Brandon Starcevich
Australian rules footballer
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Brandon Starcevich (born 24 July 1999) is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the West Coast Eagles in the Australian Football League (AFL). Starcevich is the nephew of Brisbane AFL Women's coach Craig Starcevich.[1]
| Brandon Starcevich | |||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Starcevich in August 2018 | |||
| Personal information | |||
| Born | 24 July 1999 | ||
| Original team | East Perth (WAFL) | ||
| Draft | No. 18, 2017 national draft | ||
| Debut | August 4, 2018, Brisbane Lions vs. North Melbourne, at the Gabba | ||
| Height | 187 cm (6 ft 2 in) | ||
| Weight | 92 kg (203 lb) | ||
| Position | Defender | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | West Coast | ||
| Number | 4 | ||
| Playing career1 | |||
| Years | Club | Games (Goals) | |
| 2018–2025 | Brisbane Lions | 132 (8) | |
| 2026– | West Coast | 0 (0) | |
| Total | 132 (8) | ||
|
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of the 2025 season. | |||
| Career highlights | |||
Signature
 | |||
| Source: AFL Tables | |||
Early football
Starcevich is from Western Australia,[2] and was a Fremantle Dockers fan in his youth.[3] He originally played for Mt Lawley-Inglewood Junior Football Club. Starcevich joined West Australian Football League club East Perth, playing 20 colts games across 2016–17 and averaging 13 disposals.[4] He also played B Grade cricket for the Stirling Hawks Cricket Club with Daniel Pryce, athletics and football for Trinity College. Starcevich played for Western Australia in the 2017 AFL Under 18 Championships and attended the AFL Draft Combine.[3] However, he was limited by a quad injury. Starcevich tested at the WA State Draft Combine and won the 20 m (66 ft) sprint with a time of 2.87 seconds.[5] He was drafted by Brisbane with pick 18 in the 2017 national draft, their third selection, and was described as a 'contested bull'.[2]
AFL career
In 2018, Starcevich recorded five tackles and nine disposals in his debut against North Melbourne in round 20[1] after strong form in the North East Australian Football League.[6] Soon after, he signed a two-year contract extension, tying him to Brisbane until 2021.[1] In the 13th round of the 2020 AFL season, he earned a 2020 AFL Rising Star nomination for his performance against St Kilda, where he collected 10 disposals and took four marks.[7]
At the start of the 2021 AFL season, Starcevich signed a four-year contract extension to remain with the Lions until the end of 2024.[8]
Following a breakout 2020 in which he played 18 games, Starcevich continued to grow his game in the 2021 AFL season with his name being brought into the conversation with the best medium defenders in the competition. Some of his defensive efforts were keeping Fremantle's Michael Walters to one goal, Sydney's Tom Papley to one goal, Collingwood's Jordan De Goey to one goal, Essendon's Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti to one goal and Adelaide's Eddie Betts goalless.[9]
Starcevich finished third with 51 votes in the Merrett–Murray Medal after the 2022 AFL season.[10]
Starcevich was a member of the Lions squad narrowly defeated by Collingwood in the 2023 AFL Grand Final. The following year, he was part of the Brisbane Lions 2024 premiership winning team in a 60-point victory over the Sydney Swans.[11]
Following the 2025 AFL season and a second premiership, Starcevich announced that he would be leaving the Lions to take up an offer with West Coast.[12] Starcevich ultimately moved to the Eagles as part of a three-way trade with Fremantle.[13]
Statistics
Updated to the end of the 2025 season.[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) | Votes | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | B | K | H | D | M | T | G | B | K | H | D | M | T | |||||
| 2018 | Brisbane Lions | 37 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 20 | 16 | 36 | 5 | 8 | 0.3 | 0.5 | 5.0 | 4.0 | 9.0 | 1.3 | 2.0 | 0 |
| 2019 | Brisbane Lions | 37 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 7.0 | 0.0 | 7.0 | 2.0 | 1.0 | 0 |
| 2020[a] | Brisbane Lions | 37 | 18 | 1 | 2 | 125 | 43 | 168 | 57 | 29 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 6.9 | 2.4 | 9.3 | 3.2 | 1.6 | 0 |
| 2021 | Brisbane Lions | 37 | 24 | 0 | 0 | 216 | 82 | 298 | 90 | 41 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 9.0 | 3.4 | 12.4 | 3.8 | 1.7 | 0 |
| 2022 | Brisbane Lions | 37 | 24 | 3 | 0 | 268 | 90 | 358 | 107 | 49 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 11.2 | 3.8 | 14.9 | 4.5 | 2.0 | 0 |
| 2023 | Brisbane Lions | 37 | 26 | 1 | 0 | 233 | 72 | 305 | 116 | 40 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 9.0 | 2.8 | 11.7 | 4.5 | 1.5 | 0 |
| 2024# | Brisbane Lions | 37 | 21 | 1 | 1 | 184 | 55 | 239 | 90 | 38 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 8.8 | 2.6 | 11.4 | 4.3 | 1.8 | 0 |
| 2025# | Brisbane Lions | 37 | 14 | 1 | 0 | 106 | 39 | 145 | 51 | 25 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 7.6 | 2.8 | 10.4 | 3.6 | 1.8 | 0 |
| Career[15] | 132 | 8 | 5 | 1159 | 397 | 1556 | 518 | 231 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 8.8 | 3.0 | 11.8 | 3.9 | 1.8 | 0 | ||
Notes
- 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.
