# List of AFL debuts in 1996

During the 1996 Australian Football League (AFL) season 81 Australian rules footballers made their AFL debut with 48 others playing their first game for a new club.

## Summary

Summary of debuts in 1996 :
| Club | AFL debuts | Change of club |
| Adelaide | 4 | 5 |
| Brisbane Bears | 6 | 0 |
| Carlton | 1 | 5 |
| Collingwood | 4 | 4 |
| Essendon | 3 | 2 |
| Fitzroy | 8 | 1 |
| Footscray | 2 | 4 |
| Fremantle | 8 | 3 |
| Geelong | 6 | 2 |
| Hawthorn | 5 | 4 |
| Melbourne | 6 | 5 |
| North Melbourne | 6 | 2 |
| Richmond | 6 | 2 |
| St Kilda | 6 | 5 |
| Sydney | 3 | 3 |
| West Coast | 7 | 1 |
| Total | 81 | 48 |

## AFL debuts

| Name | Club | Age at debut | Debut round | Games | Games | Goals | Goals | Notes |
| Name | Club | Age at debut | Debut round | 1996 | Career | 1996 | Career | Notes |
| Kane Johnson | Adelaide | 18 years, 115 days | 14 | 2 | 220 | 3 | 76 | |
| Peter Vardy | Adelaide | 20 years, 163 days | 14 | 7 | 137 | 5 | 206 | |
| Matthew Collins | Adelaide | 19 years, 129 days | 10 | 8 | 43 | 2 | 7 | |
| Ronnie Burns | Geelong | 23 years, 16 days | 1 | 21 | 154 | 31 | 262 | |
| Jason Snell | Geelong | 18 years, 246 days | 1 | 3 | 68 | 3 | 62 | |
| David Cockatoo-Collins | Melbourne | 17 years, 363 days | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | Twin brother of Don |
| Don Cockatoo-Collins | Melbourne | 17 years, 363 days | 1 | 2 | 9 | 4 | 3 | Twin brother of David |
| Brad Cassidy | Fitzroy | 19 years, 249 days | 1 | 14 | 16 | 10 | 10 | |
| Peter Berbakov | Essendon | 22 years, 221 days | 1 | 17 | 52 | 4 | 14 | |
| Scott Bamford | Fitzroy | 21 years, 281 days | 1 | 22 | 59 | 6 | 33 | |
| Matthew Primus | Fitzroy | 21 years, 79 days | 1 | 20 | 157 | 5 | 81 | Round 1 1996 Rising Star nomination |
| Daniel Chick | Hawthorn | 20 years, 50 days | 1 | 22 | 252 | 14 | 210 | Round 10 1996 Rising Star nomination |
| Craig Treleven | Hawthorn | 25 years, 290 days | 1 | 21 | 78 | 7 | 22 | |
| Joe McLaren | St Kilda | 18 years, 110 days | 1 | 11 | 69 | 2 | 39 | |
| Jason Traianidis | St Kilda | 21 years, 144 days | 1 | 13 | 62 | 9 | 36 | |
| Andrew McLean | St Kilda | 22 years, 256 days | 1 | 6 | 6 | 1 | 1 | |
| Danny Dickfos | Brisbane Bears | 25 years, 182 days | 1 | 22 | 65 | 1 | 0 | |
| Troy Johnson | Brisbane Bears | 18 years, 248 days | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
| Scott Taylor | Footscray | 19 years, 160 days | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Andrew Donnelly | West Coast | 23 years, 2 days | 1 | 20 | 68 | 28 | 69 | |
| Chad Morrison | West Coast | 18 years, 2 days | 1 | 18 | 169 | 24 | 88 | Round 16 1996 Rising Star nomination |
| Steven Pitt | Collingwood | 22 years, 253 days | 1 | 13 | 18 | 14 | 16 | |
| Gavin Mitchell | Fremantle | 23 years, 94 days | 1 | 21 | 88 | 11 | 82 | |
| Greg Harding | Fremantle | 19 years, 196 days | 1 | 18 | 78 | 1 | 3 | Round 4 1996 Rising Star nomination |
| Brendon Fewster | West Coast | 22 years, 88 days | 1 | 3 | 70 | 2 | 43 | |
| Mark West | Footscray | 23 years, 3 days | 2 | 4 | 16 | 2 | 3 | |
| Tristan Lynch | Brisbane Bears | 22 years, 228 days | 2 | 21 | 72 | 1 | 15 | |
| Kane Fraser | Hawthorn | 18 years, 266 days | 3 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 0 | |
| Ben Holland | Richmond | 18 years, 339 days | 3 | 11 | 191 | 3 | 179 | Brother of Nick Holland |
| Matthew Nicks | Sydney | 20 years, 337 days | 3 | 6 | 175 | 2 | 125 | |
| Jason Cripps | St Kilda | 19 years, 183 days | 3 | 11 | 60 | 3 | 10 | |
| Clive Waterhouse | Fremantle | 21 years, 296 days | 3 | 11 | 106 | 9 | 178 | |
| Darren O'Brien | Melbourne | 27 years, 31 days | 4 | 13 | 24 | 7 | 9 | |
| Michael Brown | Fremantle | 19 years, 213 days | 4 | 10 | 22 | 6 | 15 | |
| Ben Cousins | West Coast | 17 years, 296 days | 4 | 20 | 270 | 34 | 217 | Round 12 1996 Rising Star nomination & overall winner, son of Bryan Cousins |
| Phillip Matera | West Coast | 20 years, 146 days | 4 | 5 | 179 | 8 | 389 | Brother of Wally & Peter Matera |
| Scott Lucas | Essendon | 18 years, 117 days | 5 | 14 | 270 | 11 | 471 | |
