Connor Budarick

Connor Budarick (born 6 April 2001) is an Australian rules footballer playing for the Gold Coast Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL).

Connor Budarick
Personal information
Full name	Connor Budarick
Date of birth	(2001-04-06) 6 April 2001 (age 24)
Original team(s)	Labrador (QAFL)
Draft	No. 16, 2019 rookie draft
Height	175 cm (5 ft 9 in)
Weight	75 kg (165 lb)
Position(s)	Defender
Club information
Current club	Gold Coast
Number	35
Playing career1
Years	Club	Games (Goals)
2020–	Gold Coast	45 (3)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of round 17, 2025.
Career highlights
AFL Rising Star nominee: 2020
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

Early life

Budarick was born in South Australia and spent the early years of his life in the small crayfishing town of Robe^[1] before relocating to Queensland's Gold Coast at the age of 9.^[2] His father, Craig, was a professional Australian rules footballer who initially played for Glenelg in the SANFL where he kicked 150 goals in 66 games^[3] and was drafted to the Sydney Swans with pick 110 in the 1989 national draft.^[4] Connor played his junior football for the Labrador Tigers and joined the Gold Coast Suns Academy at 12 years of age.^[5] He made his NEAFL debut for Southport at 16 years of age and became a regular selection for the Gold Coast Suns reserves team in 2018.^[6] In his teenage years, Budarick was given a scholarship to attend Helensvale State High School and partake in its AFL Sport of Excellence programme^[7] where he would go on to represent the school in the 2018 AFL Queensland State Championship Grand Final.

Leading into his 2019 junior season, Budarick was named captain of the Suns academy team^[8] and was awarded the Hunter Harrison Medal for the top performing academy player in the NAB League.^[9] He was then selected to represent the Allies at the 2019 AFL Under 18 Championships where his performances earned him All-Australian selection.^[10] Budarick was drafted to the Gold Coast Suns as an academy pre-listed player in October 2019.^[11] Budarick has stated he grew up supporting the Suns in his younger years.^[12]

AFL career

Budarick made his AFL debut at 18 years of age against Port Adelaide in Round 1 of the 2020 AFL season.^[13] He was awarded the round 3 AFL Rising Star nomination for his brilliant defensive performance against the Adelaide Crows, which included 16 disposals, six marks and his first AFL goal.^[14]

Statistics

Statistics are correct to the end of 2024^[15]

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
2020[a]	Gold Coast	35	15	1	0	92	46	138	35	25	0.1	0.0	6.1	3.1	9.2	2.3	1.7	0
2021	Gold Coast	35	2	0	0	19	9	28	11	4	0.0	0.0	9.5	4.5	14.0	5.5	2.0	0
2022	Gold Coast	35	9	0	1	106	29	135	44	22	0.0	0.1	11.7	3.2	15.0	4.8	2.4	2
2023	Gold Coast	35	2	0	0	29	6	35	10	5	0.0	0.0	14.5	3.0	17.5	5.0	2.5	0
2024	Gold Coast	35	8	0	0	80	40	120	36	18	0.0	0.0	10.0	5.0	15.0	4.5	2.3	0
Career			36	1	1	326	130	456	135	74	0.0	0.0	9.1	3.6	12.7	3.8	2.1	2

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.