Jarrod Brander

DOB

11/2/99

Height

195cm

Weight

92 kg

Junior club

Bendigo Pioneers/Wentworth JFC

Arrived

Pick 13 in the 2017 national draft

Number

10

Debut

Round 13 2018 vs Sydney
(242nd Eagles player)

Games

22

Goals

5

B&F Top 10

0

Best Finish

22nd (2021)

Last app.

Round 23 2021 vs Brisbane

Departed

Delisted at the end of the 2021 season

Other clubs

Bendigo Pioneers (TAC Cup) 2017
East Perth (WAFL) 2018
GWS Giants (AFL) 2022
Wentworth (Sunraysia FL) 2023

New South Wales product Jarrod Brander was West Coast's first pick in the 2017 draft, but struggled to nail down a position in four years at the club.

West Coast career[]

Originally part of the GWS Giants academy, having grown up in Wentworth in the Riverina area of New South Wales,^[1] Brander was considered a potential top-five pick early in 2017 but dropped after an average season. On being drafted, Brander was described as agile, strong overhead and capable of holding down a key position at either end of the ground.

Given the number 10 guernsey, Brander impressed early with East Perth as a strong-marking forward and was rewarded with a two-year contract extension. He was picked to debut against Sydney in the absence of Jack Darling, but after a quiet game was dropped back to the Royals as the match committee looked for more experience in the forward line. He shifted to defence later in the season and generally acquitted himself well, but was unable to force his way back into the AFL side.

After a strong pre-season, Brander was in the senior side for the opening round of 2019, but was dropped after a poor loss to Brisbane. He made one more appearance at AFL level for the year, another heavy away loss, and spent the rest of the season playing as a tall wingman at WAFL level before suffering a torn hamstring. The experiment of using Brander on a wing continued into 2020, with the mobile tall playing the first four games, with moderate success. He was forced out with a hip injury and then did not return to the senior side until later in the year, adding four more games. He sought a trade at the end of 2021 but after receiving little interest, he was delisted.

GWS Giants career[]

The Giants wasted little time signing up their former academy prospect, picking up Brander as a delisted free agent once that window opened. He played just five games for GWS, and was delisted at the end of the 2022 season.

Post-AFL career[]

Brander returned to his junior club, Wentworth in the Sunraysia Football League, for 2023.^[2]

Stats[]

AFL	Gm	G	B	K	M	H	D	T	Cl	WAFL	Gm	G	B	K	M	H	D	T
2018	1	0	1	5	3	0	5	1	0	EP	17	14	17	145	104	95	240	14
2019	2	0	2	14	8	4	18	1	0	WCE	11	9	7	113	69	74	187	16
2020	8	0	1	67	36	22	89	12	3	N/A
2021	11	5	6	108	53	60	168	11	8	WCE	5	1	1	72	34	59	131	7
Tot	22	5	10	194	100	86	280	25	11
Avg		0.2		8.8	4.5	3.9	12.7	1.1	0.5