| Steven Koops | Fremantle | 17 years, 277 days | 5 | 6 | 89 | 6 | 49 | |
| David Wirrpanda | West Coast | 16 years, 268 days | 5 | 5 | 227 | 4 | 131 | |
| Steven King | Geelong | 17 years, 157 days | 5 | 13 | 240 | 3 | 83 | Round 15 1996 Rising Star nomination |
| Stefan Carey | Sydney | 20 years, 100 days | 6 | 4 | 48 | 1 | 23 | |
| Clint Bizzell | Geelong | 19 years, 310 days | 6 | 4 | 163 | 1 | 79 | |
| Sam McFarlane | North Melbourne | 20 years, 150 days | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | |
| Shane Clayton | Fitzroy | 17 years, 193 days | 6 | 13 | 117 | 1 | 52 | |
| Brent Frewen | Fitzroy | 18 years, 197 days | 6 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | |
| Nick Carter | Fitzroy | 18 years, 8 days | 6 | 17 | 25 | 4 | 6 | Round 8 1996 Rising Star nomination |
| Ross Funcke | Richmond | 18 years, 170 days | 6 | 4 | 40 | 2 | 5 | |
| Jade Rawlings | Hawthorn | 18 years, 208 days | 6 | 2 | 148 | 1 | 96 | Brother of Brady Rawlings |
| Clark Keating | Brisbane Bears | 20 years, 48 days | 6 | 14 | 139 | 9 | 83 | Brother of Aaron Keating |
| Todd McHardy | Melbourne | 19 years, 37 days | 7 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 1 | |
| Luke Toia | Fremantle | 18 years, 171 days | 7 | 13 | 63 | 11 | 33 | Round 20 1996 Rising Star nomination |
| Michael Polley | Melbourne | 19 years, 254 days | 9 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 0 | |
| Barry Hall | St Kilda | 19 years, 109 days | 9 | 4 | 289 | 2 | 746 | |
| Damien Ryan | Richmond | 18 years, 297 days | 9 | 11 | 60 | 1 | 9 | |
| Justin Blumfield | Essendon | 18 years, 197 days | 10 | 10 | 148 | 3 | 91 | |
| Ben Moore | Richmond | 18 years, 347 days | 11 | 4 | 24 | 2 | 11 | |
| Ben Wilson | Collingwood | 19 years, 113 days | 11 | 2 | 6 | 2 | 0 | |
| Simon Prestigiacomo | Collingwood | 18 years, 138 days | 11 | 12 | 233 | 6 | 3 | |
| James Clement | Fremantle | 19 years, 286 days | 11 | 12 | 230 | 1 | 51 | |
| Ben Robbins | Brisbane Bears | 19 years, 178 days | 12 | 5 | 92 | 1 | 21 | |
| Clinton King | Sydney | 18 years, 93 days | 12 | 5 | 89 | 3 | 23 | |
| Scott Welsh | North Melbourne | 17 years, 199 days | 12 | 1 | 205 | 0 | 363 | |
| Daniel Healy | St Kilda | 22 years, 53 days | 12 | 1 | 38 | 0 | 24 | |
| Jason Ramsey | Fitzroy | 21 years, 158 days | 13 | 2 | 2 | 7 | 0 | |
| Eric Lissenden | North Melbourne | 24 years, 187 days | 14 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | |
| Daniel Parker | Fremantle | 22 years, 45 days | 14 | 1 | 25 | 1 | 18 | Brother of Shane Parker |
| Aaron Hamill | Carlton | 18 years, 328 days | 15 | 4 | 190 | 1 | 239 | |
| Jason Bevan | Collingwood | 18 years, 88 days | 15 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 0 | |
| Robert Powell | Richmond | 20 years, 118 days | 15 | 8 | 66 | 15 | 60 | |
| Andrew Leoncelli | Melbourne | 22 years, 3 days | 16 | 7 | 146 | 3 | 66 | |
| Glenn Gorman | North Melbourne | 20 years, 183 days | 17 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | |
| Matthew Robbins | Geelong | 19 years, 82 days | 17 | 1 | 146 | 0 | 135 | |
| Joel Bowden | Richmond | 18 years, 38 days | 17 | 5 | 265 | 4 | 174 | Son of Michael Bowden, brother of Patrick Bowden |
| Ashley Fernee | Adelaide | 19 years, 36 days | 17 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | |
| Angelo Lekkas | Hawthorn | 20 years, 35 days | 18 | 3 | 180 | 3 | 120 | |
| Daniel Bradshaw | Brisbane Bears | 17 years, 257 days | 18 | 3 | 231 | 3 | 524 | Brother of Darren Bradshaw |
| Robert McMahon | Fitzroy | 19 years, 9 days | 18 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | |
| Shane Sikora | West Coast | 19 years, 148 days | 18 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | |
| Danny Stevens | North Melbourne | 19 years, 287 days | 21 | 1 | 15 | 1 | 7 | |
| Carl Steinfort | Geelong | 19 years, 154 days | 22 | 2 | 92 | 2 | 26 | |
| Brent Harvey | North Melbourne | 18 years, 112 days | 22 | 1 | 432 | 0 | 518 | Record holder, most matches played by an individual in VFL/AFL history. Brother of Shane Harvey |

