Mattaes Phillipou (born 27 December 2004) is a professional

Australian rules football 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 ...

er playing for the

St Kilda Football Club The St Kilda Football Club, nicknamed the Saints, is a professional Australian rules football club based in Melbourne, Victoria. The club plays in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's premier league. The club's name originates fro ...

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). He was drafted by St Kilda with their first pick in the

2022 AFL draft The 2022 AFL draft consisted of the various periods where the 18 clubs in the Australian Football League (AFL) could trade and recruit players during and following the completion of the 2022 AFL season. 2022 Covid top-up players Due to the Lea ...

, pick 10 overall.

Early football career

Phillipou is the son of former AFL player Sam Phillipou, who played three games for the in 1995. Phillipou generated plentiful excitement in his draft year, averaging 28 disposals and 1.5 goals in the

SANFL The South Australian National Football League, or SANFL ( or ''S-A-N-F-L''), is an Australian rules football league based in the Australian state of South Australia. It is also the state's sports governing body, governing body for the sport. ...

under 18s competition. In the lead-up to the

, he was forecast to be taken by either or in the first round.

AFL career

Phillipou was taken by St Kilda with pick 10 in the

after Essendon instead opted to take Elijah Tsatas. Phillipou made his AFL debut in Round 1 of the

2023 AFL season The 2023 AFL season was the 127th season of the Australian Football League (AFL), the highest-level senior Australian rules football competition in Australia. The season featured 18 clubs and ran from 16 March to 30 September, comprising a 23-m ...

against Fremantle, where he gathered 16 disposals and kicked one goal. In Round 2, he scored 3 goals in a win over the

Western Bulldogs The Western Bulldogs are a professional Australian rules football club based in the Melbourne suburb of Footscray. The club competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's premier competition. Originally named the Footscray F ...

. He was nominated for the

AFL Rising Star The AFL Rising Star is an Australian rules football award presented annually to the player adjudged the best young player in the Australian Football League (AFL) for the year. It was first presented in the 1993 season, and was won by Nathan Bu ...

in Round 8 against

North Melbourne North Melbourne is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, north-west of Melbourne's Melbourne central business district, Central Business District, located within the City of Melbourne Local government ar ...

. Phillipou went on to play every match in his debut season, including the Elimination Final.

Statistics

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

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 ...

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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 ...

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References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Phillipou, Mattaes Living people 2004 births St Kilda Football Club players Woodville-West Torrens Football Club players Australian rules footballers from South Australia Australian people of German descent Australian people of Macedonian descent 21st-century Australian sportsmen