulldogs, behind

. Despite missing nearly half of the season, Hunter finished 9th in the

voting at the conclusion of the season, with a total of 84 votes, 121 behind first-placed

Caleb Daniel Caleb Daniel (born 7 July 1996) is a professional Australian rules footballer who plays for the Western Bulldogs in the Australian Football League (AFL). Known for his precise short kicking from half back, Daniel has been recognised statistical ...

. Hunter had a much different season in

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 ...

to his previous few, playing as a high half-forward due to the team's large amount of midfield depth. It was revealed that Hunter had played through the second half of the team's Round 8 win over with a broken hand, being lauded by teammate

Josh Bruce Joshua Bruce (born 8 June 1992) is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the Western Bulldogs in the Australian Football League (AFL). He previously played for the Greater Western Sydney Giants between 2012 and 2013 and the St ...

and coach Luke Beveridge for his courage. He had surgery on his hand in the wake of his injury. In a shock move, Hunter was traded to at the end of the

2022 AFL season The 2022 AFL season is the 126th 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 features ...

Personal life

Hunter is the cousin of

Mark McVeigh Mark McVeigh (born 26 January 1981) is a former professional Australian rules footballer for the Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League. He served as the caretaker senior coach of the Greater Western Sydney Giants followin ...

and

Jarrad McVeigh Jarrad McVeigh (born 7 April 1985) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Sydney Swans in the Australian Football League (AFL). He is the younger brother of former Essendon midfielder Mark McVeigh. He was co-captain of the ...

, who played for and respectively.

Statistics

''Updated to the end of round 8, 2024''. , - ,

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, , , , 26 , 14 , , 9 , , 13 , , 126 , , 72 , , 198 , , 51 , , 37 , , 0.6 , , 0.9 , , 9.0 , , 5.1 , , 14.1 , , 3.6 , , 2.6 , , 0 , - ,

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, , , , 12 , 24 , , 6 , , 3 , , 308 , , 230 , , 538 , , 100 , , 42 , , 0.3 , , 0.1 , , 12.8 , , 9.6 , , 22.4 , , 4.2 , , 1.8 , , 3 , - ,

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, , , , 12 , 0 , , – , , – , , – , , – , , – , , – , , – , , – , , – , , – , , – , , – , , – , , – , , , - class=sortbottom ! colspan=3 , Career ! 197 !! 79 !! 87 !! 2596 !! 1994 !! 4590 !! 1002 !! 464 !! 0.4 !! 0.4 !! 13.2 !! 10.1 !! 23.3 !! 5.1 !! 2.4 !! 40 Notes

Honours and achievements

Team * AFL premiership:

Individual * 22under22 team:

* Gary Dempsey Medal: 2016 * Rose–Sutton Medal: 2015 *

: 2018

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hunter, Lachie 1994 births Australian rules footballers from Victoria (state) Living people Western Bulldogs players Western Bulldogs premiership players Williamstown Football Club players Western Jets players Charles Sutton Medal winners VFL/AFL premiership players Melbourne Football Club players