Amanda Farrugia

Amanda Farrugia (born 24 January 1985) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Greater Western Sydney Giants in the AFL Women's competition. She was the club's inaugural AFLW captain and played in all 21 possible matches across her three seasons at the club.

Amanda Farrugia
Farrugia playing for Greater Western Sydney in February 2018
Personal information
Date of birth	(1985-01-24) 24 January 1985
Place of birth	Sydney, New South Wales
Original team(s)	Macquarie University Australian Football Club (SWAFL)
Draft	No. 64, 2016 AFL Women's draft
Debut	Round 1, 2017, Greater Western Sydney vs. Adelaide, at Thebarton Oval
Height	163 cm (5 ft 4 in)
Position(s)	Utility
Playing career^1
Years	Club	Games (Goals)
2017–2019	Greater Western Sydney	21 (2)
^1 Playing statistics correct to the end of the 2019 season.
Career highlights
AFLW Greater Western Sydney captain: 2017–2019 State AFL Sydney Women's Premier Division best and fairest: 2015, 2017 AFL Sydney Women's Division Two best and fairest: 2013
Source: AustralianFootball.com

Early life and state league football

Farrugia was born and raised in the western suburbs of Sydney in New South Wales. Her parents are of Maltese descent and she attended Our Lady Queen of Peace Primary School, Greystanes.[1][2] She began playing football in 2011 when she joined Macquarie University in the lower divisions of the Sydney Women's AFL (SWAFL).[3] She missed the 2012 season while completing recovery for a knee reconstruction after sustaining a pre-season injury.[4] In 2013, she won the league's division two best and fairest award, as well as the division 2 premiership with Macquarie University & was also named Best on Ground in the Grand Final. Farrugia was also awarded 'Best Athlete' at the 2013 Macquarie University Sporting Awards.[4] In 2015, she became captain of the club's division one side, a role she continued into the 2016.[1] She was awarded the Mostyn Medal as the SWAFL's best and fairest player in the 2015 season.[1] She finished second in the 2016 award, behind Sydney University's, Nicola Barr.[5]

Upon completion of the 2017 AFLW season, Farrugia once again returned to captain Macquarie University who finished the 2017 season in 3rd place. Farrugia's brilliant form was once again rewarded with her second Mostyn Medal, as best & fairest player for the Sydney Women's premier division. Nicola Barr polled highly once again to finish runner-up.

In 2016, Farrugia played exhibition series matches for Greater Western Sydney's representative team.[6] She went on to join the Western Bulldogs side in the year's women's all star match in September 2016.[7]

AFL Women's career

Farrugia was drafted by the Greater Western Sydney Giants with the club's eight pick and sixty-fourth overall in the 2016 AFL Women's draft.[8][9] She was named the club's inaugural AFL Women's captain in January 2017.[8]

Greater Western Sydney signed Farrugia for the 2018 season during the trade period in May 2017.[10]

In November 2019, Farrugia announced her retirement from the game.[11]

Statistics

Legend

G

Goals

B

Behinds

K

Kicks

H

Handballs

D

Disposals

M

Marks

T

Tackles

Season	Team	No.	Games	Totals							Averages (per game)
				G	B	K	H	D	M	T	G	B	K	H	D	M	T
2017	Greater Western Sydney	18	7	0	0	49	14	63	14	27	0.0	0.0	7.0	2.0	9.0	2.0	3.9
2018	Greater Western Sydney	18	7	2	1	60	29	89	13	36	0.3	0.1	8.6	4.1	12.7	1.9	5.1
2019	Greater Western Sydney	18	7	0	0	33	26	59	11	16	0.0	0.0	4.7	3.7	8.4	1.6	2.3
Career[12]			21	2	1	142	69	211	38	79	0.1	0.0	6.8	3.3	10.0	1.8	3.8

Personal life

Off-field, Farrugia works as a physical education teacher at Our Lady of Mercy College in Parramatta.[13][14][8] She lives in the western Sydney suburb of Seven Hills.[4]

Her husband Daniel Repeti is a high school teacher at Wyndham College in Quakers Hill and a professional photographer. They married in 2015 and have two dogs, George and Sasha.

References

1. caitlintuttle (16 January 2017). "GIANTS announce AFLW leaders". AFL NSW/ACT. SportsTG. Archived from the original on 2 February 2017. Retrieved 23 January 2017.
2. Navaratnam, Dinny (15 January 2017). "Pearce to skipper Demons, GWS picks local teacher". AFL.com.au. Bigpond. Retrieved 23 January 2017.
3. Marsden, Matt (4 October 2016). "Draft Her: Kate Gillespie-Jones, Maddie Boyd and Amanda Farrugia". Girls Play Footy. Retrieved 23 January 2017.
4. McMurtry, Andrew (19 January 2017). "Seven Hills resident Amanda Farrugia named first GWS Giants Women's captain". Blacktown Sun. Fairfax Media. Archived from the original on 2 February 2017. Retrieved 23 January 2017.
5. McMurtry, Andrew (14 October 2016). "GWS Giants select Seven Hills local Amanda Farrugia with pick 64 in inaugural AFL women's draft". Blacktown Sun. Fairfax Media. Archived from the original on 2 February 2017. Retrieved 23 January 2017.
6. Williams, Kristy (8 April 2016). "Preview: Giants out for revenge against cross-town Swans". Girls Play Footy. Retrieved 23 January 2017.
7. "Bulldogs name women's squad for Hampson-Hardeman Cup". Western Bulldogs. Bigpond. 13 July 2016. Retrieved 23 January 2017.
8. Buckley, James (15 January 2017). "Amanda Farrugia named inaugural captain of GWS for AFL women's competition". The Age. Fairfax. Retrieved 23 January 2017.
9. "GWS Giants recruits Seven Hills footballer Amanda Farrugia in AFL Women's Draft". Blacktown Sun. Fairfax Media. 12 October 2016. Archived from the original on 2 February 2017. Retrieved 23 January 2017.
10. "AFLW: All the clubs' full lists after trade period - AFL.com.au". afl.com.au. Telstra Media. 26 May 2017. Retrieved 26 May 2017.
11. "Farrugia Calls Time as Eva Takes Over Captaincy". GWS Giants. 24 November 2019. Retrieved 24 November 2019.
12. "Amanda Farrugia–player stats by season". Australian Football. Retrieved 21 March 2017.
13. Arrow, Brendan (24 December 2016). "GWS Giants' women's AFL recruit Amanda Farrugia wants to inspire young Australians". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 23 January 2017.
14. Imagawa, Yoshihiro (10 January 2017). "Inspiring story of Amanda Farrugia". The Footy Almanac. DISKMANdotNet. Retrieved 23 January 2017.

External links

• Amanda Farrugia's profile on the official website of the Greater Western Sydney Giants
• Amanda Farrugia at AustralianFootball.com