Elijah Tsatas (born 18 October 2004) is an Australian footballer who plays for Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He was selected as the fifth pick in the 2022 AFL Draft.[1][2] Essendon rejected several lucrative offers in favour of selecting Tsatas.[2] Tsatas is friends with fellow 2022 draftee George Wardlaw, with whom he has played football since he was a child.[3] Prior to selection, Tsatas suffered a serious foot injury that prevented him from playing for three months. He eventually recovered in time to score well in games before being interviewed for the draft.[3][4] Tsatas is a midfielder-wingman who is described as a player who "can run and carry, has a knack of finding space at stoppages, and has good disposal".[5] Tsatas was showing good form in his first preseason with the Essendon Football Club, but then suffered an acute meniscus tear in his knee[6] in late Jan 23 during a training session, that required surgery and saw him miss the start of the AFL season. After recovering from the injury, Tsatas made his debut with the Essendon VFL[7] team in round 11, playing 3 quarters and registering a goal with his first kick in the VFL, 18 disposals and 4 marks.[8]
| Elijah Tsatas | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Personal information | |||
| Full name | Elijah Tsatas | ||
| Date of birth | 18 October 2004 | ||
| Original team(s) | Oakleigh Chargers (NAB League)/Wesley College(APS) | ||
| Draft | No. 5, 2022 national draft | ||
| Height | 187 cm (6 ft 2 in) | ||
| Weight | 80Kgs | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | Essendon | ||
| Number | 5 | ||
| Playing career1 | |||
| Years | Club | Games (Goals) | |
| 2023– | Essendon | 11 (2) | |
|
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 2024. | |||
| Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com | |||
Tsatas grew up in Burwood[9] and played junior football for Surrey Park Panthers in the YJFL.[10] He also played school football for Wesley College in the APS.[11]
Statistics
editUpdated to the end of 2024.[12]
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 | ||||
| 2023 | Essendon | 5 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 35 | 30 | 65 | 15 | 11 | 0.3 | 0.5 | 8.8 | 7.5 | 16.3 | 3.8 | 2.8 |
| 2024 | Essendon | 5 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 34 | 37 | 71 | 18 | 5 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 4.9 | 5.3 | 10.1 | 2.6 | 0.7 |
| Career | 11 | 2 | 3 | 69 | 67 | 136 | 33 | 16 | 0.2 | 0.3 | 6.3 | 6.1 | 12.4 | 3.0 | 1.5 | ||
References
edit- ^ Murray, Tara (29 November 2022). "Tsatas keen to get to work". Northern Star Weekly. Retrieved 29 November 2022.
- ^ a b Healey, Catherine (28 November 2022). "Bombers snub massive first-round offers to secure 'ball magnet' mid". Fox Sports. Retrieved 29 November 2022.
- ^ a b Jaeger, Carla (24 November 2022). "'I'm not going to go easy on him': The best buds headed for the AFL with a rocket". The Age. Retrieved 7 December 2022.
- ^ Cavanagh, Chris (26 November 2022). "AFL Draft: The best prospects in each position in 2022". The Herald Sun. Retrieved 7 December 2022.
- ^ Pierik, Jon (1 April 2022). "'We don't know Victoria well enough': The draft prospects to look out for this NAB League season". The Age. Retrieved 7 December 2022.
- ^ "Injury update: Elijah Tsatas". essendonfc.com.au. 20 January 2023. Retrieved 18 July 2023.
- ^ "VFL Rd 11 | Tsatas post-game". essendonfc.com.au. Retrieved 18 July 2023.
- ^ "- Elijah Tsatas". VFL Stats. Retrieved 18 July 2023.
- ^ "Tsatas' pre-season takeaways". essendonfc.com.au. 10 January 2023. Retrieved 1 June 2023.
- ^ "Nine YJFL players selected in the 2022 NAB AFL Draft". YARRA new. 30 November 2022. Retrieved 1 June 2023.
- ^ website, Wesley (2 December 2022). "History-making year for Wesley Football with six players selected in the 2022 AFL National Draft and the AFLW". Wesley website. Retrieved 1 June 2023.
- ^ "Elijah Tsatas". AFL Tables. Retrieved 27 August 2023.