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Aliir Aliir

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Aliir Aliir
Aliir playing for Sydney in 2017
Personal information
Full name Aliir Mayo Aliir
Date of birth (1994-09-05) 5 September 1994 (age 30)
Place of birth Kakuma, Kenya
Original team(s) Aspley (NEAFL)/East Fremantle (WAFL)
Draft No. 44, 2013 national draft
Height 194 cm (6 ft 4 in)
Weight 96 kg (212 lb)
Position(s) Key defender
Club information
Current club Port Adelaide
Number 21
Playing career1
Years Club Games (Goals)
2014–2020 Sydney 64 (5)
2021– Port Adelaide 92 (0)
Total 156 (5)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 2024.
Career highlights
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

Aliir Mayom Aliir (born 5 September 1994) is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the Port Adelaide Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He formerly played for the Sydney Swans.

Early life and career

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Aliir Aliir was born in the Kakuma refugee camp in Kenya to South Sudanese parents who had fled the Sudanese civil war. His family moved to Australia when he was eight years old, eventually settling in Brisbane.[1] After learning to kick a football at Kedron State High School, he was invited by a friend to play Australian rules football for the Aspley Hornets as a 14-year-old.[2] Within a few years, he had made the Queensland side and was invited to play for the world XVIII at the under-16 championships in Sydney.[3] It was during this trip that Aliir discovered he had a long-lost sister trying to contact him.[4]

In 2012, Aliir's mother, brothers and sisters moved to Perth to reunite with extended family.[4] Aliir decided to remain in Brisbane, and that year, he made his debut in the NEAFL for Aspley. Aliir made his mark as a ruckman in 2012 while playing for the Hornets and the Queensland Under-18 Scorpions.[5]

After being overlooked in the 2012 AFL draft, Aliir made the decision to relocate to Perth to live with his family. There he joined the East Fremantle Football Club and spent the 2013 season playing for the club's Colts team.[6] With East Fremantle, he was converted from a ruckman to a defender.[7]

AFL career

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Sydney (2014–2020)

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Aliir was drafted by the Sydney Swans at pick 44 in the 2013 AFL draft, becoming the first player of Sudanese heritage taken in the National Draft.[8] Aliir had a promising debut season with the Swans reserves in the NEAFL. He suffered a dislocated shoulder mid-season, and was ruled out for the remainder of the year in round 16, which resulted in him missing the team's 2014 NEAFL finals campaign.[9]

After a slow start, 2015 was another solid year of development in the NEAFL for Aliir, playing mainly as a key defender. Aliir played 16 games and averaged 16 possessions at more than 80 per cent efficiency and took the most marks (86) for the Swans reserves. Heading into the 2016 AFL season, Aliir was in line to take over from Ted Richards in Sydney's defence.[10]

Aliir made his long-awaited AFL debut against the Brisbane Lions at the Gabba in Round 6, 2016.[11][12] He quickly cemented his place in the team after round 16, as he played in every match between then and the Swans' preliminary final match. However, in the preliminary final, Aliir suffered a low-grade medial strain late in the first quarter of their win over Geelong. The injury consequently ruled him out of the Grand Final.[13] The Swans went on to lose the Grand Final by 22 points to the Western Bulldogs.

Following the 2020 AFL season, Aliir was traded to Port Adelaide on a four-year deal.[14]

Port Adelaide (2021–)

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In Round 4 of the 2023 AFL season, Aliir saved the game for Port Adelaide against his former team, Sydney, by spoiling a shot after the siren from Oliver Florent that was going in. It ended with Port Adelaide winning by two points.

