Tyler Sonsie (born 27 January 2003) is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the Richmond Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). Sonsie was drafted by Richmond with the 28th pick in the 2021 AFL Draft, and made his AFL debut in round 18 of the 2022 season.
| Tyler Sonsie | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Personal information | |||
| Date of birth | 27 January 2003 | ||
| Original team(s) | Eastern Rangers (NAB League), Lysterfield | ||
| Draft | No. 28, 2021 AFL National Draft: Richmond | ||
| Debut | Round 18, 2022, Richmond vs. North Melbourne, at Marvel Stadium | ||
| Height | 181 cm (5 ft 11 in) | ||
| Weight | 73 kg (161 lb) | ||
| Position(s) | Midfielder | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | Richmond | ||
| Number | 40 | ||
| Playing career1 | |||
| Years | Club | Games (Goals) | |
| 2022– | Richmond | 12 (4) | |
|
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of round 4, 2024 season. | |||
| Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com | |||
Early life and junior football edit
Sonsie played junior football in Melbourne's outer eastern suburbs, the Lysterfield Wolves Junior Football Club, as well as at Scoresby and Rowville, and completed high school studies at Rowville Secondary College in 2020.[1][2][3][4]
In 2019, Sonsie made his NAB League debut, playing top level junior football for the Eastern Ranges at age 16, including in the side's grand final loss.[5] The same season he was selected to play national representative football for the Victorian Metropolitan Under 16s side, where he earned MVP honours as the team's best player in its national championship winning run.[6]
The impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic saw the 2020 junior football season cancelled entirely.[5]
In the lead in to the 2021 season, Sonsie was projected by AFL Media and ESPN as a likely top five pick in the forthcoming AFL draft.[5][7] During the year he played junior representative football with the Eastern Ranges, top level exhibition games for the AFL Academy side and made his VFL debut for Box Hill where he starred with 24 disposals and two goals.[2] At the end of the NAB League season, he was rewarded with Team of the Year selection honours in what was a partially COVID interrupted season.[2][8] Despite occasional starring performances, Sonsie's draft ranking progressively fell over the course of the season, as pundits considered his output uneven and inconsistent.[9][10]
Across his junior career, Sonsie was lauded for his ability to play inside and outside of midfield stoppages and his disposal accuracy.[11]
Immediately prior to the AFL draft, Sonsie was projected to be taken with the 17th and 23rd picks by AFL Media and ESPN, respectively.[12][13]
AFL career edit
Sonsie was drafted by Richmond with the club's third pick and the 28th selection overall in the 2021 AFL draft.[14]
He made his debut in Round 18 of the 2022 season and held his spot for the remainder of the season, as well as in the club's elimination final loss to Brisbane.[15][16] He played a total of seven AFL games that season.[17] In Round 22 of the 2023 VFL season he was suspended for three weeks after violently punching North Melbourne's Tom Cappellari in the head. [18]
AFL statistics edit
Updated to the end of the 2022 season.
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 | ||||
| 2022 | Richmond | 40 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 71 | 52 | 123 | 18 | 13 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 10.1 | 7.4 | 17.6 | 2.6 | 1.9 |
| Career | 7 | 3 | 3 | 71 | 52 | 123 | 18 | 13 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 10.1 | 7.4 | 17.6 | 2.6 | 1.9 | ||
References edit
- ^ "Tyler Sonsie". Eastern Ranges. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
- ^ a b c Sheehan, Kevin (11 November 2021). "Kevin Sheehan reveals his top NAB AFL Draft Prospects: Small forwards/defenders/midfielders". AFL Media. Telstra Media. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
- ^ "FOUR SPORTS ACADEMY STUDENTS SELECTED IN 2021 AFL DRAFT". Rowville Secondary College. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
- ^ Beveridge, Riley (3 December 2021). "Melbourne public school hits draft home run, Bombers great proud". AFL Media. Telstra Media. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
- ^ a b c Twomey, Callum (16 February 2021). "COVID challenges keep hitting No.1 pick contender Tyler Sonsie". AFL Media. Telstra Media. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
- ^ Beveridge, Riley (12 July 2019). "Vic Metro takes out U16 Championships with big win over WA". AFL Media. Telstra Media. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
- ^ Doerre, Chris (24 March 2021). "The biggest AFL Draft questions answered: Top prospects, unluckiest players and 2020's impact". ESPN. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
- ^ Cencic, Daniel (10 November 2021). "NAB League: Top Eastern Ranges prospect Tyler Sonsie opens up on football journey to the AFL draft". Herald Sun. News Corp Australia. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
- ^ Doerre, Chris (5 July 2021). "AFL Draft - July's Power Rankings: Daicos, Horne and Darcy duke it out for top billing". ESPN. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
- ^ Waterworth, Ben (16 September 2021). "AFL Draft Power Rankings Top 20: A 'fab four', a peloton and an even spread from there". Fox Sports. News Corp Australia. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
- ^ "Tyler Sonsie". Rookie Me. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
- ^ Twomey, Callum (22 November 2021). "Cal Twomey's 2021 Phantom AFL Draft: Top 30, late picks, club whispers". Fremantle FC. Telstra Media. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
- ^ Doerre, Chris (23 November 2021). "Every club, every pick: ESPN's full AFL phantom draft". ESPN. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
- ^ Greenberg, Tony (29 November 2021). "Tiger Tyler a top talent". Richmond FC. Telstra Media. Retrieved 29 September 2022.
- ^ "Tyler Sonsie to make AFL debut". Richmond FC. Telstra Media. 14 July 2022. Retrieved 29 September 2022.
- ^ Waterworth, Ben (2 September 2022). "Captain's colossal effort… but stars amid five fails: Tigers player ratings". Fox Sports. News Corp Australia. Retrieved 29 September 2022.
- ^ Greenberg, Tony (27 October 2022). "Sonsie steps up in style". Richmond FC. Telstra Media. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
- ^ "Tiger's 'woefully inadequate' ban for brutal 'king hit' stands as VFL's appeal dismissed". Fox Footy. Fox Sports. 28 August 2023. Retrieved 29 September 2022.
External links edit
- Tyler Sonsie's profile on the official website of the Richmond Football Club
- Tyler Sonsie's playing statistics from AFL Tables