David Cuningham

David Cuningham (born 30 March 1997) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Carlton Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL).

David Cuningham
Cuningham playing for Carlton in June 2017
Personal information
Full name	David Cuningham
Nickname(s)	Cunners[1]
Date of birth	(1997-03-30) 30 March 1997 (age 28)
Original team(s)	Oakleigh Chargers (TAC Cup)/Melbourne Grammar (APS)
Draft	No. 23, 2015 national draft
Debut	Round 21, 2016, Carlton vs. Brisbane Lions, at the Gabba
Height	188 cm (6 ft 2 in)
Weight	89 kg (196 lb)
Position(s)	Midfielder / half-forward
Playing career1
Years	Club	Games (Goals)
2016–2024	Carlton	58 (30)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of the 2024 season.
Career highlights
AFL Rising Star nominee: 2017
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

Early career

Cuningham grew up in Melbourne’s eastern suburbs, he played junior football for Canterbury Cobras and Boroondara Hawks in the Yarra Junior Football League. He was educated at Melbourne Grammar School. He was drafted by the Carlton Football Club with their fourth selection and twenty-third overall in the 2015 national draft.^[2]

AFL career

He made his debut in Round 21, 2016 against Brisbane Lions at the Gabba.^[3]

Cuningham received the AFL Rising Star nomination in round 12 of the 2017 AFL season kicking 2 goals in Carlton's one-point win over Greater Western Sydney.^[4] At the end of 2017 he signed a two-year contract extension.^[5] During 2019, he signed another contract extension to the end of 2022.^[6]

His opportunities at senior level have been hampered by injury throughout this career, troubled by his hip in 2016,^[7] his knee in 2018 and 2019,^[8] his calf in 2020,^[9] and an anterior cruciate ligament rupture in 2021.^[10]

Cuningham was delisted at the end of the 2024 season.^[11]

Statistics

Statistics are correct to the end of 2024^[12]

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
2016	Carlton	28	3	0	0	14	17	31	8	9	0.0	0.0	4.7	5.7	10.3	2.7	5.3
2017	Carlton	28	8	6	1	63	40	103	27	34	0.7	0.1	7.9	5	12.9	3.4	4.2
2018	Carlton	28	5	1	0	24	37	61	12	8	0.2	0.0	4.8	7.4	12.2	2.4	1.6
2019	Carlton	28	9	7	5	65	79	144	28	32	0.8	0.6	7.2	8.8	16.0	3.1	3.6
2020	Carlton	28	1	2	1	7	1	8	3	1	2.0	1.0	7.0	1.0	8.0	3.0	1.0
2021	Carlton	28	4	3	2	26	28	54	9	6	0.8	0.5	6.5	7.0	13.5	2.2	1.5
2022	Carlton	28	0	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
2023	Carlton	28	12	6	4	64	102	166	26	45	0.5	0.3	5.3	8.5	13.8	2.2	3.7
2024	Carlton	28	5	1	2	18	21	39	7	10	0.2	0.4	3.6	4.2	7.8	3.5	2.0
Career			58	30	20	346	390	736	149	183	0.5	0.3	6.0	6.7	12.7	2.6	3.2