## Change of AFL club

| Name | New Club | Age at debut | Debut round | Games | Games | Goals | Goals | Previous club |
| Name | New Club | Age at debut | Debut round | 1996 | Career | 1996 | Career | Previous club |
| Anthony Ingerson | Melbourne | 26 years, 168 days | 1 | 18 | 158 | 10 | 40 | Adelaide |
| Martin McKinnon | Geelong | 20 years, 268 days | 1 | 19 | 86 | 8 | 50 | Adelaide |
| David Grant | Melbourne | 29 years, 235 days | 1 | 7 | 198 | 1 | 75 | St Kilda |
| Craig Turley | Melbourne | 30 years, 218 days | 1 | 16 | 131 | 8 | 99 | West Coast |
| Alastair Clarkson | Melbourne | 27 years, 337 days | 1 | 22 | 134 | 13 | 85 | North Melbourne |
| Mick Dwyer | Fitzroy | 27 years, 135 days | 1 | 8 | 88 | 3 | 64 | St Kilda |
| Peter Bell | North Melbourne | 20 years, 29 days | 1 | 23 | 286 | 23 | 250 | Fremantle, Round 17 1996 Rising Star nomination |
| Darren Kappler | Hawthorn | 31 years, 68 days | 1 | 19 | 187 | 14 | 152 | Fitzroy & Sydney |
| Robert Neill | St Kilda | 22 years, 86 days | 1 | 20 | 44 | 7 | 16 | Sydney |
| Brad Wira | Footscray | 24 years, 14 days | 1 | 21 | 96 | 1 | 18 | Fremantle |
| Todd Curley | Footscray | 23 years, 77 days | 1 | 18 | 118 | 22 | 48 | Collingwood |
| Adrian Hickmott | Carlton | 24 years, 1 days | 1 | 22 | 184 | 13 | 131 | Geelong |
| Justin Murphy | Carlton | 19 years, 342 days | 1 | 16 | 185 | 19 | 151 | Richmond |
| Brad Rowe | Fremantle | 26 years, 129 days | 1 | 8 | 73 | 7 | 80 | Brisbane Bears & Collingwood |
| Alex McDonald | Collingwood | 26 years, 48 days | 1 | 22 | 107 | 9 | 44 | Hawthorn |
| Scott Crow | Collingwood | 22 years, 104 days | 1 | 22 | 75 | 7 | 37 | Hawthorn |
| David Hynes | Fremantle | 29 years, 0 days | 1 | 12 | 86 | 4 | 59 | West Coast |
| Tony Godden | Fremantle | 23 years, 347 days | 1 | 7 | 24 | 5 | 14 | West Coast |
| Andy Lovell | West Coast | 25 years, 247 days | 1 | 23 | 164 | 13 | 166 | Melbourne |
| Shane Ellen | Adelaide | 23 years, 91 days | 1 | 17 | 65 | 2 | 16 | Footscray |
| Darren Jarman | Adelaide | 29 years, 64 days | 1 | 19 | 230 | 46 | 386 | Hawthorn |
| Troy Bond | Adelaide | 22 years, 261 days | 1 | 20 | 94 | 14 | 77 | Carlton |
| Peter Caven | Adelaide | 25 years, 320 days | 1 | 20 | 139 | 17 | 55 | Fitzroy & Sydney |
