David Zaharakis

David Zaharakis (born 21 February 1990) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played 13 seasons for the Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL).^[1]

David Zaharakis
Zaharakis playing for Essendon in April 2018
Personal information
Full name	David Zaharakis
Date of birth	(1990-02-21) 21 February 1990 (age 34)
Original team(s)	Northern Knights (TAC Cup)
Draft	No. 23, 2008 national draft
Height	180 cm (5 ft 11 in)
Weight	79 kg (174 lb)
Position(s)	Midfielder
Playing career1
Years	Club	Games (Goals)
2009–2021	Essendon	226 (136)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of Round 21 2021.
Career highlights
Anzac Day Medal: 2013 W.S. Crichton Medal: 2011 22under22 team: 2012 AFL Rising Star nominee: 2009
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

Early life

Zaharakis attended Our Lady Help of Christians Primary School and finished Year 12 in 2008 at Marcellin College, where he also won the Terrence Cleary Memorial Sporting Award for sportsmanship and sporting excellence.^[2] He played for the Northern Knights in the TAC Cup and junior football for Eltham in the Northern Football League. He was named in the under-18 All-Australian team, playing for Vic Metro.^[1]

AFL career

Zaharakis was drafted by Essendon with pick 23 in the 2008 National Draft, whom he supported growing up.^[3][1] He was awarded the number 11 guernsey, which was previously worn by Damien Peverill. He made his debut against Fremantle in Round 2, 2009, and earned the Rising Star nomination on debut.^[4] In Round 5, 2009, against Collingwood at the age of 19, he kicked the match-winning goal during the final seconds of the Anzac Day match to help the Bombers win by five points.^[5]

During 2011, he was able to make the most of his opportunity in the midfield, with the ability to move forward and kick over 30 goals for the season, winning the W.S. Crichton Medal in the process.^[6]

In Round 5, 2013, he won the Anzac Day Medal, where he recorded 34 disposals and kicked four goals.^[7] It was revealed by his manager during 2013 that he did not take any part in Essendon's 2012 controversial sport science program that placed the club under scrutiny by the AFL and ASADA (Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority) due to him suffering from a fear of needles.^[8] As a result, Zaharakis was found not guilty of using banned substances by the Court of Arbitration for Sport, and was therefore able to participate in the 2016 season.^[9]

He was delisted at the end of the 2021 season,^[10] but he was enlisted as a COVID top-up player for the Melbourne Football Club for the 2022 season;^[11] however, he did not end up playing any games for them.

Personal life

Zaharakis is currently studying a Bachelor of Property and Real Estate at Deakin University.^[12] In November 2022, it was announced that Zaharakis was cast for Australian Survivor: Heroes V Villains as a member of the Heroes tribe. He made the merge, but was the first person voted out from the merged tribe on Day 29, finishing in twelfth place.

Statistics

Statistics are correct to the end of Round 12, 2021^[13]

Legend

G	Goals	K	Kicks	D	Disposals	T	Tackles
B	Behinds	H	Handballs	M	Marks

Season	Team	No.	Games	Totals							Averages (per game)
				G	B	K	H	D	M	T	G	B	K	H	D	M	T
2009	Essendon	11	10	7	8	87	50	137	47	25	0.7	0.8	8.7	5.0	13.7	4.7	2.5
2010	Essendon	11	20	19	18	178	141	319	93	52	1.0	0.9	8.9	7.0	16.0	4.6	2.6
2011	Essendon	11	23	31	17	277	195	472	103	88	1.4	0.7	12.0	8.5	20.5	4.5	3.8
2012	Essendon	11	13	7	8	171	119	290	43	42	0.5	0.6	13.2	9.2	22.3	3.3	3.2
2013	Essendon	11	21	9	17	266	210	476	73	62	0.4	0.8	12.7	10.0	22.7	3.5	3.0
2014	Essendon	11	23	14	14	332	228	560	108	85	0.6	0.6	14.4	9.9	24.4	4.7	3.7
2015	Essendon	11	16	9	3	149	151	300	59	63	0.6	0.2	9.3	9.4	18.8	3.7	3.9
2016	Essendon	11	21	5	6	281	241	522	75	99	0.2	0.3	13.4	11.5	24.9	3.6	4.7
2017	Essendon	11	23	11	14	323	267	590	107	107	0.5	0.6	14.0	11.6	25.7	4.7	4.7
2018	Essendon	11	17	7	6	240	195	435	85	62	0.4	0.4	14.1	11.5	25.6	5.0	3.7
2019	Essendon	11	20	6	2	238	168	406	99	56	0.3	0.1	11.9	8.4	20.3	5.0	2.8
2020	Essendon	11	10	9	4	63	79	142	24	20	0.9	0.4	6.3	7.9	14.2	2.4	2.0
2021	Essendon	11	7	1	2	43	28	71	18	14	0.1	0.2	6.1	4.0	10.1	2.5	2.0
Career			226	136	119	2648	2072	4720	934	775	0.6	0.5	11.8	9.2	21.0	4.1	3.4

References

1. "David Zaharakis: A Rising Star In Australian Football". Daily Current Affairs. 19 September 2024. Retrieved 22 September 2024.
2. Merry, Mark (13 November 2008). "Year 12 Valedictory Awards". Marcellin College. Archived from the original on 16 September 2009. Retrieved 13 December 2008.
3. "Malthouse fumes: we let Anzacs down". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 26 April 2009. Retrieved 4 August 2015.
4. Cook, Jessica (7 April 2009). "Zaharakis wins Round 2 Rising Star nomination". essendonfc.com.au. Bigpond. Retrieved 4 August 2015.
5. Connolly, Rohan (26 April 2009). "Bombers come from the clouds". The Age. Retrieved 4 August 2015.
6. Williams, Rebecca (8 October 2011). "Crichton Medal to David Zaharakis". Herald Sun. News Corp Australia. Retrieved 4 August 2015.
7. Rolfe, Peter (25 April 2013). "Essendon, led by Anzac Day medallist David Zaharakis, crushes Collingwood at the MCG". Herald Sun. Retrieved 4 August 2015.
8. Macgugan, Mark (31 July 2013). "Fear of needles: Zaharakis wasn't injected". AFL.com.au. Bigpond. Retrieved 1 August 2013.
9. "Bombers' Zaharakis avoids the needle and damage done". Neos Kosmos. 13 January 2016. Retrieved 16 January 2021.
10. "Veteran Bomber's manager sheds light on client's delisting". www.sen.com.au. Retrieved 28 March 2022.
11. "Demons look to ex-Tiger, Docker for COVID top-up list". afl.com.au. 13 March 2022. Retrieved 28 March 2022.
12. "Elite Athlete Program Profiles". Deakin University. Retrieved 10 August 2020.
13. "David Zaharakis". afltables.com. 10 November 2020. Retrieved 10 November 2020.

External links

• David Zaharakis's playing statistics from AFL Tables