Chad Jordan Wingard (born 29 July 1993) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Port Adelaide Football Club and the Hawthorn Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He was drafted to Port Adelaide with the sixth selection in the 2011 AFL Draft from the Sturt Football Club in the South Australian Football League (SANFL).[2]

Chad Wingard
Wingard playing for Hawthorn in April 2019
Personal information
Full name Chad Jordan Wingard
Nickname(s) Chooka[1]
Date of birth (1993-07-29) 29 July 1993 (age 31)
Place of birth Murray Bridge, Australia
Original team(s) Imperial (RMFL), Sturt (SANFL)
Draft No. 6, 2011 national draft (Port Adelaide)
No. 1, 2023 pre-season draft (Hawthorn)
Debut Round 1, 2012, Port Adelaide vs. St Kilda, at AAMI Stadium
Height 183 cm (6 ft 0 in)
Weight 82 kg (181 lb)
Position(s) Midfielder / forward
Playing career1
Years Club Games (Goals)
2012–2018 Port Adelaide 147 (232)
2019–2024 Hawthorn 071 0(68)
Total 218 (300)
International team honours
Years Team Games (Goals)
2013 Indigenous All-Stars 1 (0)
2014–2017 Australia 3 (0)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 2024.
2 State and international statistics correct as of 2017.
Career highlights
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

Early life and education

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Wingard was born on 29 July 1993[3] in Murray Bridge, South Australia. His father, Trevor,[4] is Aboriginal man, and his mother Julie is Irish.[5][6] His father is a descendant of Kudnarto, who is notable for being the first Aboriginal woman to legally marry a European settler in the colony of South Australia, making legal history in 1848.[7] As of 2018, mother Julie worked at an emergency accommodation centre.[4]

Wingard has an older brother and a younger brother, as well as five younger foster siblings.[8][9]

He attended school to year 12 in Murray Bridge.[5]

At 16 and 60 kg, Wingard was a member of Murray Bridge's 2009 Imperial Football Club league team that won the River Murray Football League premiership, kicking five goals including three of most freakish you'd wish to see", according to the coach.[10][11] Wingard also played basketball as a child, and was the captain of South Australia's under-16 basketball team.[12]

AFL career

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Wingard playing for Port Adelaide in April 2018

Wingard made his debut for Port Adelaide in round 1, 2012 against St Kilda. His breakout game came during Port Adelaide's round 22, 2012 loss to the Brisbane Lions where he received an AFL Rising Star nomination for his 27 disposal, 1 goal and 5 mark performance.

For season 2013, which was only his second season, he averaged 21.3 disposals a game and kicked 43 goals. He was named in the 2013 All-Australian team, making him the youngest player to make an All-Australian team since Mark Ricciuto in 1994.[13] Wingard's 2013 season also saw him win the Showdown Medal for his five-goal performance in round 19 against the Adelaide Crows where he was described after the match as "Port's most exciting player since Gavin Wanganeen."[14] At season's end, he was rewarded with the John Cahill Medal, making him the youngest player to win a best and fairest at Port Adelaide since Craig Bradley in 1982.[15]

Wingard's 2014 season saw his averages drop from 21 disposals per game to 16 per game, however he still managed to kick 43 goals in total. He won the Mark of the Year in round 12 against St Kilda by jumping high on the shoulders of Sean Dempster.[16]

Season 2015 is considered Wingard's greatest season to date. He booted a career high 53 goals to be the club's leading goal kicker of the season by kicking multiple goals in every game from rounds 8 to 22 as well as kicking at least one goal in every game until round 23. Wingard also averaged 19.2 disposals a game and was recognised with the All-Australian selection, a stunning achievement for a player having completed just his fourth year at AFL level.[17]

At the conclusion of the 2018 season, Wingard sought a trade from Port Adelaide. He eventually requested a trade to Hawthorn, and was traded on 17 October.[18]

At the end of the 2023 AFL season, Wingard was delisted by Hawthorn. They have committed to re-drafting Wingard in this month's AFL rookie draft.[19]

Hawthorn

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Hawthorn traded their first round pick and promising youngster Ryan Burton for Wingard.[18] During the preseason Wingard developed a calf complaint that forced him to miss all the warm up games and the first two games of the 2019 season. He made his debut for his new club against North Melbourne and kicked three goals to help win the match.[20]

Since crossing to Hawthorn, Chad has often had to deal with soft tissue injuries, these injuries have caused him to miss games in every season. Wingard has signed a new contract at Hawthorn for 2024 even though he will spend most of 2024 in rehab after rupturing his Achilles tendon in round 22 of the 2023.[21] Wingard did not play for Hawthorn throughout the 2024 AFL season, and announced his retirement following the conclusion of the home-and-away season. Wingard played 218 games across 12 years at Port Adelaide and Hawthorn.[22]

Statistics

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Updated to the end of 2024.[23]

