Madison Prespakis facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Madison Prespakis |
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Prespakis post-match with Essendon in 2023
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| Personal information | |||
| Full name | Madison Prespakis | ||
| Date of birth | 2 November 2000 | ||
| Original team | Melbourne University (VFLW) | ||
| Draft | No. 3, 2018 national draft | ||
| Debut | Round 1, 2019, Carlton v. North Melbourne, at North Hobart Oval |
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| Position(s) | Midfielder | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | Essendon | ||
| Number | 4 | ||
| Career highlights | |||
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Madison Prespakis (born 2 November 2000) is an amazing Australian rules footballer. She plays for the Essendon Football Club in the AFL Women's (AFLW). Before that, she played for the Carlton Football Club from 2019 to 2022.
Madison is a midfielder, which means she plays in the middle of the field. She won many awards when she was younger. She even played in the VFL Women's (VFLW) league as a teenager. In her first year, she won the 2019 AFL Women's Rising Star award. In her second year, she won the top award, the 2020 AFL Women's best and fairest. She has been named an All-Australian three times. She also won Carlton's best player award three times. In 2022, she won Essendon's best player award in their first season. She is also Essendon's equal games record holder for playing the most games.
Contents
Early Life and Junior Football
Madison Prespakis was born on 2 November 2000. Her parents are Damien and Jody. Her mother is an Indigenous Australian from the Djadjawurrung tribe. Madison has three siblings: her twin sister Annalea, Georgie, and Jimmy. She went to Gisborne Secondary College. Growing up, she supported the Essendon team.
Madison started playing football when she was four years old. She joined the Auskick program in Romsey, near Melbourne. At first, she played in boys' teams. Later, she played for the under-15 Sunbury girls' team.
Rising Through the Ranks
In 2017, Madison played for the Calder Cannons team. They won the championship in the TAC Cup Girls league. She was chosen for the league's team of the year. She also came second in the league's best and fairest award. Madison played for Vic Metro in the 2017 AFL Women's Under 18 Championships. She was named in the All-Australian squad for that competition. In October, she was picked for the 2018 AFLW Academy squad. This meant she was one of the top young players. She trained with the Western Bulldogs and Collingwood teams.
In 2018, Madison became the captain of the Calder Cannons. She won their best and fairest award by a lot of votes. She was again named in the TAC Cup Girls Team of the Year. She also tied for the league's best and fairest award with Nina Morrison. She played in the 2018 AFL Women's Under 18 Championships again. She shared the award for the competition's most valuable player. She also won Vic Metro's most valuable player award. She was named in the All-Australian team again. Madison also played six games for Melbourne University in the VFL Women's (VFLW) league.
Before the 2018 AFL Women's draft, many people thought Madison would be one of the first players picked. Players had to choose which state or region they wanted to play in. Madison chose the Melbourne area. She wanted to stay close to her family. This meant other teams couldn't pick her. Carlton was able to pick her with the third overall pick.
AFL Women's Career
Playing for Carlton (2019–2022)
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Carlton picked Madison with their first choice in the 2018 AFL Women's draft. She played her first AFL Women's game in 2019. It was against North Melbourne at North Hobart Oval. In her second game, she was nominated for the 2019 AFL Women's Rising Star award. She kicked one goal and had 20 disposals. Madison played in the 2019 AFL Women's Grand Final against Adelaide. Carlton lost, but Madison was one of their best players.
In her first season, she averaged 19 disposals and kicked seven goals. She won the 2019 AFL Women's Rising Star award. She was also named in the 2019 AFL Women's All-Australian team. She won the award for the best first-year player from the AFLW Players' Association. She also tied for Carlton's best and fairest award with captain Brianna Davey. It was an amazing first season!
Becoming a Star Player
Before the 2020 season, a journalist named Sarah Black said Madison was one of the top 30 players in the AFLW. Madison was chosen for the Team of the Week three times. She was also named player of the year by womens.afl. Madison was selected in the 2020 AFL Women's All-Australian team. She was also chosen as vice-captain in the AFL Players Association's 22under22 team. This team picks the best young players.
