Jaspa Fletcher (born 24 February 2004) is a professional Australian rules footballer who plays for the Brisbane Lions. Fletcher, whose father Adrian also played for the Lions, was a part of Brisbane's 2024 premiership win.[1]
| Jaspa Fletcher | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Personal information | |||
| Full name | Jaspa Fletcher | ||
| Date of birth | 24 February 2004 | ||
| Original team(s) |
Sherwood Districts (QAFL) Coorparoo | ||
| Draft | No. 12 (F/S), 2022 national draft | ||
| Height | 183 cm (6 ft 0 in) | ||
| Weight | 76 kg (168 lb) | ||
| Position(s) | Midfielder | ||
| Playing career1 | |||
| Years | Club | Games (Goals) | |
| 2023– | Brisbane Lions | 41 (13) | |
|
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 2024. | |||
| Career highlights | |||
| |||
| Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com | |||
Early career
editFletcher was born in Victoria but moved to Brisbane at three years of age in late 2007 when his father, Adrian, accepted an assistant coaching role with the Brisbane Lions.[2] His father is a 231-game former AFL player for Geelong (23), St Kilda (22), Brisbane Bears/Lions (107) and Fremantle (79) and his mother, Narelle, is a 296-game former WNBL player for Canberra, Melbourne, Perth and Dandenong as well as an Australian national team representative.[3]
Jaspa attended Brisbane State High School throughout his upbringing[4] and initially played junior football for Coorparoo in the local Brisbane league before switching to the Sherwood Districts in 2021 when his father was appointed head coach of the club.[5] While playing for Coorparoo at 12 years of age, he was invited to participate in the Brisbane Lions Academy. Fletcher made his senior debut for Sherwood Districts at 17 years of age in round 3 of the 2021 QAFL season and played bottom age U18 representative football for the Brisbane Lions academy team in the NAB League as well as for Queensland in the 2021 AFL Under-19 Championships.[6]
In his final year of junior football, Fletcher captained both the Brisbane Lions academy and the Allies teams in their respective representative competitions and his efforts led to selection in the 2022 U18 All-Australian alongside fellow future Brisbane Lions father-son teammate Will Ashcroft.[7][8] The Brisbane Lions elected to match a father-son bid for Fletcher with pick 12 in the 2022 AFL draft.[9]
AFL career
editFletcher was selected to make his AFL debut for the Brisbane Lions in round 14 of the 2023 AFL season against the Sydney Swans at the Gabba and kicked a goal on debut.[10][11] He received a Rising Star nomination in round 19 with 19 disposals and 8 marks against Geelong.[12] A career-best three goals in Fletcher's first final against Port Adelaide assisted the Lions to a home preliminary final. Fletcher played in the 2023 Grand Final in just his first senior season, but the Lions narrowly lost to Collingwood.[13]
Fletcher was part of the Brisbane Lions 2024 premiership winning team in just his second season in the AFL. Fletcher was among Brisbane's best, collecting 18 disposals and 7 marks against Sydney.[1]
Statistics
edit- Statistics are correct to the end of 2024[14]
G
|
Goals | K
|
Kicks | D
|
Disposals | T
|
Tackles |
B
|
Behinds | H
|
Handballs | M
|
Marks | ||
#
|
Played in that season's premiership team |
| Season | Team | No. | Games | Totals | Averages (per game) | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | B | K | H | D | M | T | G | B | K | H | D | M | T | ||||
| 2023 | Brisbane Lions | 28 | 14 | 8 | 6 | 102 | 63 | 165 | 65 | 17 | 0.6 | 0.4 | 7.3 | 4.5 | 11.8 | 4.6 | 1.2 |
| 2024# | Brisbane Lions | 28 | 27 | 5 | 8 | 219 | 174 | 393 | 133 | 52 | 0.2 | 0.3 | 8.1 | 6.4 | 14.6 | 4.9 | 1.9 |
| Career | 41 | 13 | 14 | 321 | 237 | 558 | 198 | 69 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 7.8 | 5.8 | 13.6 | 4.8 | 1.7 | ||
Honours and achievements
editTeam
Individual
- AFL Rising Star nominee: 2023
References
edit- ^ a b Twomey, Callum (28 September 2024). "Lion Kings: Fagan's heroes thrash Swans in GF shock". afl.com.au.
- ^ "Fletch lives at Lions". Brisbane Times. 3 December 2007.
- ^ "Narelle Fletcher - ABC News". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 1 June 2015.
- ^ "Congratulations to Jaspa Fletcher (Year 10) who played for Metropolitan East at the AFL Queensland School Sport State Carnival". Brisbane State High School. 15 May 2019.
- ^ "AFL greats coaching in this year's QAFL". AFL Queensland. 1 April 2021.
- ^ "AFL 2021 U19 Championships - Queensland v Tasmania". Australian Football League. 23 September 2021.
- ^ "There's a SECOND Brisbane father-son gun. He's a draft bolter who's already tasted life as a Lion". Fox Sports Australia. 29 October 2022.
- ^ "The top 20 prospects in the 2022 AFL draft: Jaspa Fletcher". Wide World of Sports. 27 November 2022.
- ^ "2022 Draft Recap: A Father-Son Frenzy". Brisbane Lions. 1 December 2022.
- ^ "Son of a Gun Jaspa Fletcher to Debut". Brisbane Lions. 15 June 2023.
- ^ "Fletcher fetches first goal to get Gabba going". Australian Football League. 16 June 2023.
- ^ Welsh, Sophie; Whiting, Michael (24 July 2023). "Young Lion roars into Rising Star nomination". afl.com.au.
- ^ "The Future is Bright For Lions Youngster". lions.com.au. 3 November 2023.
- ^ "Jaspa Fletcher". AFL Tables. Retrieved 30 September 2024.
External links
edit- Jaspa Fletcher's playing statistics from AFL Tables