Maverick Weller

Maverick Weller (born 13 February 1992) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Gold Coast Suns, St Kilda Football Club and Richmond Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He currently plays and coaches for the Penguin Football Club in the North West Football League (NWFL).[1]

Maverick Weller
Weller with St Kilda in June 2017
Personal information
Full name Maverick Weller
Nickname(s) Mav
Date of birth (1992-02-13) 13 February 1992
Place of birth Tasmania
Original team(s) Burnie(TSL)
Draft No. 20, 2014 AFL rookie draft: St Kilda
Height 182 cm (6 ft 0 in)
Weight 85 kg (187 lb)
Position(s) Midfielder/forward
Playing career1
Years Club Games (Goals)
2011–2013 Gold Coast 032 0(3)
2014–2018 St Kilda 089 (55)
2019 Richmond 002 0(1)
Total 123 (59)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 2019.
Career highlights
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

Career

Gold Coast (2011–2013)

Weller was pre-signed to the expansion club Gold Coast as a 17-year-old, after playing junior football at Burnie in the Tasmanian State League.[2] He spent 2010 playing for Gold Coast in the VFL one year prior to their AFL entry. He made his AFL debut against the Western Bulldogs in round 3 of the 2011 season.[3] Weller also featured in the Gold Coast's first ever win over Port Adelaide at AAMI Stadium on 23 April 2011.[4]

Weller was delisted by the Suns on 2 September 2013 after playing just four games in the 2013 AFL season.

St Kilda (2014–2018)

Weller was taken in the 2013 Rookie Draft by St Kilda. He was elevated off the rookie list during the 2014 season, debuting in round 7. In his first season, Weller played 16 games and kicked three goals.

In 2015, Weller was named in St Kilda's leadership group along with captain Nick Riewoldt and fellow players Leigh Montagna, Sean Dempster, Jarryn Geary, David Armitage and Jack Newnes. He played 20 matches and kicked 12 goals in his second season with the Saints. Weller received a one-match ban for an off-the-ball hit on Brisbane's Rohan Bewick in round 9.

Prior to the 2016 season, Weller signed a contract extension with St Kilda, committing to the club until the end of the 2018 season. He was criticised for comments he made about former coach, Guy McKenna, but insisted these comments were taken out of context and has no negative feelings towards McKenna.[5] Weller played his 50th game for St Kilda in the club's round 14, 2016 win against Geelong.

Weller remained a part of St Kilda's leadership group for the 2017 season, with players Seb Ross, Josh Bruce and Dylan Roberton joining the eight-man group. He played 18 matches (nine wins, nine losses) for the season. He suffered an ankle injury in round 6, which kept him sidelined for the Saints' win over the GWS Giants in round 7. He was omitted from the senior side for three matches later in the season, before returning in round 19. Weller kicked his 50th career goal in the Saints' round 10 loss to the Western Bulldogs.

Weller was delisted by the Saints at the end of the 2018 season.[6]

Richmond (2019)

In November 2018 the Richmond Football Club signed Weller to a rookie contract under the AFL's newly introduce pre-season supplemental selection rule.[7] Weller played in both of the club's AFL pre-season matches, kicking three goals across the two matches.[8][9] He made his AFL debut for the club in round 1, kicking one goal.[10] Weller played again for the club's AFL side in round 2, before being dropped to reserves level to play out the remainder of the season with the club's VFL side.[11]

Weller announced his retirement from AFL football in September of that year, playing his last match for the club at reserves level in a victorious VFL grand final.[12][13]

Statistics
Legend
  G  
 Goals
  K  
 Kicks
  D  
 Disposals 
  T  
 Tackles
  B  
 Behinds 
  H  
 Handballs 
  M  
 Marks
Season Team No. Games Totals Averages (per game)
G B K H D M T G B K H D M T
2011 Gold Coast 415228811520336370.10.15.97.713.52.42.5
2012 Gold Coast 413128410018447290.10.26.57.714.23.62.2
2013 Gold Coast 440134356922110.00.38.58.817.35.52.8
2014 St Kilda 44163711012923940740.20.46.98.114.92.54.6
2015 St Kilda 44201212164175339671000.60.68.28.817.03.45.0
2016 St Kilda 4422241917918136085841.10.98.18.216.43.93.8
2017 St Kilda 4418111813915829773620.61.07.78.816.54.13.4
2018 St Kilda 4413578811220054490.40.56.88.615.44.23.8
2019 Richmond 16211171431620.50.58.57.015.53.01.0
Career[10] 123 59 69 903 1019 1922 430 448 0.5 0.6 7.3 8.3 15.6 3.5 3.6

Personal life

Weller attended Marist Regional College in Burnie, Tasmania. He completed his final year of school at All Saints Anglican School in Gold Coast. He has a younger brother, Lachie Weller, who currently plays for Gold Coast Suns.

References
  1. "mav weller — NWFL News". NWFL, North West Football League. Retrieved 2 April 2021.
  2. "Maverick Weller one of five players delisted by Gold Coast Suns". Herald Sun. News Corp Australia. 2 September 2019. Retrieved 4 November 2019.
  3. Smart, Nick (11 April 2011), "Close but no cigar for Suns teen", The Gold Coast Bulletin
  4. Fair, Alex (27 April 2011), "Russell's goal seals Suns' maiden victory", The Examiner Newspaper
  5. Cherny, Daniel (12 December 2015). "St Kilda stopper Mav Weller backtracks on criticism of former Gold Coast coach Guy McKenna". The Age. Retrieved 21 November 2018.
  6. "Saints cut strong-bodied forward after five years - AFL.com.au". afl.com.au. Retrieved 18 October 2018.
  7. "Tigers to recruit Mav Weller". Richmond FC. Telstra Media. 21 November 2019. Retrieved 22 September 2019.
  8. Collins, Ben (3 March 2019). "Tigers find top gear to topple Dees after slow start". AFL Media. Telstra Media. Archived from the original on 4 November 2018. Retrieved 22 September 2019.
  9. Guthrie, Ben (9 March 2019). "Slow-starting Tigers find top gear to down Hawks". AFL Media. Telstra Media. Archived from the original on 5 November 2018. Retrieved 22 September 2019.
  10. "Maverick Weller". AFL Tables. Retrieved 6 January 2019.
  11. "AFL Teams, Round 3 2019: Full squads, team line-ups, benches, emergencies, SuperCoach news, debuts". Fox Sports. News Corp Australia. 4 April 2019. Retrieved 22 September 2019.
  12. Phelan, Jennifer (22 September 2019). "'Great player... great story': Tiger sensation pushes case for GF debut". AFL Media. Telstra Media. Retrieved 22 September 2019.
  13. Cleary, Mitch (20 September 2019). "Tough Tiger calls it quits after nine-year career across three clubs". AFL Media. Telstra Media. Retrieved 22 September 2019.
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