She won her second Carlton best and fairest award. She also came second in voting for the AFLW Players' most valuable player award. Madison then won the 2020 AFL Women's best and fairest award. She was only 19 years old! She was the first Indigenous player to win this top award. She later said she asked Carlton's AFL co-captain Patrick Cripps for advice.
Before the 2021 season, Sarah Black ranked Madison as the number one player in the AFLW. Madison played very well in Carlton's win against St Kilda. She had 24 disposals and kicked a goal. She was chosen for the Team of the Week again. The next week, she played well against Richmond. However, she was suspended for one game for a dangerous tackle. This meant she couldn't win the best and fairest award that year. When she returned, she played great against Geelong, even with an elbow injury.
In 2022, Sarah Black ranked Madison as number 17 in the AFLW. She was Carlton's best player in their first game. She had a career-high 29 disposals in Carlton's win over Geelong. This was the first time she played against her sister Georgie. Madison was Carlton's best player in other games too.
Joining Essendon (2022–Present)
In April 2022, Madison and her teammate Georgia Gee decided to join Essendon. Essendon was starting its first AFLW team. They both signed on the first day players could join new teams.
Before the 2023 season, Sarah Black ranked Madison as number 11 in the AFLW.
In 2024, Madison was one of Essendon's best players in several games. She had 27 disposals in their win over West Coast.
Statistics
Updated to the end of the 2024 season.
| G | Goals | B | Behinds | K | Kicks | H | Handballs | D | Disposals | M | Marks | T | Tackles |
| Season | Team | No. | Games | Totals | Averages (per game) | Votes | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | B | K | H | D | M | T | G | B | K | H | D | M | T | |||||
| 2019 | Carlton | 4 | 9 | 7 | 3 | 113 | 59 | 172 | 17 | 28 | 0.8 | 0.3 | 12.6 | 6.6 | 19.1 | 1.9 | 3.1 | 5 |
| 2020 | Carlton | 4 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 88 | 61 | 149 | 19 | 21 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 12.6 | 8.7 | 21.3 | 2.7 | 3.0 | 15± |
| 2021 | Carlton | 4 | 8 | 4 | 4 | 79 | 90 | 169 | 13 | 33 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 9.9 | 11.3 | 21.1 | 1.6 | 4.1 | 10 |
| 2022 (S6) | Carlton | 4 | 10 | 1 | 2 | 90 | 115 | 205 | 24 | 35 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 9.0 | 11.5 | 20.5 | 2.4 | 3.5 | 7 |
| 2022 (S7) | Essendon | 4 | 10 | 6 | 3 | 119 | 118 | 237 | 22 | 49 | 0.6 | 0.3 | 11.9 | 11.8 | 23.7 | 2.2 | 4.9 | 17 |
| 2023 | Essendon | 4 | 11 | 5 | 2 | 146 | 142 | 288 | 32 | 56 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 13.3 | 12.9 | 26.2 | 2.9 | 5.1 | 10 |
| 2024 | Essendon | 4 | 12 | 3 | 7 | 176 | 105 | 281 | 32 | 37 | 0.3 | 0.6 | 14.7 | 8.8 | 23.4 | 2.7 | 3.1 | 18 |
| Career | 67 | 29 | 24 | 811 | 690 | 1501 | 159 | 259 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 12.1 | 10.3 | 22.4 | 2.4 | 3.9 | 82 | ||
Family Life
Madison's younger sister, Georgie, also plays AFLW. She was picked second in the 2021 AFL Women's draft and plays for Geelong.
Honours and Achievements
- AFL Women's best and fairest: 2020
- Essendon equal games record holder
- 3× AFL Women's All-Australian team: 2019, 2020, S7
- 3× Carlton best and fairest: 2019, 2020, S6
- Essendon best and fairest: S7
- AFL Women's Rising Star: 2019
- AFLPA AFLW best first-year player: 2019
