Ethan Hughes (born 7 December 1994) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Fremantle Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). Hughes was drafted in the 2015 rookie draft, and went on to play 107 games for the Dockers as a Defender/Wingman, before being delisted following the 2024 season.[1][2]

Ethan Hughes
Personal information
Full name Ethan Hughes
Date of birth (1994-12-07) 7 December 1994 (age 29)
Place of birth Greenmount, Western Australia
Original team(s) Harvey Brunswick Leschenault (SWFL)
Draft No. 13, 2015 rookie draft
Debut Round 23, 2015, Fremantle vs. Port Adelaide, at Adelaide Oval
Height 188 cm (6 ft 2 in)
Weight 88 kg (194 lb)
Position(s) Defender/wingman
Club information
Current club Fremantle
Number 15
Playing career1
Years Club Games (Goals)
2015–2024 Fremantle 107 (6)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 2024.
Career highlights
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

Early career

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Originally from Bunbury, Western Australia, he was drafted with the 13th selection in the 2015 Rookie Draft from Swan Districts in the West Australian Football League (WAFL).[1] In 2015 he played for Peel Thunder in the WAFL, Fremantle's reserve team. Hughes was a part of Peel Thunder's inaugural premiership in 2016, defeating Subiaco by 23 points.

AFL career

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Hughes was named to make his AFL debut for Fremantle in the final round of the 2015 AFL season, during Fremantle's round twenty three clash against Port Adelaide at the Adelaide Oval. Twelve changes were made to Fremantle's team, and Hughes was one of four players to make their AFL debuts.[3] Hughes signed a contract extension during the 2016 AFL season tying him to Fremantle until at least the end of 2017.[4]

After missing the opening two rounds of the 2017 AFL season, Hughes featured in every game except for Fremantle’s round 12 visit to Brisbane, playing 18 games and kicking his first goal.[5] Hughes only played five games during the 2018 AFL season and signed a one-year contract extension at the end of 2018.[6] The 2019 AFL season saw Hughes play a career best 21 out of a possible 22 games.[7]

Hughes continued his run of career best form into 2020, playing every game and finishing seventh in Fremantle's Best and Fairest.[8] As a versatile player, Hughes often found himself rotating between Fremantle's wing and backline during the 2023 AFL season. Hughes played his 100th game in round 20 during Fremantle's 7 point win over Geelong at Kardinia Park.[9] Hughes suffered an ankle injury in Round 21 against the Brisbane Lions, and as a result was ruled out for the remainder of the season. He finished 2023 having played 20 games.

After playing only six games in 2024, Hughes was not offered a contract by Fremantle heading into 2025, seemingly ending his career at AFL level.[2] He continued playing for Peel Thunder during their 2024 finals campaign, and was one of their better player during the grand final win over East Perth at Optus Stadium, becoming a two-time premiership player with the Thunder.[10]

Statistics

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Statistics are correct to the end of 2023[11]
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
2015 Fremantle 42 1 0 0 12 10 22 8 3 0.0 0.0 12.0 10. 0 22.0 8.0 3.0
2016 Fremantle 15 5 0 0 41 36 77 24 13 0.0 0.0 8.2 7.2 15.4 4.8 2.6
2017 Fremantle 15 18 1 0 157 130 287 93 31 0.1 0.0 8.7 7.2 15.9 5.2 1.7
2018 Fremantle 15 5 1 0 37 29 66 18 5 0.2 0.0 7.4 5.8 13.2 3.6 1.0
2019 Fremantle 15 21 2 2 176 159 335 100 27 0.1 0.1 8.4 7.6 16.0 4.8 1.3
2020[a] Fremantle 15 17 0 0 140 77 217 79 20 0.0 0.0 8.2 4.5 12.8 4.6 1.2
2021 Fremantle 15 8 0 1 75 64 139 29 12 0.0 0.1 9.4 8.0 17.4 3.6 1.5
2022 Fremantle 15 6 0 0 45 48 93 27 5 0.0 0.0 7.5 8.0 15.5 4.5 0.8
2023 Fremantle 15 20 2 1 157 110 267 85 35 0.1 0.1 7.9 5.5 13.4 4.3 1.8
2024 Fremantle 15 6 0 0 47 31 78 31 9 0.0 0.0 7.8 5.2 13.0 5.2 1.5
Career 107 6 4 887 694 1581 494 160 0.1 0.0 8.3 6.5 14.8 4.6 1.5

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.

References

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  1. ^ a b "Ethan's arrival". Retrieved 29 June 2022.
  2. ^ a b "Fremantle list update". fremantlefc.com.au. 11 September 2024.
  3. ^ Hope, Shayne (5 September 2015). "Another Docker goes out". Archived from the original on 5 September 2015. Retrieved 5 September 2015.
  4. ^ "Freo trio sign extensions". Retrieved 29 June 2022.
  5. ^ "Confidence growing for Hughes". Retrieved 29 June 2022.
  6. ^ "Defender dodges Freo cull with one-year deal". Retrieved 29 June 2022.
  7. ^ "Fremantle Dockers' Ethan Hughes has worked his way past 50 games but is ready for another leap". Retrieved 29 June 2022.
  8. ^ Schmook, Nathan. "Spreading his wings: Docker grabs chance amid selection squeeze". afl.com.au. Retrieved 13 August 2023.
  9. ^ "Persistence key as Hughes hits 100 game milestone". fremantlefc.com.au. Retrieved 13 August 2023.
  10. ^ Pike, Chris (24 September 2024). "Thunder rumbles Royals as Peel wins WAFL flag". afl.com.au.
  11. ^ "Ethan Hughes". AFL Tables. Retrieved 25 May 2022.}
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