Josh Wagner (footballer)

Josh Wagner (born 24 June 1994) is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the Melbourne Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). A defender, 1.89 metres (6 ft 2 in) tall and weighing 84 kilograms (185 lb), Wagner plays primarily on the half-back flank with the ability to push into the midfield. Born into a family with a strong heritage in Queensland Australian rules football, he is also the older brother of fellow Melbourne and former North Melbourne midfielder, Corey Wagner.[1] He played top-level football early when he played in the seniors for the Aspley Football Club in the North East Australian Football League (NEAFL) at sixteen years of age, in addition to playing in the 2012 AFL Under 18 Championships for Queensland. He missed out on selection in the 2012 AFL draft, spending the next three seasons at Aspley. His accolades in the NEAFL include a premiership, league representation and selection in the NEAFL team of the year. He was drafted by the Melbourne Football Club in the 2016 rookie draft and he made his AFL debut during the 2016 season.

For the American writer, see Josh Wagner.

Josh Wagner
Wagner with Melbourne in July 2018
Personal information
Full name Josh Wagner
Date of birth (1994-06-24) 24 June 1994
Original team(s) Aspley (NEAFL)
Draft No. 6, 2016 rookie draft
Debut Round 3, 2016, Melbourne
vs. North Melbourne, at Blundstone Arena
Height 189 cm (6 ft 2 in)
Weight 84 kg (185 lb)
Position(s) Defender
Club information
Current club Melbourne
Number 42
Playing career1
Years Club Games (Goals)
2016– Melbourne 40 (2)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 2019.
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

Early life

Wagner was born into a family with a strong history in Australian rules football in Queensland, with his father, Scott Wagner, a 200-gamer for the Sandgate Football Club and he was the inaugural captain of the Brisbane Bears development side, and his grandfathers, Gary Wagner and Col "Skinny" Robinson, played in premiership sides for Sandgate, along with Gary being a member of AFL Queensland's Hall of Fame.[2] Josh played soccer and rugby union at a young age and he was introduced to Australian rules football by one of his friends and he played under nines with Sandgate[2] before moving to the Aspley Football Club, playing the remainder of his junior career there; he debuted in the senior team in 2011 at 16 years of age.[3]

Despite playing for Queensland in the 2012 AFL Under 18 Championships, groin issues along with a lack of discipline off-field meant Wagner was not drafted in 2012 as he "wasn't ready for AFL football yet".[1] He spent the next three years playing in Aspley's senior side in the NEAFL and he played in the three consecutive grand finals from 2013–2015,[4] including the winning grand final in 2014 against the Sydney Swans reserves, where he was named the second best player for Aspley.[5] His 2015 season was rewarded with selection in the NEAFL representative match against the Tasmanian State League[6] and he was named as the half-back flank in the NEAFL team of the year.[7] The Melbourne Football Club's list manager, Jason Taylor, praised him by noting "his last couple of years have been pretty solid...he's a left-footer and a rebounding defender, who can play on the wing and spend a bit of time in the midfield. We think he’s got the right attitude."[1]

AFL career
Wagner warming up prior to a pre-season match in February 2017

Wagner was drafted by the Melbourne Football Club with their first selection and sixth overall in the 2016 rookie draft.[8] He made his debut in the five-point loss to North Melbourne in round 3, 2016 at Blundstone Arena, where he recorded eight-disposals.[9] After a relatively quiet debut, he recorded twenty-four disposals, six marks, five tackles and two contested marks, at seventy-one percent disposal efficiency in his second match; he polled in the Channel 7 and The Age player of the year votes,[10] and he was named as one of Melbourne's best players by AFL Media and The Age.[11][12] He played a consecutive eleven matches before succumbing to a knee injury and he missed the round 15 and 16 matches against Adelaide at the Melbourne Cricket Ground and Fremantle at TIO Stadium respectively.[13][14] He was recalled to the senior side for the round 17 match against St Kilda at Etihad Stadium.[15] He played the next two games before being rested for the round 20 match against Hawthorn at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.[16] He played the remainder of the season in the Victorian Football League (VFL) for Melbourne's affiliate team, the Casey Scorpions,[17] finishing with fourteen AFL matches for the season and a fourteenth place finish in Melbourne's best and fairest count.[18] After spending the season on the rookie list, he was promoted to the senior list in October along with a two-year contract.[19]

