AFL 2023 list changes: Retirements, delistings across the AFL
A premiership hero for Melbourne will hang up the boots after this season, hoping he can add a second flag to his name before his career is over.
Melbourne premiership player Michael Hibberd will hope to add a second and final flag to his name after announcing his retirement at season’s end.
The 33 year-old joined Melbourne in 2017 and has been an integral part of their backline and was a member of the 2021 premiership side.
Hibberd, fellow Dee Jake Melksham and Bomber Dyson Heppell are the last remaining of the group of 34 suspended Essendon players still playing at AFL level after the duo made the move across in the aftermath of the drugs scandal.
The pick no. 4 in the 2011 pre-season draft has played 12 games in the Red and Blue this season after forcing his way back into the line up in last Thursday’s qualifying final against Collingwood.
He informed teammates on Sunday afternoon that 2023 would be his 12th and last season.
“I have really loved my time at the club. I love the boys and I feel like I could play until I am 40, but I know that’s not the reality,” Hibberd said.
“The body gets a bit slower as you get older, and although I like to think that I have a little bit left in me, I feel like going out with a little left in the tank is the right way to go about it, and that’s a decision I am really comfortable with.
“It has been one hell of a ride and I am so thankful to have done it with this playing group.”
Hibberd has played 197 games (133 for Melbourne and 84 for Essendon).
Melbourne’s general manager of football Alan Richardson said Hibberd would still play a vital role in the Dees’ quest for a second premiership within three years.
“Michael will leave an incredible mark on not only our football club, but the competition,” Richardson said.
“The impact he has had since arriving at our club has been enormous, and he has shown up every single day with an attitude to get better – both as a player and a teammate.
“Michael is someone who plays with heart, spirit and desperation, and he should be very proud of what he has achieved over the years at the elite level. We have been a better team, thanks to him.
“Michael will continue to play an important role for us throughout this AFL Finals Series, as we forge towards next week’s semi final.”
Retiring Blue has ‘special place in Carlton hearts’
Popular Carlton midfielder Ed Curnow has announced he will retire when the Blues’ finals campaign comes to an end.
Curnow, 33, told teammates on Thursday he was preparing to call time after 221 games over 14 seasons at the Blues.
The tough onballer made the most of a second chance at Carlton after he was delisted as an untried rookie at Adelaide, forcing his way back into the AFL with a superb season at Box Hill in 2010.
He became one of Carlton’s best midfielders and was an important strong body alongside Patrick Cripps, finishing in the top three of the best-and-fairest each year between 2018 and 2020.
Curnow was offered a one-year extension at the end of 2022 and has played 17 games this season, mostly being deployed as a tagger or defensive forward and coming on as the sub on four occasions.
“I want to thank the club and the people who have given me this great opportunity and full life that I’ve lived so far,” Curnow said on Thursday.
“I will never forget how much you have accepted and supported me throughout my time here.
“It’s been a real highlight these past years to have my children in the rooms after the game, and to play alongside my brother and their uncle Charlie is not something I will ever take for granted.”
The respect for Curnow’s professionalism and high work ethic may have been what convinced Carlton to recruit his younger brother Charlie with pick 12 in the 2015 draft despite concerns over some of his off-field behaviour during his draft year.
The key forward is now the club’s best player and has secured back-to-back Coleman medals.
Carlton coach Michael Voss said Ed Curnow would had a “special place in Carlton hearts” during his career.
“Footy clubs are built around good people like Ed Curnow,” Voss said.
“He is someone that gives his all every game, won’t rest until he’s won that contest, with a hunger and desire to finish every game as strong as he started.
“Ed meant so much to so many people who are connected to our football club and provided much-needed experience for the playing group. He’s been here through the tough times, put his body through a lot but the club will forever be a better place for having Ed Curnow as an integral part of it.
“Ed Curnow is a Carlton person, and the Curnow family are a Carlton family. It’s been a privilege to coach Ed in his final years at the Blues.”
Bombers cult hero given farewell game
Essendon fan favourite Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti will have a Friday night farewell against Collingwood after announcing his retirement for the second time.
The beloved small forward announced on Thursday he was hanging up the boots, after coming out of retirement this season.
