Wayne Milera (born 14 September 1997) is a professional Australian rules football player who plays for the Adelaide Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He was drafted by Adelaide with pick 11 in the 2015 national draft.[1]

Wayne Milera
Milera in June 2019
Personal information
Full name Wayne Milera
Date of birth (1997-09-14) 14 September 1997 (age 27)
Original team(s) Central District (SANFL)
Draft No. 11, 2015 national draft
Debut Round 1, 2016, Adelaide vs. North Melbourne, at Etihad Stadium
Height 184 cm (6 ft 0 in)
Weight 86 kg (190 lb)
Position(s) Defender
Club information
Current club Adelaide
Number 30
Playing career1
Years Club Games (Goals)
2016– Adelaide 96 (29)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 2023.
Career highlights
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

Pre-AFL career

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Of Gunditjmara and Narangga indigenous descent and raised in Adelaide, South Australia,[2] Milera began playing junior football with Ingle Farm Football Club in Ingle Farm, South Australia. Milera was drafted from Central District in the SANFL, having played 11 senior games for the season, including two finals. He also played all six games for South Australia at the Under 18 National Championships. Milera was part of Port Adelaide's Indigenous AFL Academy.[3] During the year he was diagnosed with Wolff–Parkinson–White syndrome after completing ECG and cardiac tests with the South Australian Under-18 program and underwent heart surgery. Just a week later he kicked 3 goals in a semi-final to help Centrals to a thrilling win.[1]

AFL career

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Milera debuted in round 1, 2016 against North Melbourne at Etihad Stadium. After playing in the opening four rounds of his debut season Milera suffered an injury and missed the next three rounds. He returned in round eight against Geelong and then in round nine against Gold Coast, Milera kicked three goals.

After the round 10, 2017 match against Fremantle, in which Milera recorded sixteen disposals, four tackles and three goals, he was the round nominee for the AFL Rising Star.[4]

In the 2018 season, Milera was moved to the half-back line as a replacement for the injured Brodie Smith in Adelaide's round 6 victory over the Gold Coast Suns Milera collected a career-high 33 disposals.

Statistics

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Statistics are correct to end of Round 2 2020[5]
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
2016 Adelaide 30 8 5 6 49 40 89 25 17 0.6 0.8 6.1 5.0 11.1 3.1 2.1
2017 Adelaide 30 16 8 3 141 108 249 53 36 0.5 0.2 8.8 6.8 15.6 3.3 2.3
2018 Adelaide 30 19 2 2 231 137 368 89 49 0.1 0.1 12.1 7.2 19.3 4.6 2.5
2019 Adelaide 30 17 6 7 184 125 309 93 52 0.3 0.4 10.8 7.3 18.1 5.4 3.0
2020 Adelaide 30 2 0 0 17 13 30 7 2 0.0 0.0 8.5 6.5 15.0 3.5 1.0
2021 Adelaide 30 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
Career 62 21 18 622 423 1045 267 156 0.3 0.2 10.0 6.8 16.8 4.3 2.5

References

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  1. ^ a b "Pick No.11: Wayne Milera". AFC.com.au. Adelaide Football Club. 24 November 2015.
  2. ^ AFL Players Indigenous Map 2023
  3. ^ "Port Adelaide's Aboriginal AFL Academy talent Wayne Milera joins Crows via draft – portadelaidefc.com.au". portadelaidefc.com.au. Retrieved 26 March 2017.
  4. ^ Landsberger, Sam (29 May 2017). "Adelaide forward Wayne Milera pockets the Round 10 Rising Star nomination". Herald Sun. News Corp Australia. Retrieved 30 May 2017.
  5. ^ "AFL Tables – Wayne Milera statistics". AFL Tables.
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