Nathan Djerrkura

D.O.B:    
19 September 1988
Club:    
Geelong
Honours:    
2006 NAB AFL Draft Pick No. 25
2009 AFL Debut

Originally from Gove in the Northern Territory, Nathan attended Scotch College in Melbourne. Nathan is a dashing midfielder or small forward with good evasive skills and great pace.

In 2006, Nathan was the Northern Territory’s best player at the NAB AFL U18 Championships. He averaged 22 possessions per match with the Northern Territory Thunder and had an outstanding NAB AFL Draft Camp with results including 20m (2.90sec- top two per cent), agility (8.18-top 11 per cent), beep test (14.3 - top 15 per cent). Nathan is an inside player not afraid to put his body on the line, add to this his pace and great skills and he looks set to become a shining light for the Cats in the years to come.

Djerrkura, a 176cm forward, has experienced his fair share of setbacks in his career at the Cats. Persistent quadriceps injuries have curtailed previous attempts to get into the senior side.

Despite not having played an AFL game until 2009, Djerrkura already possessed an illustrious record. He has played seven NAB Cup games for the Cats, the most ever by a Cats player who hasn’t played an AFL game, he represented the Aboriginal All-Stars side in 2009 and played in the Cats 2007 VFL premiership.

The lively youngster made his debut for the Cats in their big win over Essendon in round 10 of the 2009 season. Djerrkura managed three games throughout the season and impressed with his speed, defensive pressure and tackling. He unfortunately suffered a quad injury late in the season and was unable to push for finals selection.

Keen to appear at AFL level on a regular basis, Djerrkura has also brought with him his nickname from his hometown, “Djidi”. Translated it means “black magic”, which is a fair idea of how he plays the game.