Sam Flanders
Personal information
Full name Sam Flanders
Nickname Flanders[1]
Born (2001-07-24) 24 July 2001 (age 24)
Fish Creek, Victoria
Original team Gippsland Power (NAB League)
Draft No. 11, 2019 AFL draft, Gold Coast
Height 183 cm (6 ft 0 in)
Position Midfielder
Club information
Current club St Kilda
Number 9
Playing career1
Years Club Games (Goals)
2020–2025 Gold Coast 89 (37)
2026– St Kilda 0 (0)
Total 89 (37)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of the 2025 season.
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

Sam Flanders (born 24 July 2001) is a professional Australian rules footballer who plays for the St Kilda Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He previously played professionally for the Gold Coast Suns.

Early life

[edit]

Flanders was born in Fish Creek, Victoria.[2] He grew up playing basketball and Australian rules football at high junior levels. He attended Foster Secondary College, before moving to Lowanna College to be part of their selective football academy.[3]

AFL career

[edit]

Flanders was drafted by the Gold Coast Suns with the eleventh pick in the 2019 AFL draft. He made his AFL debut in round 11 of the 2020 AFL season against Essendon at Metricon Stadium. In 2023, he signed a four-year contract extension that ties him to the Suns until at least the end of 2027.[4] After the 2025 season finished Flanders told the Suns of his desire to be traded elsewhere for the upcoming 2026 season.[5] This came after weeks of speculation with links to a trade back to Victoria. He ultimately requested a trade to St Kilda, and was traded on 8 October.[6]

Statistics

[edit]
Statistics are correct to the end of the 2025 season[7]
Legend
  G  
Goals
  K  
Kicks
  D  
Disposals 
  T  
Tackles
  B  
Behinds 
  H  
Handballs 
  M  
Marks
Season Team No. Games Totals Averages (per game) Votes
G B K H D M T G B K H D M T
2020[a] Gold Coast 26 5 2 1 17 14 31 4 14 0.4 0.2 3.4 2.8 6.2 0.8 2.8 0
2021 Gold Coast 26 16 4 5 96 93 189 46 62 0.3 0.3 6.0 5.8 11.8 2.9 3.9 0
2022 Gold Coast 26 9 3 1 51 46 97 22 19 0.3 0.1 5.6 5.1 10.8 2.4 2.1 0
2023 Gold Coast 3 14 5 3 179 160 339 75 35 0.4 0.2 12.8 11.4 24.2 5.4 2.5 1
2024 Gold Coast 3 22 11 5 380 300 680 122 180 0.5 0.2 17.3 13.6 30.9 5.5 2.3 12
2025 Gold Coast 3 23 12 6 192 238 430 79 48 0.5 0.3 8.3 10.3 18.6 3.4 2.1 3
Career 89 37 21 915 841 1766 358 228 0.4 0.2 10.3 9.5 19.8 4.0 2.6 16

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

[edit]
  1. ^ Waterworth, Ben (19 November 2019). "When you have a surname like this AFL draft prospect does, a cheeky Simpsons reference is inevitable". Fox Sports Australia. Retrieved 12 August 2020.
  2. ^ Lewis, Tyler (3 September 2019). "Flanders destined to flourish". Berwick Gazette. Retrieved 22 December 2019.
  3. ^ "Lowanna Sports Academy" (PDF).
  4. ^ "'It was a massive part': Young Sun signs on after 'Dimma' chat". afl.com.au. 3 September 2023. Retrieved 27 June 2024.
  5. ^ "Suns gun wishes to explore trade options". afl.com.au. 16 September 2025.
  6. ^ @AFL_House (8 October 2025). "Trade approved. Gold Coast SUNS trade Sam Flanders to St Kilda for Round One pick 7 in the 2025 Telstra AFL Draft" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  7. ^ "Sam Flanders". AFL Tables. Retrieved 5 April 2022.
[edit]