The skilled goalsneak and feared pressure forward will play his 133rd and final game against the Magpies at the MCG.
McDonald-Tipungwuti was recruited out of Essendon’s VFL side as the club was left reeling by bans to the majority of its playing list in 2016 due to the club’s supplements saga.
The speedster was one of the finds of that turbulent year and went on to play 115 consecutive games and he win the club’s goalkicking award in 2020.
He retired at the end of the 2021 season but expressed interest in a return, with Fremantle inquiring into the ex-Bomber, before deciding to play for Essendon again.
A round 1 standing ovation and chant that infected the MCG when McDonald-Tipungwuti came on the field as a substitute against Hawthorn and kicked a goal was one of the moments of the AFL season, but the 30-year-old was soon dropped to the VFL and has played just six games this year.
McDonald-Tipungwuti last played in round 11 before his Friday farewell.
Four-club journeyman reaches the end
– Lachlan McKirdy
Veteran ruckman Tom Hickey has announced he will retire following the 2023 AFL season.
The 32-year-old informed his Swans teammates on Tuesday that their upcoming finals campaign would be his last.
The journeyman has been a fixture of the AFL across the past 11 seasons, playing for the Suns, Saints and West Coast before three seasons in Sydney.
He became the first player to play at four different clubs in four different states.
Since moving to the Swans in 2021, Hickey has predominantly played as their No. 1 ruckman and had an integral role in their march to the 2022 grand final.
He has had an injury-disrupted season this year with only 10 appearances, however, he will bring up his 150th AFL game this Sunday against the Demons.
“I’m so grateful to have been on this incredible journey,” Hickey said.
“When I first got drafted, I saw myself playing four years and trying to get one game. Here I am leaving 13 years later with almost 150 games, and hopefully a few more, under my belt.
“I love that I will be finishing up my career as a Swan, my family will be a Swans family for life.”
Nic Nat: ‘I tried everything to get back’
The AFL has seen the last of one of its most incredible athletes with Nic Naitanui announcing his retirement.
On Monday injuries got the better of Naitanui, who has called time on his career after 213 games.
The dynamic ruckman won back to back John Worsfold Medals in 2020 and 2021 but has played only eight matches since. He did not get on the field this year as he battled ongoing Achilles problems.
He joins Eagles veterans Shannon Hurn and Luke Shuey in announcing their retirements at the end of this season.
“I feel like I have exhausted every avenue to work my way through my injury, but my body is sending a strong message that it is time,” Naitanui said.
“You never want this day to come, but it always does and I’m content in the knowledge that I have given it everything.
“Being a power athlete who has relied on my ability to jump throughout my career, this injury was probably going to take that away from me.
“I am also looking at a lengthy rehabilitation from my latest surgery and there are no guarantees of making it back to AFL level even if everything goes to plan. I have given it a lot of thought in the last few weeks and this is the best decision for the club, myself and my family.”
Recruited with pick 2 in the 2008 draft, Naitanui earned All-Australian selection three times but he missed West Coast’s 2018 premiership with injury.
“Nic has been a legacy player for our football club and has been one of the most influential players of his generation,” coach Adam Simpson said.
“Sadly, he is the third club great to retire in the last three weeks.
“In some respects it is the end of an era and we will certainly miss Nic. In the last couple of years when he has been limited in the amount of games he has played his impact around the group has remained significant.
“There have been few ruckman in history to have a bigger impact on the game and he will always hold a special place in the history of the club.”
Giants forward hangs up boots
– Lachlan McKirdy
Giants forward Daniel Lloyd has announced that the 2023 season will be his last.
The 31-year-old had an unorthodox entry into the AFL. After spending some time at the Western Bulldogs as a teenager, he gave up footy to return to the Central Coast to work as a carpenter.
At 23, he was scouted by Mark McVeigh while playing for the Killarney Vale Bombers and was eventually rookie listed for the 2016 AFL season.
He has gone on to play 96 games, including the 2019 grand final, kicking 71 goals across that period.
“I’m so grateful for what this club has given me,” Lloyd said.
“It’s provided me with an environment to not only become a better footballer but more importantly, to become a better person, a better husband and father.
“It’s the right time for us to move into our next chapter.”
Lloyd has been joined in retirement by Giants veteran Phil Davis.
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