Brandon Zerk-Thatcher

Brandon Steven Zerk-Thatcher (born 25 August 1998) is an Australian rules footballer who plays for the Port Adelaide Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL), having initially been drafted to Essendon.

Brandon Zerk-Thatcher
Personal information
Full name	Brandon Steven Zerk-Thatcher[1]
Date of birth	(1998-08-25) 25 August 1998 (age 26)
Original team(s)	Sturt (SANFL)
Draft	No. 66, 2017 national draft
Debut	Round 22, 2019, Essendon vs. Fremantle, at Optus Stadium
Height	195 cm (6 ft 5 in)
Weight	92 kg (203 lb)
Position(s)	Key Defender
Club information
Current club	Port Adelaide
Number	25
Playing career1
Years	Club	Games (Goals)
2019–2023	Essendon	51 (0)
2024–	Port Adelaide	26 (0)
Total		77 (0)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 2024.
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

Early life

Zerk-Thatcher was educated at Murray Bridge High School. At the age of 18 he started playing for Sturt Football Club and competed in the NAB AFL Under 18 Championships for South Australia.

AFL career

Zerk-Thatcher was selected with pick 66 in the 2017 national draft.^[2] He made his senior debut against Fremantle^[3] in round 22 of the 2019 season.

Zerk-Thatcher was traded to Port Adelaide at the end of the 2023 AFL season.^[4]

Statistics

Updated to the end of the 2024 season.^[5]

Legend

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
2018	Essendon	30	0	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
2019	Essendon	30	1	0	0	10	1	11	6	3	0.0	0.0	10.0	1.0	11.0	6.0	3.0
2020[a]	Essendon	30	10	0	2	46	36	82	30	8	0.0	0.2	4.6	3.6	8.2	3.0	0.8
2021	Essendon	30	6	0	0	36	24	60	22	11	0.0	0.0	6.0	4.0	10.0	3.7	1.8
2022	Essendon	30	12	0	0	100	52	152	70	12	0.0	0.0	8.3	4.3	12.7	5.8	1.0
2023	Essendon	30	22	0	0	164	103	267	120	33	0.0	0.0	7.5	4.7	12.1	5.5	1.5
2024	Port Adelaide	25	26	0	0	192	93	285	136	38	0.0	0.0	7.4	3.6	11.0	5.2	1.5
Career			77	0	2	548	309	857	384	105	0.0	0.0	7.1	4.0	11.1	5.0	1.4

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.