Legend
  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
2012 Port Adelaide 20 19 9 10 108 129 237 36 46 0.5 0.5 5.7 6.8 12.5 1.9 2.4 0
2013 Port Adelaide 20 24 43 20 309 200 509 104 47 1.8 0.8 12.9 8.3 21.2 4.3 2.0 8
2014 Port Adelaide 20 24 43 31 243 147 390 94 74 1.8 1.3 10.1 6.1 16.3 3.9 3.1 6
2015 Port Adelaide 20 22 53 27 270 152 422 85 67 2.4 1.2 12.3 6.9 19.2 3.9 3.1 6
2016 Port Adelaide 20 18 38 24 181 97 278 52 39 2.1 1.3 10.1 5.4 15.4 2.9 2.2 3
2017 Port Adelaide 20 19 24 25 262 159 421 82 63 1.3 1.3 13.8 8.4 22.2 4.3 3.3 4
2018 Port Adelaide 20 21 22 21 252 185 437 58 70 1.0 1.0 12.0 8.8 20.8 2.8 3.3 4
2019 Hawthorn 20 14 12 9 147 112 259 45 60 0.9 0.6 10.5 8.0 18.5 3.2 4.3 4
2020[a] Hawthorn 20 17 18 11 145 106 251 49 61 1.1 0.6 8.5 6.2 14.8 2.9 3.6 6
2021 Hawthorn 20 16 12 11 199 158 357 58 61 0.8 0.7 12.4 9.9 22.3 3.6 3.8 8
2022 Hawthorn 20 10 17 6 78 45 123 21 22 1.7 0.6 7.8 4.5 12.3 2.1 2.2 0
2023 Hawthorn 20 14 9 8 116 82 198 59 25 0.6 0.6 8.3 5.9 14.1 4.2 1.8 0
2024 Hawthorn 20 0 0
Career 218 300 203 2310 1572 3882 743 635 1.4 0.9 10.6 7.2 17.8 3.4 2.9 49

Notes

  1. ^ The 2020 season was played with 17 home-and-away matches per team (down from 22) and 16-minute quarters with time on (down from 20-minute quarters with time on) due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Honours and achievements

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Individual

References

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  1. ^ Staff writers (17 March 2019). "Weird footy nicknames: So why do they call Gov 'Brackets'?". AFL.com.au. Retrieved 11 November 2020.
  2. ^ Capel, Andrew (25 November 2011). "Wingard a win for Port Adelaide". AdelaideNow.com.au. Retrieved 2 April 2012.
  3. ^ "Chad Wingard". AFL Tables. Retrieved 3 March 2024.
  4. ^ a b Campbell, Claire. "Fostering community of carers". Murray Valley Standard. Archived from the original on 7 July 2018. Retrieved 7 July 2018.
  5. ^ a b Capel, Andrew (23 November 2011). "Power the pick for Crows fan Chad". adelaidenow. Retrieved 3 March 2024.
  6. ^ "AFL Players' Indigenous Map 2012" (PDF). AFLPA. Retrieved 24 May 2012.
  7. ^ Brock, Peggy (2020). "Kudnarto (c. 1832–1855)". Indigenous Australia. Retrieved 29 February 2024. This entry is from the Australian Dictionary of Biography
  8. ^ Wilson, Caroline (30 May 2014). "Chad Wingard, football's hottest young property and the fresh face of reconciliation". The Age. Retrieved 7 July 2018.
  9. ^ "After storming the west, Port Adelaide fans join SS Victory march to the MCG". Herald Sun. Retrieved 7 July 2018.
  10. ^ "Chad Wingard: Once in a generation player - InDaily". InDaily. 11 June 2014. Retrieved 31 October 2015.
  11. ^ "River Murray 2009". countryfooty.com.au. Retrieved 31 October 2015.
  12. ^ Capel, Andrew. "Stunning form the evidence of Wingard's wizardry". Herald Sun. Retrieved 7 July 2018.
  13. ^ Huguenin, Michael (3 September 2013). "Top four dominate All-Australian squad". Archived from the original on 7 September 2013.
  14. ^ Thring, Harry (4 August 2013). "Monfries miracle hands Port thrilling win in final AAMI Showdown". Retrieved 4 August 2013.
  15. ^ "Wingard caps stellar season with first John Cahill Medal". Port Adelaide Football Club. 21 September 2013. Retrieved 7 July 2018.
  16. ^ "Port Adelaide duo Chad Wingard and Matt White win Mark and Goal of the Year at Brownlow presentation". Fox Sports Australia. 22 September 2014. Retrieved 7 July 2018.
  17. ^ "Wingard and Gray named in All-Australian team for the second time - portadelaidefc.com.au". portadelaidefc.com.au. 22 September 2015. Retrieved 31 October 2015.
  18. ^ a b "Pick No.5 helps seal Chad-Burton trade". afl.com.au. 16 October 2018. Retrieved 17 October 2018.
  19. ^ "AFL list update". hawthornfc.com.au. 8 November 2023. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
  20. ^ Cherny, Daniel (7 April 2019). "Wingard lights up the 'G as Hawks overcome North". theage.com.au. The Age.
  21. ^ Gabelich, Josh (8 September 2023). "Injured Wingard makes call on future, ends uncertainty".
  22. ^ "Dual All-Australian says farewell after 218 games". afl.com.au. 2 September 2024.
  23. ^ "AFL Tables - Chad Wingard - Stats - Statistics". afltables.com.
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  NODES
COMMUNITY 1
INTERN 3
Note 2