Australian rules footballer, born 1981
Australian rules footballer
Luke McPharlin
(born 1 December 1981) is a former professional
Australian rules footballer
who played in the
Australian Football League
(AFL) for the
Fremantle Football Club
between 2002 and 2015, after two seasons with the
Hawthorn Football Club
. Throughout his AFL career, McPharlin predominantly played as a
key defender
.
AFL career
[
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]
McPharlin was recruited from
East Fremantle
in
Western Australia
to the
Hawthorn Football Club
after being taken at Pick 10 in the 1999
AFL Draft
. He made his debut in 2000,
kicking a goal with his first kick
, but played just 12 total games in his first two seasons at Hawthorn. Feeling home sick in
Melbourne
, McPharlin jumped at the chance of returning to
Perth
, and was subsequently traded to Fremantle following the 2001 season. McPharlin battled injury early on in his career, managing just over 50 games in his first five seasons.
[1]
In 2005, McPharlin garnered
Mark of the Year
honours for his spectacular chestmark against the
West Coast Eagles
in Round Three.
[2]
McPharlin played his 200th AFL game in Round 13, 2012 against
Essendon
.
[1]
That season, he was named in the
All-Australian team
as a defender.
In 2013, McPharlin helped lead Fremantle to their first ever
AFL Grand Final
appearance, where they were defeated by Hawthorn by 15 points, ending the club's best season in their 19-year history just short of their first premiership success.
[3]
McPharlin struggled to play regularly in 2013 and 2014 with calf and achilles-related issues, managing just 29 games over those two seasons. He also did not feature in Fremantle's finals campaigns in 2014 and 2015 due to calf problems.
[4]
On 30 September 2015, McPharlin announced his retirement from the AFL after 256 games and 16 seasons in the league.
[5]
McPharlin departed Fremantle sitting second on the club's games record list with 244, behind only
Matthew Pavlich
who retired on 353 and
David Mundy
who retired on 376.
[6]
Personal life
[
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]
McPharlin was the lead guitarist and singer of a
Baha?i
Youth Music outfit, "Calling, Waiting, Searching".
[7]
[8]
His musical skills led him to win
The Footy Show's
musical contest
Screamers
in 2005.
[9]
On 24 July 2011, it was announced that McPharlin would release his debut album later that year in collaboration with local Perth act
Stella's Kitchen
.
[10]
He was educated at
Christ Church Grammar School
in
Perth
where he graduated in 1999. McPharlin and his wife, Kalinz, have two daughters.
[11]
After retiring from football McPharlin and his family moved to
Broome
where he works as a
pharmacist
.
[12]
As of 2022, he and his family have moved back to Perth and now live in Beaconsfield.
He was recently interviewed in the Mind and Soul Matters Podcast
[13]
where he talks candidly about the struggles he faced early in his football career, and also about his beliefs and faith.
Honours and achievements
[
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]
Team
Individual
Statistics
[
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]
- [14]
References
[
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]
External links
[
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]
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Full-back
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Half-back
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Centre
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Half-forward
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Full-forward
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Ruck
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Interchange
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Coach
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The position of coach in the
All-Australian team
has been awarded to the coach of the premiership-winning team since 1999.
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First round
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Second round
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Third round
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Fourth round
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Fifth round
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Sixth round
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