Shaun Mannagh (born 6 August 1997) 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

Geelong Cats The Geelong Football Club, nicknamed the Cats, is a professional Australian rules football club based at Kardinia Park (stadium), Kardinia Park in South Geelong, Victoria, South Geelong, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. The club compe ...

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

Originally from Walla Walla in the

Hume Football League The Hume Australian Football Netball League (HFNL), often shortened to Hume Football League, is an Australian rules football and netball competition containing twelve clubs based in the South West Slopes and southern Riverina regions of New Sou ...

, Mannagh represented the NSW / ACT Under 16 Rams at the National Championships in 2013, while playing with Walla Walla and winning their 2013 seniors best and fairest. Mannagh then played with the

Murray Bushrangers The Murray Bushrangers is an Australian rules football team playing in Victorian statewide under-18s competition, presently known as the Talent League, since 1993 based in Wangaratta. The team trains on Norm Minns Oval, Wangaratta. The Under 1 ...

in 2014 and 2015 in the

TAC Cup The Talent League (also known as the Coates Talent League under naming rights and previously as the NAB League and TAC Cup) is an under-19 Australian rules football representative competition based in Melbourne and run by the Australian Foot ...

and also played with North Albury in the

Ovens & Murray Football Netball League The Ovens and Murray Football Netball League (OMFNL or O&MFNL) is an Australian rules football and netball competition containing ten clubs based in north-eastern Victoria, Australia, Victoria, the southern Riverina region of New South Wales ...

from 2014 to 2018. Mannagh also represented the

in the senior interleague side in 2016 too. Mannagh was then recruited to 's VFL reserves team where he played with them from 2017 to 2019. While remaining on Richmond's VFL list, Mannagh returned to the Ovens & Murray League, this time playing for Lavington in 2019 and was best on ground in their 2019 premiership with five goals, winning the Did Simpson Medal. Mannagh spent the summer of 2020/2021 playing in the

Northern Territory Football League The Northern Territory Football League (NTFL) is an Australian rules football competition, operating in Greater Darwin, Northern Territory, Darwin and the Northern Territory, formerly run by the Northern Territory Football League Incorporated a ...

with the

Wanderers Football Club The Wanderers Football Club, nicknamed, Eagles, is an Australian rules football club, currently playing in the Northern Territory Football League (NTFL). The club was formed in 1916 as a founding member of the NTFL. It has produced Australian ...

, who lost the preliminary final to

St Mary's Football Club (NTFL) The St Marys Football Club, nicknamed, Saints, formed in 1952, is an Australian rules football club, affiliated to the Northern Territory Football League. It is famous for its record of success, with 34 NTFL premierships in 53 Grand Finals and ...

. Mannagh then played for

Werribee Werribee is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, south-west of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the local government area of the City of Wyndham. Werribee recorded a population of 50,027 at the 2021 census. Werrib ...

in the VFL from 2021 to 2023, where he was runner up in the club's 2021 and 2023 best and fairest and finished 3rd in Werribee's best and fairest award in 2022. He then kicked six goals from 28 disposals in a losing

Grand Final Primarily in Australian sports, a grand final is a game that decides a sports league's premiership (or championship) winning team, i.e. the conclusive game of a finals (or play-off) series. Synonymous with a championship game in North Ameri ...

against the

Gold Coast Suns The Gold Coast Suns, officially the Gold Coast Football Club, are a professional Australian rules football club that competes in the Australian Football League (AFL). The club is based on Queensland's Gold Coast, Queensland, Gold Coast in the ...

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 ...

, being rewarded with the

Norm Goss Memorial Medal The Norm Goss Memorial Medal is awarded to the player judged to be the best afield in the Victorian Football League grand final. It is named after former player and administrator Norm Goss Sr. When the competition was split into two divisions ...

. After a few years of attracting the attention of

AFL AFL may refer to: Education * Angel Foundation for Learning, a Canadian Roman Catholic charity * Ankara Science High School, a high school in Ankara, Turkey, natively referred to as ''Ankara Fen Liesi'' * Assessment for learning Military * ...

clubs, his Grand Final performances were enough to enter the national draft as a mature-aged rookie. Mannagh had a medical with , an interview with , and even mid-season draft conversations with before finally being chosen by in the second round of that year's national draft.

AFL career

Mannagh was drafted by in the

2023 AFL draft The 2023 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 2023 AFL season. Key dates 2023 mid-season rookie dra ...

at pick 36 as a mature-aged recruit. He made his senior debut at 26 years of age against at GMHBA Stadium in round 1 of

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 ...

. He kicked his first career goal against the next week at

Adelaide Oval The Adelaide Oval is a stadium in Adelaide in the state of South Australia. It is located in the Adelaide Parklands, parklands. The venue is predominantly used for cricket and Australian rules football, but has also played host to rugby league, ...

, before he was omitted from the team for Geelong's

Easter Monday Easter Monday is the second day of Eastertide and a public holiday in more than 50 predominantly Christian countries. In Western Christianity it marks the second day of the Octave of Easter; in Eastern Christianity it marks the second day of Br ...

clash with rivals . Mannagh played his first final in September of 2024 against at

. He was one of the best players on the ground, involved in 13 scores and kicking three goals, two of which came in a dominant third quarter. Mannagh's forward craft set up a home preliminary final for the Cats.

References

External links

* * * 1997 births Living people Geelong Football Club players Werribee Football Club players Murray Bushrangers players Australian rules footballers from Victoria (state) North Albury Football Club players Lavington Football Club players Ainslie Football Club players Wanderers Football Club players 21st-century Australian sportsmen {{AFL-bio-1990s-stub