AFL By The Numbers: 44 David Wirrpanda
44
David Wirrpanda.
Defender for the West Coast Eagles.
The Eagles used a loophole at the time to grab Wirrpanda as a compensation selection in 1996. They acquired him when he was very young and it took around six years for him to overcome a series of injury setbacks and to consistently put together seasons when he played most or all of the games.
Guy McKenna used to float around the Eagles' back line controlling the game and that is what Wirrpanda is often asked to do. He keeps the back group organized and is usually the player who initiates the attack from the back.
Wirrpanda has played three seasons when he was over 400 possessions. One of those was in 1999, the only time early in his career when he played all the games, while the other two seasons were 2005 and 2006, when Wirrpanda also played in the AFL Grand Final.
There were times when Wirrpanda was used as a forward, and if the Eagles get in trouble now they still look to send Wirrpanda forward to save the day. Wirrpanda's best result for goals in a game was 5. He also had a game of 34 possessions, in that game he set a career-high with 24 kicks.
Wirrpanda is one of the Eagles' most consistent and effective performers, and as he started his career very early it means that he might have a lot more years ahead of him than some people think.
David Wirrpanda information:
173cm, 84kg
Official AFL Profile
Wikipedia entry
Number 43
David Wirrpanda.
Defender for the West Coast Eagles.
The Eagles used a loophole at the time to grab Wirrpanda as a compensation selection in 1996. They acquired him when he was very young and it took around six years for him to overcome a series of injury setbacks and to consistently put together seasons when he played most or all of the games.
Guy McKenna used to float around the Eagles' back line controlling the game and that is what Wirrpanda is often asked to do. He keeps the back group organized and is usually the player who initiates the attack from the back.
Wirrpanda has played three seasons when he was over 400 possessions. One of those was in 1999, the only time early in his career when he played all the games, while the other two seasons were 2005 and 2006, when Wirrpanda also played in the AFL Grand Final.
There were times when Wirrpanda was used as a forward, and if the Eagles get in trouble now they still look to send Wirrpanda forward to save the day. Wirrpanda's best result for goals in a game was 5. He also had a game of 34 possessions, in that game he set a career-high with 24 kicks.
Wirrpanda is one of the Eagles' most consistent and effective performers, and as he started his career very early it means that he might have a lot more years ahead of him than some people think.
David Wirrpanda information:
173cm, 84kg
Official AFL Profile
Wikipedia entry
Number 43
