| Ranga Ediriwickrama | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Personal information | |||
| Full name | Ranga Ediriwickrama | ||
| Date of birth | 10 August 1990 [1] | ||
| Place of birth | Griffith, New South Wales[2] | ||
| Original team | Pennant Hills (NSW) | ||
| Draft | 60th overall, 2008 Rookie[3] | ||
| Height/Weight | 178cm / 79 kg[1] | ||
| Position(s) | Midfield[1] | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | Geelong | ||
| Number | 42[1] | ||
| Playing career1 | |||
| Years | Club | Games (Goals) | |
| 2009–2010 | Geelong | 0 (0) | |
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1 Playing statistics to end of 2008 season .
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| Career highlights | |||
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Representative Honours
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Ranga Ediriwickrama is a former rookie listed Australian rules footballer for the Geelong Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He was a midfielder who was recruited to the club under the New South Wales scholarship program before being delisted at the end of 2010.[4]
Ediriwickrama was born in Griffith and moved to the Sydney suburb of Pennant Hills[5] when he was three[2] with his parents, who were born in Sri Lanka.[5] He played soccer until he was twelve, then switched to Australian Rules, winning three premierships with Westbrook JAFC.[6]
Ediriwickrama played for the NSW/ACT Rams in 2007 and 2008,[1] and captained the team to fourth place in 2008.[2] He was also called up for two reserves games for the Sydney Swans in 2007,[6] and won a premiership with Pennant Hills in the New South Wales Premier league in 2008.[1]
After "dominating"[7] the Under 16 carnival, Ediriwickrama was selected by Geelong in June 2007[7] under the New South Wales scholarship program, an initiative to promote Australian Rules in New South Wales.[8] Under this scheme Geelong used their last pick in the 2008 rookie draft to recruit him.[9] Until gaining the scholarship his main interest had been cricket[6] He could have nominated for the senior draft but chose not to, and allow Geelong to draft him,.[5]
According to Geelong's recruiting manager Stephen Wells he has excellent speed and ball handling skills, needed to work on his kicking, and that he has a great desire to improve.[7] If he played a senior game he would have become the first AFL player of Sri Lankan descent.[2] He was delisted at the end of 2010 after failing to play a senior game
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