Why Westminster’s Anthony Munkara could be SA college footy’s next big thing

He is a Tiwi Islands product who announced himself to SA footy with an amazing nine-goal haul – and this Westminster rising star is just getting started.

Westminster School’s Anthony Munkara has become talk of the college footy after his nine-goal haul against Trinity. The year 11 boarder from the Tiwi Islands could be the competition’s next star. Picture: Mark Brake

Westminster School’s Anthony Munkara has been all the talk in college football over the past two weeks after his dazzling nine-goal display in his team’s round 10 win over Trinity.

Arriving from the Tiwi Islands as a year 11 boarder just two months ago, the 16-year-old has taken some time to adjust to a new life and team.

Standing at 188cm tall and possessing exciting athleticism, Munkara has shown flashes of what he can be, playing up forward and in the ruck against Trinity and again over the weekend against St Peter’s, kicking three goals.

He kicked four goals from ruck in the first half of his impressive round 10 performance, before dominating up front in the final two terms.

Anthony Munkara all smiles at Westminster training last Thursday. Picture: Mark Brake

A naturally shy player, Munkara doesn’t usually have too much to say, but he maintains a supreme confidence when discussing his footballing ability.

“I think I’m unique and different to a lot of players because I can pretty much do anything. I mainly play as a forward but I can move all over the park,” Munkara said.

“I was really happy to play like that against Trinity and have an impact in the win. To kick nine was great – I could have kicked 10 but I’ll have more chances to.”

Adjusting to new surroundings has been a challenge for Munkara, one of the brightest young stars out of the Tiwi Islands.

He credits his teachers, coaches and teammates for helping him settle.

“It’s a long way from home so it’s been tough so far but Westminster is great and everyone is welcoming,” Munkara said.

“My coaches, teachers and teammates have all been helpful and I’m starting to really enjoy my footy here.”

Westminster coach Tim Weatherald was thrilled with Munkara’s breakout performance against Trinity.

He said, although Munkara had taken time to settle, now that he has he could turn into something special.

“He’s a pretty quiet and shy lad and I think that had been coming out on the field, but in the Trinity game he really showed confidence,” Weatherald said.

“He’s got a lot of skill and talent. We’ve seen that at training – he regularly kicks freakish goals.

“It’s a different game here than in the Tiwi Islands, it’s more physical and congested so he’s had to adjust but if he can continue to become comfortable and show his ability he’ll be a star player for us.”

With his performances garnering significant attention, Munkara looks set to have future opportunities with the NT state under-17 side and for West Adelaide’s under-18s, who are in contact with Weatherald.

As far as his goals go for now though, the gun utility has his sights on big things.

“I just want to keep training and playing hard at Westminster and do whatever I can to help the team leading into finals,” Munkara said.

“In the future I hope to eventually get to the AFL draft and play in the big league, but we’ll see what happens.”