WILLEM DREW will on Friday night become the 57th player to reach 100 AFL games for Port Adelaide.
Well and truly established as one of the competition’s defensive on-ballers, Drew is much loved among his teammates for his team first attitude, something that was recognised at the club's best and fairest after being award the Fos Williams Medal for the Best Team Man, as voted by the players.
Here are some numbers to help you impress your friends about the 25-year-old’s career so far:
33 – Drew was taken at pick 33 from the Bendigo Pioneers in the 2016 AFL National Draft. That year Port Adelaide also claimed Todd Marshall (pick 16), Sam Powell-Pepper (pick 18) and Joe Atley (pick 32).
182 – Drew was the 182nd player to represent Port Adelaide at AFL level when he made his debut in a 26-point win over Melbourne at the MCG. That day Drew had 21 disposals, five tackles and four clearances. The game against the Demons also saw Connor Rozee, Zak Butters and Xavier Duursma debut, while Scott Lycett and Ryan Burton also played their first AFL games for the club.
61.62 – Drew’s winning percentage in his 99 games. He has won 61 and lost 38 games in that time with the 18-win, six-loss season of 2021 his best.
18 – Drew has booted 18 goals in his 99 games so far, ranking him 90th in goals in the AFL for Port Adelaide. His two goals in Round 1 this season against West Coast was his best single game return. He has never booted more than five goals in a season (5 goals in 25 games in 2023).
0 – Despite playing 99 games and being highly regarded by his teammates and coaches, it would seem he is less so by the umpires having polled no Brownlow medal votes since his debut in 2019. Let’s hope he might have caught their attention in 2024 to break their duck.
6 – Drew has played six times against this week’s opponent Carlton for three wins and three losses, averaging 19.17 disposals.
4 – Drew has a losing record against just four of the other 17 AFL clubs (Adelaide 3-5, Brisbane 1-5, Collingwood 2-5 and Melbourne 2-4)
12 - At Docklands where Friday night’s game will be played, Drew has played 12 times for 10 wins and 2 losses – against Collingwood by 39 points in 2019 and against Carlton by 50 points in 2023.
16 – Drew laid a career-high 16 tackles against Collingwood in Round 19, 2023. It ranks him second for tackles in an individual game by a Port Adelaide player only to Sam Powell-Pepper, who once laid 17 tackles against Melbourne in 2018.
56 – Drew has played 56 of his 99 games at Adelaide Oval for a 36 win-20 loss record. He has played AFL games at 12 different venues across his 99 games, and only failed to win at Traeger Park in the NT, the Sydney Showground and the Gabba in Brisbane.
Willem Drew
DOB: 01/10/98
Games: 99
Goals: 18
Draft: #33, 2016 AFL National Draft
Debut: Round 1, 2019 v Melbourne at MCG
Club Honours
- Leadership group (2024-present)
- Fos Williams Medal (Best Team Man) (2023)
- A.R. McLean Medal (SANFL Best and Fairest) runner-up (2019)
