Laitham Vandermeer

Laitham Vandermeer (born 3 February 1999) is an Australian rules footballer, who plays for the Western Bulldogs in the Australian Football League (AFL). He was recruited by the Western Bulldogs with the 37th draft pick in the 2018 AFL draft.^[1][2]

Laitham Vandermeer
Personal information
Date of birth	(1999-02-03) 3 February 1999 (age 26)
Original team(s)	Murray Bushrangers (TAC Cup)/Mooroopna Football Club
Draft	No. 37, 2018 AFL draft, Western Bulldogs
Debut	14 June 2020, Western Bulldogs vs. St Kilda, at Marvel Stadium
Height	180 cm (5 ft 11 in)
Weight	77 kg (170 lb)
Position(s)	Utility
Club information
Current club	Western Bulldogs
Number	23
Playing career1
Years	Club	Games (Goals)
2019–	Western Bulldogs	82 (44)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of round 17, 2025.
Career highlights
Chris Grant Best First Year Player (2020)
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

Early Football

Vandermeer participated in the Auskick program at Mooroopna, Victoria^[3]

Vandermeer played for the Murray Bushrangers for 3 seasons and Vic Country in the AFL Under 18 Championships for 1 season.^[4] Prior he played with Mooroopna Football Club and his school side at Xavier College, with future teammate Bailey Smith.^[5]

AFL career

2020 season: Debut

Vandermeer played 15 games for the Bulldogs' Victorian Football League (VFL) side in 2019,^[6] before breaking into the Australian Football League (AFL) team in 2020. Vandermeer debuted in the Bulldogs' loss to the St Kilda Saints in the second round of the 2020 AFL season.^[7][8] Vandermeer kicked his first goal on his debut, as well as collecting 10 disposals, 3 marks and 2 tackles.^[9] Vandermeer suffered a hamstring injury in the Bulldogs' 11 point loss to the Geelong Football Club in the 14th round of the 2020 AFL season, and was ruled out for the rest of the home and away season.^[10] Vandermeer won the Western Bulldogs Chris Grant Best First Year Player award, after playing 12 games in the 2020 AFL season and kicking 9 goals.^[11]

2021 season

Vandermeer started out the season strongly, kicking 2 goals and collecting 14 disposals in the Western Bulldogs' opening round win over Collingwood.^[12][13]

Statistics

Statistics are correct to round 2, 2021^[14]

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
2019	Western Bulldogs	23	0	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2020[a]	Western Bulldogs	23	12	9	9	72	45	117	31	26	0.8	0.8	6.0	3.8	9.8	2.6	2.2
2021	Western Bulldogs	23	2	3	2	10	14	24	4	6	1.5	1.0	5.0	7.0	12.0	2.0	3.0
Career			14	12	11	82	59	141	35	32	0.9	0.8	5.9	4.2	10.1	2.5	2.3

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 & Achievements

• Chris Grant Best First Year Player: 2020