| Kym Koster | Adelaide | 23 years, 60 days | 1 | 9 | 133 | 4 | 44 | Footscray |
| Kevin Dyson | Sydney | 28 years, 332 days | 1 | 22 | 105 | 1 | 28 | Melbourne |
| Stuart Maxfield | Sydney | 23 years, 357 days | 1 | 24 | 289 | 14 | 152 | Richmond |
| Craig O'Brien | Sydney | 26 years, 28 days | 1 | 18 | 114 | 34 | 191 | Essendon & St Kilda |
| James Cook | Footscray | 22 years, 91 days | 2 | 5 | 77 | 5 | 139 | Carlton |
| Luke Beveridge | St Kilda | 25 years, 227 days | 2 | 16 | 118 | 16 | 107 | Melbourne & Footscray |
| Leon Higgins | Hawthorn | 27 years, 284 days | 2 | 1 | 122 | 2 | 80 | Sydney |
| Darren Gaspar | Richmond | 19 years, 322 days | 2 | 20 | 228 | 1 | 23 | Sydney |
| Craig Nettelbeck | Melbourne | 23 years, 318 days | 2 | 20 | 78 | 10 | 42 | Sydney |
| Brendan Krummel | Hawthorn | 23 years, 294 days | 3 | 11 | 74 | 2 | 50 | West Coast & Fremantle |
| Ben Sexton | Carlton | 23 years, 168 days | 3 | 4 | 43 | 1 | 33 | Footscray |
| Craig Devonport | Carlton | 26 years, 85 days | 4 | 1 | 95 | 1 | 82 | St Kilda |
| Matthew Francis | Collingwood | 25 years, 235 days | 4 | 10 | 55 | 2 | 23 | Richmond |
| Paul Salmon | Hawthorn | 31 years, 92 days | 4 | 18 | 324 | 4 | 561 | Essendon |
| Allen Jakovich | Footscray | 28 years, 31 days | 4 | 7 | 54 | 7 | 208 | Melbourne |
| Matthew Young | St Kilda | 23 years, 216 days | 4 | 19 | 118 | 5 | 20 | Hawthorn |
| Anthony Darcy | St Kilda | 24 years, 30 days | 4 | 3 | 18 | 3 | 2 | Geelong & Footscray |
| Sean Wellman | Essendon | 21 years, 213 days | 4 | 9 | 212 | 1 | 34 | Adelaide |
| Ben Harrison | Richmond | 21 years, 96 days | 4 | 8 | 161 | 2 | 71 | Carlton |
| Glenn Kilpatrick | Geelong | 23 years, 242 days | 5 | 11 | 146 | 12 | 35 | Essendon |
| Bradley Plain | North Melbourne | 26 years, 215 days | 5 | 1 | 56 | 1 | 96 | Essendon & Collingwood |
| Robert Pyman | Collingwood | 24 years, 211 days | 6 | 5 | 40 | 1 | 17 | North Melbourne |
| Paul Barnard | Essendon | 23 years, 97 days | 8 | 15 | 151 | 3 | 79 | Hawthorn |
| Jamie Elliott | St Kilda | 23 years, 124 days | 10 | 9 | 58 | 1 | 69 | Fitzroy & Essendon |
| Peter Turner | Carlton | 22 years, 187 days | 17 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 1 | Adelaide |