Sam Flanders

Sam Flanders (born 24 July 2001) is a professional Australian rules footballer who plays for the Gold Coast Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL).

Sam Flanders
Personal information
Full name	Sam Flanders
Nickname(s)	Ned[1]
Date of birth	(2001-07-24) 24 July 2001 (age 24)
Place of birth	Fish Creek, Victoria
Original team(s)	Gippsland Power (NAB League)
Draft	No. 11, 2019 AFL draft, Gold Coast
Height	183 cm (6 ft 0 in)
Weight	82 kg (181 lb)
Position(s)	Midfield / Forward
Club information
Current club	Gold Coast
Number	3
Playing career1
Years	Club	Games (Goals)
2020–	Gold Coast	81 (35)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of round 18, 2025.
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

Early life

Flanders was born in Fish Creek, Victoria.^[2] He grew up playing basketball and Australian rules football at high junior levels. He attended Foster Secondary College, before moving to Lowanna College to be part of their selective football academy.^[3]

AFL career

Flanders was drafted by the Gold Coast Suns with the eleventh pick in the 2019 AFL draft. He made his AFL debut in round 11 of the 2020 AFL season against Essendon at Metricon Stadium. In 2023, he signed a four-year contract extension that ties him to the Suns until at least the end of 2027.^[4]

Statistics

Statistics are correct to the end of 2024^[5]

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	26	5	2	1	17	14	31	4	14	0.4	0.2	3.4	2.8	6.2	0.8	2.8	0
2021	Gold Coast	26	16	4	5	96	93	189	46	62	0.3	0.3	6.0	5.8	11.8	2.9	3.9	0
2022	Gold Coast	26	9	3	1	51	46	97	22	19	0.3	0.1	5.6	5.1	10.8	2.4	2.1	0
2023	Gold Coast	3	14	5	3	179	160	339	75	35	0.4	0.2	12.8	11.4	24.2	5.4	2.5	1
2024	Gold Coast	3	22	11	5	380	300	680	122	180	0.5	0.2	17.3	13.6	30.9	5.5	2.3
Career			66	25	15	723	613	1336	269	180	0.4	0.2	11.0	9.3	20.2	4.1	2.7	1

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.