Statistics
Statistics are correct to the end of the 2019 season [20]
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
2016 Melbourne 42140013511224747510.00.09.68.017.63.43.6
2017 Melbourne 42921638014321250.20.17.08.915.92.32.8
2018 Melbourne 4250136276313230.00.27.25.412.62.64.6
2019 Melbourne 4212021038118433260.00.28.66.815.32.82.2
Career 40 2 4 337 300 637 114 125 0.1 0.1 8.4 7.5 15.9 2.9 3.1
gollark: Problem resolved.
gollark: ++delete cheese
gollark: Where do you GET these transcripts?
gollark: Bees?
gollark: Good, good.

References
  1. Baldwin, Adam (11 December 2015). "Josh Wagner reflects on journey from NEAFL club Aspley to Melbourne Demons". Fox Sports (Australia). News Corp Australia. Retrieved 2 August 2016.
  2. Pramberg, Bernie (21 September 2015). "Love of the Game: Wagner family grassroots greats in Aussie rules". The Courier-Mail. News Corp Australia. Retrieved 2 August 2016.
  3. Webster, Jess (18 March 2015). "Players to Watch Countdown No.18: Josh Wagner". NEAFL.com.au. Fox Sports Pulse. Retrieved 2 August 2016.
  4. Webster, Jess (9 December 2015). "Wagner hungry for shot at the big time". NEAFL.com.au. Fox Sports Pulse. Retrieved 2 August 2016.
  5. Phelan, Jennifer (13 September 2014). "Around the state leagues: Mitchell best but Swans lose thrilling NEAFL decider". AFL.com.au. Bigpond. Retrieved 2 August 2016.
  6. "2015 NEAFL Representative Squad". NEAFL.com.au. Fox Sports Pulse. Retrieved 2 August 2016.
  7. "2015 NEAFL Team of the Year". NEAFL.com.au. Fox Sports Pulse. 30 August 2015. Retrieved 2 August 2016.
  8. Guthrie, Ben (27 November 2015). "Adcock heads rookie draft's second-chance saloon". AFL.com.au. Bigpond. Retrieved 11 April 2016.
  9. Burgan, Matt (7 April 2016). "Wagner to make AFL debut in Tassie". MelbourneFC.com.au. Bigpond. Retrieved 11 April 2016.
  10. Blucher, Peter (28 April 2015). "Wagner's bright start to AFL career". NEAFL.com.au. Fox Sports Pulse. Retrieved 2 August 2016.
  11. Gurthrie, Ben (17 April 2016). "Match report: First-quarter blitz sees Melbourne cruise past Collingwood". AFL.com.au. Bigpond. Retrieved 2 August 2016.
  12. Hanlon, Peter (17 April 2016). "AFL season 2016: Demons send Pies deeper into the mire". The Age. Fairfax Media. Retrieved 2 August 2016.
  13. Burgan, Matt (1 July 2016). "Club hopeful Wagner out for just one". MelbourneFC.com.au. Bigpond. Retrieved 2 August 2016.
  14. Burgan, Matt (7 July 2016). "Wagner ruled out for NT trip". MelbourneFC.com.au. Bigpond. Retrieved 2 August 2016.
  15. Burgan, Matt (15 July 2016). "Brayshaw back in the side for Stretch". MelbourneFC.com.au. Bigpond. Retrieved 2 August 2016.
  16. Burgan, Matt (4 August 2016). "Three changes for Hawthorn clash". MelbourneFC.com.au. Bigpond. Retrieved 7 October 2016.
  17. Burgan, Matt (11 August 2016). "Casey Scorpions teams: round 19". MelbourneFC.com.au. Bigpond. Retrieved 7 October 2016.
  18. Burgan, Matt (6 September 2016). "Viney edges Jones to win first 'Bluey'". MelbourneFC.com.au. Bigpond. Retrieved 7 October 2016.
  19. Gaskin, Lee (31 October 2016). "Promotion and new deal for Demons defender Josh Wagner". AFL.com.au. Bigpond. Retrieved 31 October 2016.
  20. "Josh Wagner". AFL Tables. Retrieved 11 April 2016.
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