David Wirrpanda
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| Personal Info | |
|---|---|
| Birth | August 3, 1979, |
| Recruited from | Healesville |
| Height/Weight | 173cm / 84kg |
| Playing Career¹ | |
| Debut | Round 5, April 27, 1996, West Coast Eagles vs. Carlton, at Princes Park |
| Team(s) | West Coast Eagles (1996-)
147 games, 62 goals |
| ¹ Statistics to end of 2005 season | |
| Career Highlights | |
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David Wirrpanda (born August 3, 1979) is an Australian rules footballer.
[edit] Football Career
Debuting in 1996 at the age of just 16, it was tipped that Wirrpanda would become the next big thing in the AFL, and had the potential to become a superstar. Unfortunately, injuries hurt his career, with him managing only 12 games in his first 3 seasons.
However, by the mid-2000s Wirrpanda's career started to get back on track. After a solid year in 2004, he had a stellar 2005 season in which he won All-Australian selection, his clearances from defence being a vital part of the West Coast Eagles' success that year.
He continued to do well in 2006, reaching his 150th game with a stellar performance. His nicknames include 'The Janitor', for his ability to mop up the football in his backline, or 'Wirra' (although his surname is more correctly pronounced 'Wirry'). David nearly missed out on the 2006 grand final but came back from his injury. He took Jaymie Grahams place and in respect for the young player, Wirrpanda played in the Grand final with the number 22 written on his hand, which is the youngsters guernsey number.
[edit] Personal life
For most of his career, Wirrpanda has been known as "Wirrpunda" (his name is pronounced Wirrpunda), but in 2005 it was pointed out that his actual birth name was Wirrpanda. He had been trying to get this misspelling of his name changed for years, and finally his wish was granted. In the "West Australian" before the 2006 season Wirrpanda said that he had allowed his name to be misspelled to ensure it was pronounced correctly.
He is also known for his community work in helping to improve the lives of young indigenous Australians. The David Wirrpunda Foundation was launched in 2005.
[edit] External links
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Sharon Hayden is the Manager of this foundation David has said that she is wounder ful to work with and hopeing to make schools and more communities feel compfterble being indiganous
