Claudia Whitfort (born 31 July 1999) is an Australian rules footballer playing for the Gold Coast in the AFL Women's competition (AFLW). She has previously played for Melbourne and St Kilda.

Claudia Whitfort
Whitfort with Melbourne in January 2019
Personal information
Date of birth (1999-07-31) 31 July 1999 (age 24)
Place of birth Melbourne, Australia[1]
Original team(s) Casey Demons (VFLW)/St Marys (NTFL)/St Kilda
Draft No. 30, 2017 AFL Women's draft
Debut Round 5, 2018, Melbourne vs. Brisbane, at Casey Fields
Height 171 cm (5 ft 7 in)
Position(s) Defender
Club information
Current club Gold Coast
Playing career1
Years Club Games (Goals)
2018–2019 Melbourne 04 (0)
2020–2021 St Kilda 10 (2)
2022– Gold Coast 30 (5)
Total 44 (7)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of the 2023 season.
Career highlights

AFL Players' Association 22Under22 squad 2021

Source: AustralianFootball.com

Early life edit

Whitford was born in Melbourne and raised in Mount Eliza, Victoria on the Mornington Peninsula.[1] She was an athlete at Box Hill Athletics Club [1] and Mornington Little Athletic Centre. She played netball for the Peninsula Waves Netball Club in the Victorian Netball League and represented Victoria three years in a row.[1]

She also played football with the Casey Demons (VFLW) and off-season with St Mary's Football Club (NTFL) but her main focus was netball until she began playing for the Southern Saints (St Kilda VWFL) forging a reputation as a hard-hitting pressure tackler and hard ball winner.

Whitfort was drafted by Melbourne with the club's fourth selection and the 30th pick overall in the 2017 AFL Women's draft.[2]

AFLW career edit

She made her debut in the six point win against Brisbane at Casey Fields in round 5 of the 2018 season.[3][4]

In April 2019, Whitfort was traded to expansion club St Kilda.[5]

In June 2021, Whitfort was traded to the Gold Coast in exchange for pick #36.[6]

References edit

  1. ^ a b c d Overlooked no more: Claudia Whitfort’s new dawn at Gold Coast by Ashleigh Matosevic 4 April 2022
  2. ^ Olle, Sarah (18 October 2017). "AFLW draft report card: How every club fared at the 2017 draft, club by club analysis". Fox Sports (Australia). News Corp Australia. Retrieved 3 March 2018.
  3. ^ Matthews, Bruce (2 March 2018). "AFLW match report: Dees get back on track". AFL Media. Telstra Media. Retrieved 3 March 2018.
  4. ^ "AFLW teams, Round 5: Carlton and Melbourne swing major changes for do-or-die matches". Fox Sports. News Corp Australia. 1 March 2018. Retrieved 3 March 2018.
  5. ^ "Mackie and Whitfort join the Saints". St Kilda. Telstra Media. 27 April 2019.
  6. ^ Cheadle, Josh (7 June 2021). "Claudia Whitfort becomes a SUN". Gold Coast. Telstra.

External links edit