# Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti

Anthony William Watson McDonald-Tipungwuti (born 22 April 1993) is a former professional Australian rules football player for the Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He was drafted by Essendon with their second selection in the 2015 rookie draft.

## Early life

Born as Anthony Tipungwuti on the Tiwi Islands into an Indigenous Australian family, off the coast of Darwin, Anthony was raised on Melville Island. He played his junior football for the Tiwi Bombers in the Northern Territory Football League. Tipungwuti represented the Northern Territory at the U18 National Championships in both 2011 and 2012.
In 2011, he moved to Victoria at the age of 17—not being able to read or write, and speaking only a "bit of English"—to better his chances of an AFL career. He was adopted by Jane McDonald in Gippsland and took on her name as recognition of her contribution to his journey, joining the family as the youngest brother. Anthony attended school at Chairo Christian School in Drouin after moving to Victoria where he learnt to speak English. He spent six years playing for the Gippsland Power in the TAC Cup and Essendon's reserves team in the VFL before realising his dream when he was rookie listed by Essendon at the end of 2015.

## AFL career

Following the many suspensions handed out to Essendon players at the end of 2015 for the supplements controversy fallout, McDonald-Tipungwuti was elevated to the Bombers' senior list. He made his AFL debut in Round 1 of the 2016 season against the Gold Coast Suns at Metricon Stadium, and he retained his position in the team until his retirement. In July 2020, he broke the record for most consecutive AFL games for Essendon in the AFL era. His streak ended at 126 games when he decided not to play in Round 22, 2021, for personal reasons.
McDonald-Tipungwuti has finished in the top 10 for the Crichton Medal, Essendon's best-and-fairest award, each season of his career—5th in 2018; 7th in 2016, 2017, and 2020; 8th in 2019; and 10th in 2021 despite not playing in the club's final three games. He was also Essendon’s leading goalkicker in the shortened 2020 season, with 19 goals.
McDonald-Tipungwuti announced his retirement on 20 May 2022; however, he revoked the announcement on 10 November 2022. After a comeback season in 2023, he announced his retirement for good on 24 August 2023, playing his last game, a loss against Collingwood, the following day.

## Statistics

    Statistics correct as of the end of the 2023 season
| Season | Team | No. | Games | Totals | Totals | Totals | Totals | Totals | Totals | Totals | Averages (per game) | Averages (per game) | Averages (per game) | Averages (per game) | Averages (per game) | Averages (per game) | Averages (per game) |
| Season | Team | No. | Games | G | B | K | H | D | M | T | G | B | K | H | D | M | T |
| 2016 | Essendon | 43 | 21 | 8 | 9 | 186 | 127 | 313 | 89 | 67 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 8.9 | 6.0 | 14.9 | 4.2 | 3.2 |
| 2017 | Essendon | 43 | 23 | 34 | 17 | 179 | 121 | 300 | 78 | 84 | 1.5 | 0.7 | 7.8 | 5.3 | 13.0 | 3.4 | 3.7 |
| 2018 | Essendon | 43 | 22 | 26 | 14 | 160 | 110 | 270 | 75 | 99 | 1.2 | 0.6 | 7.3 | 5.0 | 12.3 | 3.4 | 4.5 |
| 2019 | Essendon | 43 | 23 | 32 | 13 | 166 | 97 | 263 | 66 | 99 | 1.4 | 0.6 | 7.2 | 4.2 | 11.4 | 2.9 | 4.3 |
| 2020 | Essendon | 43 | 17 | 19 | 7 | 86 | 61 | 147 | 35 | 57 | 1.1 | 0.4 | 5.1 | 3.6 | 8.7 | 2.1 | 3.6 |
| 2021 | Essendon | 43 | 20 | 34 | 14 | 129 | 72 | 201 | 49 | 56 | 1.7 | 0.7 | 6.5 | 3.6 | 10.1 | 2.5 | 2.8 |
| 2022 | Essendon | 43 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2023 | Essendon | 43 | 7 | 4 | 5 | 27 | 23 | 50 | 15 | 15 | 0.6 | 0.7 | 3.9 | 3.3 | 7.1 | 2.1 | 2.1 |
| Career | Career | Career | 133 | 157 | 79 | 933 | 611 | 1544 | 407 | 477 | 1.2 | 0.6 | 7.0 | 4.6 | 11.6 | 3.1 | 3.6 |
* ↑ The 2020 season was played with 17 home-and-away matches per team (down from 22) and 16-minute quarters with time on (down from 20-minute quarters with time on) due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.