Luke Dunstan (born 29 January 1995) is a former Australian rules footballer who last played for the Melbourne Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL), having previously played for the St Kilda Football Club. As an under-18, he played for the Woodville-West Torrens Football Club in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL).

Luke Dunstan
Dunstan playing for St Kilda in June 2017
Personal information
Full name Luke Dunstan
Date of birth (1995-01-29) 29 January 1995 (age 29)
Place of birth South Australia, Australia
Original team(s) Woodville-West Torrens (SANFL)
Draft Pick 18, 2013 National Draft (St Kilda)
Height 185 cm (6 ft 1 in)
Weight 86 kg (190 lb)
Position(s) Midfielder
Club information
Current club Melbourne
Number 27
Playing career1
Years Club Games (Goals)
2014–2021 St Kilda 116 (46)
2022-2023 Melbourne 5 (0)
Total 121 (46)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of round 13, 2023.
Career highlights
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

Career

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Dunstan was drafted by St Kilda in the 2013 AFL Draft from the Woodville-West Torrens Football Club in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL). Before he was playing for the Woodville-West Torrens Football Club, Dunstan played for South Clare Sports Club in the North Eastern Football League in the Mid North.

In Round 1, 2014, he played his first game for St Kilda against Melbourne. He was awarded the AFL Rising Star nomination for his performance.[1]

Dunstan became an integral part of St Kilda's midfield over the course of 2014 before bowing out after round 19 for shoulder surgery. Following his last game in round 23, St Kilda icon and Dunstan's mentor Lenny Hayes handed his number 7 guernsey over to Dunstan.[2] Soon afterwards, Dunstan signed a contract extension, keeping him at the Saints until 2017.

Dunstan turned his back on a potential move home to South Australia after playing an important role in the Saints' climb to ninth in 2016. The 22-year-old averaged 17 disposals from 18 games in 2016, before being forced to undergo his second shoulder reconstruction in three years – but this time to his opposite (left) shoulder.[3]

In 2017, Dunstan signed a two-year contract extension with St Kilda to remain at the club until the end of 2019.[4]

At the conclusion of the 2021 AFL season, Dunstan moved to Melbourne as an unrestricted free agent.[5] The move was documented in the Stan series Show Me The Money.[6]

Statistics

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Updated to the end of round 13, 2023.[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
2014 St Kilda 36 16 9 6 143 157 300 59 60 0.6 0.4 8.9 9.8 18.8 3.7 3.8 2
2015 St Kilda 7 19 12 8 168 156 324 62 70 0.6 0.4 8.8 8.2 17.1 3.3 3.7 0
2016 St Kilda 7 18 5 11 131 182 313 44 86 0.3 0.6 7.3 10.1 17.4 2.4 4.8 0
2017 St Kilda 7 16 10 9 166 180 346 67 79 0.6 0.6 10.4 11.3 21.6 4.2 4.9 1
2018 St Kilda 7 16 5 5 178 169 347 56 70 0.3 0.3 11.1 10.6 21.7 3.5 4.4 0
2019 St Kilda 7 18 4 12 208 194 402 59 87 0.2 0.7 11.6 10.8 22.3 3.3 4.8 2
2020[a] St Kilda 7 1 0 0 13 8 21 3 9 0.0 0.0 13.0 8.0 21.0 3.0 9.0 1
2021 St Kilda 7 12 1 4 169 134 303 51 59 0.1 0.3 14.1 11.2 25.3 4.3 4.9 11
2022[b] Melbourne 27 5 0 1 22 41 63 10 11 0.0 0.2 4.4 8.2 12.6 2.0 2.2 0
2023 Melbourne 27 0
Career 121 46 56 1198 1221 2419 411 531 0.4 0.5 9.9 10.1 20.0 3.4 4.4 17

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.
  2. ^ 2022 statistics include one game in which Dunstan was a used medical substitute (round 11) and one game in which he was an unused medical substitute (round 18).

References

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  1. ^ "Luke Dunstan wins AFL Rising Star award after debut for St Kilda". ABC News. 24 March 2014. Retrieved 24 March 2014.
  2. ^ Morris, Tom (31 August 2014). "Hayes passes No.7 to Dunstan". Retrieved 31 August 2014.
  3. ^ "Important Saints duo locked in for two more". AFL.com. 24 March 2014. Retrieved 7 October 2021.
  4. ^ Caiafa, Alex (16 August 2019). "Dunstan signs extension". Zero Hanger. Retrieved 17 March 2022.
  5. ^ "Dunstan checks in: Premiers score unwanted Saints ball-magnet". afl.com.au. Retrieved 17 March 2022.
  6. ^ Pierik, Jon (9 February 2022). "Dunstan shares trade period stress in new AFL documentary". The Age. Retrieved 17 March 2022.
  7. ^ "Luke Dunstan". AFL Tables. Retrieved 7 October 2021.
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