| Tom Papley | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Papley playing forSydney in 2017 | |||
| Personal information | |||
| Full name | Tom Papley | ||
| Born | (1996-07-13)13 July 1996 (age 29) Melbourne | ||
| Original team | Gippsland Power (TAC Cup)/Bunyip | ||
| Draft | 14th selection2016 Rookie Draft | ||
| Height | 178 cm (5 ft 10 in) | ||
| Weight | 76 kg (168 lb) | ||
| Position | Forward /midfielder | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | Sydney | ||
| Number | 11 | ||
| Playing career1 | |||
| Years | Club | Games (Goals) | |
| 2016– | Sydney | 196 (304) | |
| Representative team honours | |||
| Years | Team | Games (Goals) | |
| 2020 | Victoria | 1 (5) | |
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of the 2025 season. | |||
| Career highlights | |||
| |||
| Sources:AFL Tables,AustralianFootball.com | |||
Tom Papley (born 13 July 1996) is an Australian rules footballer playing for theSydney Football Club in theAustralian Football League (AFL).He was drafted with pick 14 in the2016 rookie draft.[1]
Papley made his AFL debut in round 1 of the2016 AFL season against theCollingwood Football Club, kicking three goals. He earned theRising Star nomination for round 5 following an impressive display against theWest Coast Eagles in which he kicked two goals, earned 20 possessions, had six inside-50s and took eight marks in a match played in wet weather. Arguably his best season was in 2019, impressing many after the absence ofLance Franklin when he tied in 14th for goalkickers, with 37 goals. He kicked 4 goals againstNorth Melbourne and 5 goals against theWest Coast Eagles, proving to be two of his best performances.[2] But throughout the year, Papley had a desire to return home back to Victoria despite being contracted to the Swans until 2023 and was heavily linked to both Carlton and North Melbourne. During the trade period, he requested a trade to Carlton, but Papley wasn't given his wish as the trade didn't go through. Papley was selected to play for Victoria in the State of Origin Bushfire Relief game, where he kicked 5 goals.
Papley played all 17 games of the2020 AFL season, kicking 26 goals and leading the Swans' goalkicking tally for the second year in a row. His standout performance came againstHawthorn in Round 8, kicking 4 goals and sparking Sydney to a 7-point victory.
Papley rose to new heights in the2021 AFL season, with a career-high 41 goals. This included four-goal performances againstRichmond,GWS andEssendon, and the match-winning goal againstGeelong in round 7. Papley was rewarded with his first everAll-Australian jumper in the2021 All-Australian team, confirming his status as one of the competition's premier small forwards.
Papley missed the first six rounds of the 2022 season due to a preseason hamstring injury he suffered in a practice match with GWS.[3] Despite the late start to the season he was awarded with being a member of theAll-Australian Squad in 2022.
Papley has a gambling related podcast calledThe Early Crow.[4]
Papley grew up inBunyip and attendedMarist Sion College inWarragul. He left school after year 11 to take up aplumbing apprenticeship.[5]
His grandfathers,Jeff Bray andMax Papley, were teammates with theSouth Melbourne Swans from 1964 to 1966, before the team's move to Sydney. Tom Papley wore number 41 for his first two seasons, but following the retirement ofJeremy Laidler after the 2017 season Papley was able to take on number 11, the number Max Papley wore for 45 of his 59 matches with the South Melbourne Swans.[6]
Two of Papley's cousins,Ben Ross andMichael Ross, have also recently played in the AFL.[7]
Updated to the end of the 2025 season.[8][9]
G | Goals | K | Kicks | D | Disposals | T | Tackles |
B | Behinds | H | Handballs | M | Marks |
| Season | Team | No. | Games | Totals | Averages (per game) | Votes | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | B | K | H | D | M | T | G | B | K | H | D | M | T | |||||
| 2016 | Sydney | 41 | 20 | 29 | 15 | 141 | 102 | 243 | 57 | 72 | 1.5 | 0.8 | 7.1 | 5.1 | 12.2 | 2.9 | 3.6 | 0 |
| 2017 | Sydney | 41 | 20 | 30 | 19 | 193 | 119 | 312 | 67 | 86 | 1.5 | 1.0 | 9.7 | 6.0 | 15.6 | 3.4 | 4.3 | 0 |
| 2018 | Sydney | 11 | 20 | 24 | 23 | 169 | 104 | 273 | 65 | 58 | 1.2 | 1.2 | 8.5 | 5.2 | 13.7 | 3.3 | 2.9 | 0 |
| 2019 | Sydney | 11 | 22 | 37 | 28 | 241 | 99 | 340 | 106 | 62 | 1.7 | 1.3 | 11.0 | 4.5 | 15.5 | 4.8 | 2.8 | 4 |
| 2020[a] | Sydney | 11 | 17 | 26 | 27† | 149 | 52 | 201 | 57 | 29 | 1.5 | 1.6 | 8.8 | 3.1 | 11.8 | 3.4 | 1.7 | 6 |
| 2021 | Sydney | 11 | 23 | 43 | 27 | 230 | 83 | 313 | 89 | 34 | 1.9 | 1.2 | 10.0 | 3.6 | 13.6 | 3.9 | 1.5 | 4 |
| 2022 | Sydney | 11 | 19 | 32 | 26 | 203 | 87 | 290 | 79 | 37 | 1.7 | 1.4 | 10.7 | 4.6 | 15.3 | 4.2 | 1.9 | 5 |
| 2023 | Sydney | 11 | 23 | 37 | 24 | 254 | 90 | 344 | 74 | 42 | 1.6 | 1.0 | 11.0 | 3.9 | 15.0 | 3.2 | 1.8 | 4 |
| 2024 | Sydney | 11 | 21 | 36 | 30 | 225 | 87 | 312 | 79 | 26 | 1.7 | 1.4 | 10.7 | 4.1 | 14.9 | 3.8 | 1.2 | 8 |
| 2025 | Sydney | 11 | 11 | 10 | 11 | 112 | 53 | 165 | 43 | 18 | 0.9 | 1.0 | 10.2 | 4.8 | 15.0 | 3.9 | 1.6 | 0 |
| Career | 196 | 304 | 230 | 1917 | 876 | 2793 | 716 | 464 | 1.6 | 1.2 | 9.8 | 4.5 | 14.3 | 3.7 | 2.4 | 31 | ||
Notes
Team
Individual
