| Dougal Howard | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Howard playing in 2018 for Port Adelaide | |||
| Personal information | |||
| Born | (1996-03-25)25 March 1996 (age 29) Wagga Wagga,New South Wales | ||
| Original team | Murray Bushrangers (TAC Cup)/Wagga Tigers (NSW) | ||
| Draft | No. 56,2014 national draft | ||
| Height | 199 cm (6 ft 6 in) | ||
| Weight | 95 kg (209 lb) | ||
| Position | Key defender | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | St Kilda | ||
| Number | 20 | ||
| Playing career1 | |||
| Years | Club | Games (Goals) | |
| 2015–2019 | Port Adelaide | 45 (14) | |
| 2020– | St Kilda | 90(1) | |
| Total | 135 (15) | ||
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of the 2024 season. | |||
| Sources:AFL Tables,AustralianFootball.com | |||
Dougal Howard (born 25 March 1996) is a professionalAustralian rules footballer playing for theSt Kilda Football Club in theAustralian Football League (AFL). Formerly playing for Port Adelaide, which recruited him with pick 56 in the2014 national draft,[1] he was traded to St Kilda at the end of the 2019 season.
Howard was born and raised inWagga Wagga,New South Wales and he played his junior football with the East Wagga Kooringal club.[2] As a teenager he moved toAlbury to study at university where he played with the Murray Bushrangers and attracted the interest of AFL scouts.[3]
Howard made his debut in the firstShowdown of the2016 AFL season atAdelaide Oval.[4] Howard played only three games until ananterior cruciate ligament injury ended his season prematurely.[5]
Howard played 20 games in the2018 AFL season, only missing two games with a broken hand. He played some impressive shut-down jobs on the league's best forwards and lead the competition forone-percenters with 230. He signed a three-year contract extension withPort Adelaide until the end of 2022.[6] In 2019, Howard captained Port Adelaide in the club's round 9, 38-point win against Gold Coast at Adelaide Oval. After the game, coach Ken Hinkley said of Howard that "we absolutely believe that Dougal's an emerging leader of our football club ... We saw an occasional mistake, we saw some really impressive stuff, we saw a willingness to take the game on – that's what you want from a young leader, that's not to let it burden him."[7]
At the conclusion of the2019 AFL season, Howard requested a trade to St Kilda. The trade was finalised on 15 October and Howard was traded to St Kilda along with Port teammatePaddy Ryder and pick 10 and a 2020 fourth-round selection, in return for the Saints' picks 12 and 18 and a 2020 third-round selection.[8] Howard also attracted attention from North Melbourne and Essendon but ultimately chose St Kilda.[9] Before moving to the Saints, Howard was told at his exit interview that Port saw his future as a forward rather than a defender. A week after the exit interview, Port Adelaide list managerJason Cripps suggested that a trade could be an option for Howard, who ultimately explored his options and eventually requested a move to St Kilda.[10]
Howard played every game in defence in his first season at St Kilda, which ultimately resulted in the club's first finals berth since 2011. He was subsequently named St Kilda's vice-captain ahead of the2021 AFL season.
In round 2 of the 2021 season, Howard was one of the best in the Saints' loss to Melbourne, collecting 29 disposals, eight marks, nine intercept possessions, nine rebound 50s, four score involvements and gained 769 metres (most on ground).Howard finished seventh in the Trevor Barker Award in 2021.[11]
G | Goals | K | Kicks | D | Disposals | T | Tackles |
B | Behinds | H | Handballs | M | Marks |
| Season | Team | No. | Games | Totals | Averages (per game) | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | B | K | H | D | M | T | G | B | K | H | D | M | T | ||||
| 2016 | Port Adelaide | 32 | 6 | 3 | 4 | 30 | 20 | 50 | 14 | 17 | 0.50 | 0.67 | 5.00 | 3.33 | 8.33 | 2.33 | 2.83 |
| 2017 | Port Adelaide | 32 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 43 | 12 | 55 | 27 | 3 | 0.25 | 0 | 10.75 | 3.00 | 13.75 | 6.75 | 0.75 |
| 2018 | Port Adelaide | 32 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 158 | 60 | 218 | 87 | 29 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 7.90 | 3.00 | 10.90 | 4.35 | 1.45 |
| 2019 | Port Adelaide | 32 | 15 | 10 | 6 | 114 | 60 | 174 | 67 | 22 | 0.67 | 0.40 | 7.60 | 4.00 | 11.60 | 4.47 | 1.47 |
| 2020[a] | St Kilda | 20 | 18 | 1 | 1 | 151 | 34 | 185 | 74 | 22 | 0.10 | 0.10 | 8.40 | 1.90 | 10.30 | 1.60 | 1.20 |
| 2021 | St Kilda | 20 | 21 | 0 | 1 | 256 | 68 | 324 | 102 | 25 | 0.0 | 0.05 | 12.19 | 3.24 | 15.43 | 4.86 | 1.19 |
| 2022 | St Kilda | 20 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 153 | 48 | 201 | 83 | 16 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 9.0 | 2.8 | 11.8 | 4.9 | 0.9 |
| 2023 | St Kilda | 20 | 18 | 0 | 1 | 150 | 81 | 231 | 99 | 15 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 8.3 | 4.5 | 12.8 | 5.5 | 0.8 |
| 2024 | St Kilda | 20 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 117 | 55 | 172 | 97 | 10 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 7.8 | 3.7 | 11.5 | 6.5 | 0.7 |
| 2025 | St Kilda | 20 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 25 | 8 | 33 | 19 | 7 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 8.3 | 2.7 | 11.0 | 6.3 | 2.3 |
| Career | 138 | 15 | 13 | 1206 | 450 | 1656 | 671 | 167 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 8.7 | 3.3 | 12.0 | 4.9 | 1.2 | ||
Notes
