# Will Snelling

William Alexander Snelling (born 6 August 1997) is an Australian rules footballer who most recently played for the Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He currently plays for Sturt in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL). In 2025 he will be playing for the Renmark Rovers in the Riverland Football League.

## AFL career
### Port Adelaide

Snelling was first drafted by Port Adelaide with their first selection and tenth overall in the 2016 rookie draft. He played his only senior AFL game in Port's twenty-three point win against Gold Coast in round 23, 2016 at Metricon Stadium. He was delisted by Port Adelaide at the end of the 2018 AFL season.

### Essendon

After being overlooked by all clubs at the 2018 AFL draft, Snelling played for West Adelaide in the South Australian National Football League. He was subsequently selected by Essendon in the 2019 mid-season rookie draft, at pick 7. In round 18 he made his debut for Essendon at Adelaide Oval. He played in the Bombers' next two games against Gold Coast and his former club Port Adelaide before he suffered foot soreness and lost his position in the senior side.
Snelling established himself in Essendon’s best side in 2020, playing every game and finishing ninth in the club's best and fairest award. He signed a one-year contract extension for 2021 at the end of the 2020 season. To the surprise of the young midfielder, Snelling was delisted at the end of the 2023 season amid the recruiting of Jade Gresham from St Kilda.

### Sturt (SANFL)

Snelling signed for Sturt in the SANFL for the 2024 season. In his first season at Sturt, Snelling was the joint-winner of the Magarey Medal, and won the SANFL Now Player of the Year award. Snelling also represented the SANFL state team in a State Game against the VFL as part of the 2024 Gather Round held by the AFL.

## Statistics

Updated to the end of 2023.
| 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 | Port Adelaide | 34 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 9 | 15 | 1 | 6 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 6.0 | 9.0 | 15.0 | 1.0 | 6.0 |
| 2017 | Port Adelaide | 34 | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 2018 | Port Adelaide | 34 | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 2019 | Essendon | 40 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 20 | 46 | 66 | 11 | 13 | 1.3 | 0.0 | 5.0 | 11.5 | 16.5 | 2.8 | 3.3 |
| 2020 | Essendon | 40 | 17 | 5 | 2 | 71 | 151 | 222 | 29 | 79 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 4.2 | 8.9 | 13.1 | 1.7 | 4.6 |
| 2021 | Essendon | 40 | 20 | 12 | 7 | 155 | 199 | 354 | 74 | 99 | 0.6 | 0.4 | 7.8 | 10.0 | 17.7 | 3.7 | 5.0 |
| 2022 | Essendon | 11 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 41 | 66 | 107 | 24 | 28 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 5.1 | 8.3 | 13.4 | 3.0 | 3.5 |
| 2023 | Essendon | 11 | 15 | 6 | 3 | 89 | 82 | 171 | 44 | 47 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 5.9 | 5.5 | 11.4 | 2.9 | 3.1 |
| Career | Career | Career | 65 | 29 | 12 | 382 | 553 | 935 | 183 | 272 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 5.9 | 8.5 | 14.4 | 2.8 | 4.2 |
Notes
* ↑ 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.

## Honours and achievements
### Individual

* Magarey Medal: 2024
* SANFL Now Player of the Year: 2024