Statistics

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Statistics are correct to the end of the 2023 season[15]
Legend
  G  
 Goals
  K  
 Kicks
  D  
 Disposals 
  T  
 Tackles
  B  
 Behinds 
  H  
 Handballs 
  M  
 Marks
Season Team No. Games Totals Averages (per game) Votes
G B K H D M T G B K H D M T
2016 Sydney 36 13 0 0 103 84 187 56 31 0.0 0.0 7.9 6.5 14.4 4.3 2.4 0
2017 Sydney 36 3 0 0 20 15 35 11 9 0.0 0.0 6.7 5.0 11.7 3.7 3.0 0
2018 Sydney 36 12 1 1 121 74 195 91 13 0.1 0.1 10.1 6.2 16.3 7.6 1.1 3
2019 Sydney 36 22 1 0 222 124 346 104 44 0.1 0.0 10.1 5.6 15.7 4.7 2.0 0
2020[a] Sydney 36 14 3 1 78 57 135 45 22 0.2 0.1 5.6 4.1 9.6 3.2 1.6 0
2021 Port Adelaide 21 24 0 1 268 100 386 156 37 0.0 0.0 11.2 4.2 15.3 6.5 1.5 7
2022 Port Adelaide 21 18 0 1 172 70 242 85 30 0.0 0.0 9.6 3.9 13.4 4.7 1.7 0
2023 Port Adelaide 21 24 0 0 202 81 283 121 37 0.0 0.0 8.4 3.3 11.7 5.0 1.5 3
Career 106 5 4 984 524 1508 548 186 0.1 0.0 9.3 4.9 14.2 5.2 1.8 13

Notes

  1. ^ 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.

Personal

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Aliir's younger half-brother, Akech, plays for Melbourne United in the National Basketball League.[16] He is the cousin of Matur Maker who plays for the Rio Grande Valley Vipers of the NBA G League and Thon Maker, who last played for the Cleveland Cavaliers of the NBA.[17]

References

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  1. ^ "Aliir's incredible journey from Kakuma to AFL". ESPN.com. 8 August 2017. Retrieved 21 April 2021.
  2. ^ Mallinder, Terry (30 April 2016). "Former Hornet Aliir Aliir ready to take flight with Swans". Sunshine Coast Daily. Retrieved 28 September 2016.
  3. ^ Rynne, Nick (23 November 2013). "Red and white all right for Swans fan". The West Australian. Retrieved 28 September 2016.
  4. ^ a b Quayle, Emma (16 May 2013). "Teamwork finds Aliir a family". The Age. Retrieved 28 September 2016.
  5. ^ Newman, Beth (23 August 2012). "Aliir Aliir - Northern Conference Round 21 Rising Star". NEAFL.com.au. Retrieved 28 September 2016.
  6. ^ "Aliir ALIIR (East Fremantle)". WAFL.com.au. Archived from the original on 2 October 2016. Retrieved 28 September 2016.
  7. ^ Hope, Shayne (5 August 2016). "Aliir Aliir ... from refugee to the SCG". The West Australian. Retrieved 28 September 2016.
  8. ^ "Meet Aliir Aliir". SydneySwan.com.au. 21 November 2013. Retrieved 28 September 2016.
  9. ^ Paolucci, Tanya (27 October 2014). "2014 in review: Aliir Aliir". SydneySwan.com.au. Retrieved 28 September 2016.
  10. ^ Cordy, Neil (21 December 2015). "Aliir Aliir in line to take over from Ted Richards in Sydney's defence". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 28 September 2016.
  11. ^ Cordy, Neil (28 April 2016). "Aliir Aliir set to debut for Sydney Swans against Brisbane Lions in Round 6". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 28 September 2016.
  12. ^ Paton, Al (2 May 2016). "Aliir Aliir Sydney Swans debut: Family still getting the hang of Aussie rules". Herald Sun. Retrieved 28 September 2016.
  13. ^ Ryan, Peter (28 September 2014). "Aliir ruled out of premiership decider". AFL.com.au. Retrieved 28 September 2016.
  14. ^ Cleary, Mitch (11 November 2020). "Hoff replacement on: Power strike deal for versatile Swan". AFL Media. Retrieved 11 November 2020.
  15. ^ "Aliir Aliir Stats". AFL Tables. Retrieved 18 October 2016.
  16. ^ "United add dynamic big-man Akech Aliir as Development Player". Melbourne United. 5 July 2024. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
  17. ^ Horne, Ben (28 June 2016). "Aliir Aliir and Thon Maker revealed to be cousins as both chase their sporting dreams". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 28 September 2016.
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