Xavier Duursma

Xavier Duursma (born 7 July 2000) is a professional Australian rules footballer who plays for the Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He was recruited by Port Adelaide with the 18th draft pick in the 2018 AFL Draft.^[1]

Xavier Duursma
Duursma playing for Essendon in 2025
Personal information
Date of birth	(2000-07-07) 7 July 2000 (age 25)
Original team(s)	Gippsland Power (TAC Cup)/Foster Tigers
Draft	No. 18, 2018 AFL draft, Port Adelaide
Debut	Round 1, 2019, Port Adelaide vs. Melbourne, at Melbourne Cricket Ground
Height	186 cm (6 ft 1 in)
Weight	82 kg (181 lb)
Position(s)	Midfielder
Club information
Current club	Essendon
Number	28
Playing career1
Years	Club	Games (Goals)
2019–2023	Port Adelaide	073 (33)
2024–	Essendon	032 (17)
Total		105 (50)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of round 19, 2025.
Career highlights
AFL Rising Star nominee: 2019
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

AFL career

Duursma made his AFL debut in Port Adelaide's win over Melbourne in the opening round of the 2019 AFL season.^[2] He scored a goal on debut. In Round 6, Duursma earned the Rising Star nomination, following Port's 16 point win over North Melbourne.^[3] He quickly became well known for his bow and arrow goal celebration.^[4]

Following the conclusion of the 2020 AFL season, which concluded with a preliminary final loss to Richmond, Duursma inherited the number seven guernsey from retired veteran Brad Ebert.^[5]

Duursma was traded to Essendon at the end of the 2023 AFL season.^[6]

Personal life

Duursma is the nephew of former Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne player Jamie Duursma.^[1] His sister Yasmin has played for Port Adelaide and Carlton in the AFLW, while his brother Zane was drafted to North Melbourne in the 2023 AFL draft.

He was educated at Foster Secondary College, where he was school captain in 2018.^[7] He played junior football for Foster Tigers in the Alberton Football League.

Statistics

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

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	Port Adelaide	21	20	11	13	204	188	392	114	41	0.6	0.7	10.2	9.4	19.6	5.7	2.1
2020[a]	Port Adelaide	21	15	7	3	114	83	197	52	36	0.5	0.2	7.6	5.5	13.1	3.5	2.4
2021	Port Adelaide	7	11	3	3	111	96	207	52	29	0.3	0.3	10.1	8.7	18.8	4.7	2.6
2022	Port Adelaide	7	11	6	1	84	62	146	43	20	0.5	0.1	7.6	5.7	13.3	3.9	1.8
2023	Port Adelaide	7	16	6	1	146	99	245	67	44	0.4	0.1	9.1	6.2	15.3	4.2	2.8
2024	Essendon	28	15	9	0	165	113	278	96	40	0.6	0.0	11.0	7.5	18.5	6.4	2.7
Career			88	42	21	825	641	1466	424	210	0.5	0.2	9.4	7.3	16.7	4.8	2.4

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.