Luke Nankervis (born 25 May 2003) is a professional

Australian rules footballer Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an Australian rules football playing field, oval field, often a modified ...

who plays for the

Adelaide Crows The Adelaide Football Club, nicknamed the Crows, is a professional Australian rules football club based in Adelaide, South Australia that was founded in 1990. The Crows have fielded a men's team in the Australian Football League (AFL) since 199 ...

in the

Australian Football League The Australian Football League (AFL) is the pre-eminent professional sports, professional competition of Australian rules football. It was originally named the Victorian Football League (VFL) and was founded in 1896 as a breakaway competition ...

(AFL).

Early career

Luke Nankervis played eight games for

Sandringham Sandringham can refer to: Places Australia * Sandringham, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney * Sandringham, Queensland, a rural locality * Sandringham, Victoria, a suburb of Melbourne **Sandringham railway line **Sandringham railway station * ...

in 2021, kicking four goals and averaging 13.5 disposals as an athletic half-forward. Born and raised in Victoria, Nankervis played amateur football for Bentleigh in the

Southern Football Netball League The Southern Football Netball League (SFNL) is an Australian rules football league, based in the south and south eastern suburbs of Melbourne, Victoria, for both seniors and juniors. History The South East Suburban Football League was formed in ...

in his youth. He won a premiership for the club at under-16 level. The

coronavirus Coronaviruses are a group of related RNA viruses that cause diseases in mammals and birds. In humans and birds, they cause respiratory tract infections that can range from mild to lethal. Mild illnesses in humans include some cases of the comm ...

pandemic and an ongoing knee injury postponed Nankervis' draft year in 2021. Nankervis had to wait until the New Year, and ultimately was drafted by with the second selection of the 2022 pre-season draft.

AFL career

Before the 2023 season, Luke Nankervis extended his contract with the Crows for an additional two seasons, securing his place in the playing list until at least the end of 2025. He averaged 21.5 disposals and a goal during the 2022 SANFL finals series. Prior to 2023, Nankervis had played almost exclusively as a half-forward flanker playing in Adelaide's reserves team. He moved to a more defensive role during the 2023 SANFL season, playing as a running half-back. He excelled in the role change, and earned a senior debut in round 19 of the 2023 season against at the

MCG The Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), also known locally as the 'G, is a sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne, Victoria. Founded and managed by the Melbourne Cricket Club, it is the largest stadium in the Southern Hemisphere, the el ...

. Nankervis collected 16 disposals as a half-back flanker on debut. In

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

, Nankervis is becoming one of Adelaide's more consistent young talents, slowly shifting into a role on the wing. Following a career-best game of 28 disposals, 10 marks, and 10 intercept possessions against , Nankervis was awarded with the Rising Star nomination for round 13, 2024. His first career goal was a 50-meter set shot which came in the final round of 2024 against . Following a breakout year for the running defender, Nankervis was rewarded with a two-year contract extension, keeping him at the Crows until at least the end of 2027.

Statistics

''Updated to the end of 2024''. , - ,

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

, , , , 27 , , 0 , , – , , – , , – , , – , , – , , – , , – , , – , , – , , – , , – , , – , , – , , – , - ,

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

, , , , 27 , , 4 , , 0 , , 0 , , 36 , , 18 , , 54 , , 18 , , 13 , , 0 , , 0 , , 9.0 , , 4.5 , , 13.5 , , 4.5 , , 3.3 , - ,

, , , , 27 , , 20 , , 1 , , 1 , , 191 , , 149 , , 340 , , 100 , , 36 , , 0.1 , , 0.1 , , 9.6 , , 7.5 , , 17.0 , , 5.0 , , 1.8 , - class="sortbottom" ! colspan=3, Career ! 24 !! 1 !! 1 !! 128 !! 99 !! 227 !! 80 !! 27 !! 0.0 !! 0.0 !! 9.5 !! 7.0 !! 16.4 !! 4.9 !! 2.0

Personal life

Nank has two older brothers – Ryan and Joel – and a younger sister, Milly. Their father, Paul, was listed with the

Melbourne Football Club The Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed the Demons or colloquially the Dees, is a professional Australian rules football club based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's premier comp ...

's under 19s squad in the 1980s, but never played senior VFL football. Since October 2022, he has lived with fellow Victorians and current teammates

Josh Rachele Joshua Rachele ( ; born 11 April 2003) is a professional Australian rules footballer who plays for the Adelaide Crows in the Australian Football League (AFL). He was selected by the Adelaide Crows with their first pick, the sixth overall, in t ...

and Jake Soligo.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Nankervis, Luke 2003 births Living people Adelaide Football Club players Sandringham Dragons players Australian rules footballers from Victoria (state) 21st-century Australian sportsmen