Tom Green (footballer, born 2001)

Tom Green (born 23 January 2001) is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the Greater Western Sydney Giants in the Australian Football League (AFL).

Tom Green
Green with the Giants NEAFL side while a member of the club's junior Academy in July 2019
Personal information
Full name	Thomas Green
Date of birth	(2001-01-23) 23 January 2001 (age 24)
Place of birth	Townsville, Queensland
Original team(s)	Eastlake(ACT)/GWS Giants Academy
Draft	No. 10, 2019 national draft
Debut	Round 1, 2020, Greater Western Sydney vs. Geelong, at Sydney Showground Stadium
Height	191 cm (6 ft 3 in)
Weight	92 kg (203 lb)
Position(s)	Midfielder
Club information
Current club	Greater Western Sydney
Number	12
Playing career1
Years	Club	Games (Goals)
2020–	Greater Western Sydney	110 (47)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of round 20, 2025.
Career highlights
2× AFL Rising Star nominee: 2020, 2021 22under22 team: 2023 Scoops Medal 2024 winner ( won by a vote counting discrepancy)
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

Early life

Green was born in Townsville, Queensland. He spent his early years moving between Townsville, Toowoomba, Darwin, Melbourne and Tamworth due to his father's career as an army helicopter pilot.^[1] In year 6 at the age of 11, he settled in Canberra where he tried an array of sports which included Australian rules football, basketball, cricket and rugby union.^[2] He attended Marist College in Canberra.^[3]

Green became a member of the GWS Giants Academy at the age of 12 and worked his way through the local junior ranks. He received an NAB Under-18 All Australian selection in his final year of junior football and was also nominated for the 2019 NEAFL Rising Star Award.^{[citation needed]}

AFL career

Greater Western Sydney used their No. 10 pick in the 2019 national draft to recruit Green. Carlton made a bid for him but the Giants were able to match it.^[4] He made his AFL debut in round 1 of the 2020 AFL season.

Green had a breakthrough season in 2021, including being nominated for the 2021 AFL Rising Star in round 9.^[5]

In 2022, Green finished in the top three in the Kevin Sheedy Medal. In 2023, he was elevated to the Giants' leadership group and led the AFL in both average disposals per game (32) and average contested possessions (14.95). He earned a spot in the All-Australian squad for the first time, as well as a tie for runner-up in the Kevin Sheedy Medal. In 2024, he once again finished runner-up in the Kevin Sheedy Medal and finished second in the AFL for total disposals.^[6]

Controversy

In July 2024, Green was reprimanded by the Australian Football League for comments he made on a since-deleted club podcast criticizing Match Review Officer Michael Christian and the AFL Tribunal. This came in the wake of teammate Toby Bedford receiving a three-match suspension for a dangerous tackle on Tim Taranto, which was later overturned on appeal.^[7]

Statistics

Statistics are correct to the end of the 2024 season^[8]

Legend

G	Goals	K	Kicks	D	Disposals	T	Tackles
B	Behinds	H	Handballs	M	Marks
†	Led the league for  the season

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]	Greater Western Sydney	12	6	1	3	31	60	91	15	14	0.2	0.5	5.2	10.0	15.2	2.5	2.3	0
2021	Greater Western Sydney	12	18	7	6	139	221	360	55	53	0.4	0.3	7.7	12.3	20.0	3.1	2.9	6
2022	Greater Western Sydney	12	21	10	9	222	289	511	58	89	0.5	0.4	10.6	13.8	24.3	2.8	4.2	4
2023	Greater Western Sydney	12	22	9	1	312	393	705	75	111	0.4	0.1	14.2	17.9	32.0†	3.4	5.0	16
2024	Greater Western Sydney	12	25	9	3	334	436†	770†	75	101	0.4	0.1	13.4	17.4	30.8	3.0	4.0	27
Career			92	36	22	1038	1398	2436	277	367	0.4	0.2	11.3	15.2	26.5	3.0	4.0	53

Personal life

Green is the eldest of four brothers: Lachlan, William and Josh Green.^[9] His mother is Melanie and his father Richard is in the Australian army.^[10] Richard was a talented junior footballer playing in the First XVIII for Xavier College in Melbourne.^[11]

Green's grandfather, Michael, is a four-time premiership player with the Richmond Tigers and is a member of Richmond's Team of the 20th Century.^[12] His great uncle is St Kilda and Subiaco premiership player Brian Sierakowski. His cousins are former AFL players David Sierakowski and Will Sierakowski.^{[citation needed]}

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.