Connor Budarick has defied the injury odds to find himself on the verge of back-to-back finals appearances with different clubs.
When the Gold Coast SUNS Academy graduate turned Western Bulldogs recruit suffered a high-end syndesmosis injury on 6 July and underwent surgery five days later he was ruled out for the rest of the home-and-away season. And there were fears whether he would play again this year.
He did better than that. He resumed in the Bulldogs’ Round 24 win over Melbourne last Saturday.
Now, 12 months after he played in the SUNS first final against Fremantle in Perth and the first all-Queensland final against Brisbane at the Gabba he will play in the first ever AFL wildcard final. And the biggest game of his life.
A crowd of 90,000-plus is tipped for the Bulldogs’ clash with Collingwood on Friday night, which will be his 15th game in red, white and blue.
Budarick, targeted by Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge specifically to play as a small defender, played Rounds 0-1-2-4-5 and Rounds 9-10-11-12-13-14-15-17-24. He played whenever he was available.
But he’s become more than just a lockdown defender – he’s become a “fix-it” player for Beveridge, who has used the 25-year-old back and forward, and in run-with roles through the middle.
Budarick, who had 10 possessions from 70% game time against the Dees, was one of 21 Queenslanders who closed out the home-and-away campaign over the weekend. For 10 of them spread across the Gold Coast, St Kilda and Richmond it was the end of the season.
Leo Lombard closed a fantastic second season at the SUNS, playing every game after just four games last year. He had 14 possessions and kicked a career-high three goals in their 23-point win over St Kilda at Marvel Stadium. Bodhi Uwland (22 possessions) and Beau Addinsall (20 possessions) also finished on a good note.
Uwland has played 23 games and entrenched himself as one of the game’s best medium-sized defenders, while brother Zeke, who didn’t play against the Saints, has played 17 games in a good first season at the level.
The SUNS’ other three first-year Queenslanders - Addinsall (9 games), Jai Murray (9) and Dylan Patterson (5) – also laid a good platform for next year, while Jed Walter, with 33 goals in 18 games, showed plenty of good signs.
Sam Closehy (12 games), Ethan Read (15), Jake Rogers (9) and Lachy Gulbin (11) also had their moments with Will Graham and Lachie Weller, who was restricted to 12 and 11 games respectively by injury.
Other Queenslanders at the club are Alex Davies (6 games), along with Caleb Graham, who played the last of his 37 games in 2022, and Elliott Himmelberg, who has had two years at the club cruelled by injury without playing game.
In the same game last Thursday night, Campbell Lake had nine touches for St Kilda in the same game, and walked off pinching himself.
Having started the season playing with Southport he’s played 10 AFL games since his debut in Round 13. And the only game he missed was due was to injury. He’s averaged 11 possessions and 4.8 tackles and kicked five goals, and can look forward to 2027 with huge optimism.
Samson Ryan, who has endured a frustrating sixth season at Richmond, also finished on a high, kicking two goals with his last two kicks in the Tigers’ 57-point loss to Geelong at Geelong. He’s played Rounds 4-6-7-21-22-24.
Port Adelaide’s Aliir Aliir was denied a Round 24 outing due to the concussion suffered in his 200th game in Round 23, but his 22-game season was outstanding.
Bailey Scott also finished out of the side at North Melbourne, having played only Rounds 19-20-21 in his eighth season with the club.
Eight Queenslanders played for the Lions as they beat Collingwood by 63 points at the MCG to lock in a top four finish and qualifying final against Sydney at the SCG on Saturday week.
Eric Hipwood’s 15 disposals, three goals and nine score involvements was outstanding while Will Ashcroft (25 possessions, one goal and eight score involvements), Levi Ashcroft (17 possessions), Jaspa Fletcher (22 possessions) and Dayne Zorko (21 possessions) found plenty of the ball.
Ty Gallop slotted beautifully back into the Lions defence after his three-match suspension, and Charlie Cameron kicked two goals.
Adelaide’s Ben Keays tuned up for the finals with 25 possessions and three goals in a 56-point win over GWS at Adelaide Oval, and Mabior Chol did likewise for Hawthorn against West Coast with nine possessions.
