Orazio Maurice Fantasia (/əˈrɑːziːoʊ fæntəˈsiːə/ ə-RAH-zee-oh fan-tə-SEE-ə or /fænˈteɪʒə/ fan-TAY-zhə;[a] born 14 September 1995) is a professional Australian rules footballer who plays for the Carlton Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He was recruited by the Essendon Football Club with the 55th overall selection in the 2013 national draft. He previously played for the Essendon Football Club and Port Adelaide Football Club.
| Orazio Fantasia | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Fantasia playing for Essendon in June 2017 | |||
| Personal information | |||
| Full name | Orazio Maurice Fantasia | ||
| Nickname(s) | "Raz", "Razzle Dazzle"[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 14 September 1995 | ||
| Place of birth | Adelaide, South Australia | ||
| Original team(s) | Norwood (SANFL) | ||
| Draft | No. 55, 2013 national draft | ||
| Height | 180 cm (5 ft 11 in) | ||
| Weight | 77 kg (170 lb)[2] | ||
| Position(s) | Forward | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | Carlton | ||
| Number | 14 | ||
| Playing career1 | |||
| Years | Club | Games (Goals) | |
| 2014–2020 | Essendon | 80 (111) | |
| 2021–2023 | Port Adelaide | 19 (30) | |
| 2024– | Carlton | 15 (9) | |
| Total | 114 (150) | ||
|
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 2024. | |||
| Career highlights | |||
| |||
| Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com | |||
AFL career
editFantasia graduated from Norwood Morialta High School in 2013.[6] Fantasia played his junior football for the Payneham Norwood Union Football Club where his talent was identified by South Australian Hall of Famer Garry McIntosh who selected him in the club's senior side as a 15 year old. He made his senior debut for Norwood in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL) in 2013. In only his fourth game he was a member of their 2013 SANFL premiership side.[6]
He made his debut against Richmond in round 20, 2014[7] and was dropped for the following round but regained his spot in round 22 against the Gold Coast, replacing Dyson Heppell who missed the game due to a broken hand. In the final round of the 2015 season, he was rewarded with a nomination for the AFL Rising Star where he recorded 27 disposals and five marks in the Bombers' three-point victory over Collingwood.[8]
Fantasia received a second nomination for the Rising Star after his three goals, eleven disposals, seven contested possessions, and seven tackles in round 17, 2016.[9]
In August 2018, Fantasia signed a three-year deal, keeping him at Essendon until the end of the 2021 season.[10]
In August 2020, Fantasia again showed an interest in returning to South Australia, with a possible move to the Port Adelaide Football Club. He eventually got his wish, and was traded to Port Adelaide on the final day of the trade period.[11]
Fantasia was delisted by Port Adelaide at the conclusion of 2023, and was subsequently picked up as a delisted free-agent by Carlton.
Statistics
edit- Statistics are correct to the end of the 2024 season[12]
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 | ||||
| 2014 | Essendon | 46 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 17 | 26 | 8 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.7 | 3.0 | 5.7 | 8.7 | 2.7 | 0.3 |
| 2015 | Essendon | 46 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 41 | 40 | 81 | 16 | 18 | 0.4 | 0.0 | 8.2 | 8.0 | 16.2 | 3.2 | 3.6 |
| 2016 | Essendon | 13 | 19 | 29 | 25 | 146 | 136 | 282 | 75 | 72 | 1.5 | 1.3 | 7.7 | 7.2 | 14.8 | 4.0 | 3.8 |
| 2017 | Essendon | 13 | 20 | 39 | 22 | 161 | 114 | 275 | 74 | 53 | 2.0 | 1.1 | 8.1 | 5.7 | 13.8 | 3.7 | 2.7 |
| 2018 | Essendon | 13 | 13 | 20 | 16 | 109 | 92 | 201 | 54 | 64 | 1.5 | 1.2 | 8.4 | 7.1 | 15.5 | 4.2 | 4.9 |
| 2019 | Essendon | 13 | 15 | 20 | 12 | 101 | 72 | 173 | 46 | 32 | 1.3 | 0.8 | 6.7 | 4.8 | 11.5 | 3.1 | 2.1 |
| 2020 | Essendon | 13 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 27 | 22 | 49 | 15 | 6 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 5.4 | 4.4 | 9.8 | 3.0 | 1.2 |
| 2021 | Port Adelaide | 13 | 15 | 28 | 23 | 126 | 52 | 178 | 48 | 30 | 1.8 | 1.5 | 8.4 | 3.4 | 11.8 | 3.2 | 2.0 |
| 2022 | Port Adelaide | 13 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| 2023 | Port Adelaide | 13 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 13 | 10 | 23 | 5 | 5 | 0.7 | 1.7 | 4.3 | 3.3 | 7.7 | 1.7 | 1.7 |
| 2024 | Carlton | 14 | 15 | 9 | 7 | 68 | 59 | 127 | 29 | 22 | 0.6 | 0.5 | 4.5 | 3.9 | 8.5 | 1.9 | 1.5 |
| Career | 114 | 150 | 112 | 801 | 614 | 1415 | 370 | 303 | 1.3 | 1.0 | 7.0 | 5.4 | 12.4 | 3.2 | 2.7 | ||
References
edit- ^ McFarlane, Glenn (30 July 2017). "Essendon small forward Orazio Fantasia opens up on nicknames, confidence, goals and more". Herald Sun. News Corp Australia. Retrieved 30 July 2017.
- ^ "Orazio Fantasia - essendonfc.com.au". essendonfc.com.au. Retrieved 22 October 2018.
- ^ a b Dexter, Rachael (11 May 2019). "'We pronounce it with the Australianism in it': Taylor won't follow suit on Fantasia". The Age. Retrieved 30 September 2022.
- ^ McClure, Sam (13 May 2019). "My name is ... Fantasia comes full circle on pronunciation". The Age. Retrieved 30 September 2022.
- ^ Future Stars (11 May 2017). "It's not too late to get your Mother's Day shopping done! We sent Essendon Football Club's Orazio Fantasia down to Chemist Warehouse!". Facebook. Retrieved 30 September 2022.
- ^ a b Morgan, Kym (20 November 2013). "Orazio Fantasia's fantasy season about to get even better with AFL draft". The Advertiser.
- ^ Potter, Shane (7 August 2014). "Fantasia named to debut". Retrieved 2 August 2017.
- ^ Twomey, Callum (7 September 2015). "Bomber Fantasia wins Rising Star nod". AFL.com.au. Bigpond. Retrieved 18 July 2016.
- ^ Landsberger, Sam (18 July 2016). "Orazio Fantasia wins rare second Rising Star nomination as he looks forward to Essendon's bright future". Herald Sun. News Corp Australia. Retrieved 18 July 2016.
- ^ "Orazio Fantasia re-signs with Essendon". 1116 SEN. 14 August 2018.
- ^ Valencich, Glenn (12 November 2020). "Essendon's Orazio Fantasia makes AFL trade move to Port Adelaide". Seven News.
- ^ "Orazio Fantasia". afltables.com. 10 November 2020. Retrieved 10 November 2020.
Footnotes
edit- ^ Fantasia has used both pronunciations of his surname. He has noted that the "fan-tə-SEE-ə" pronunciation is closer to the original Italian pronunciation. In 2019, however, a spokesperson for Esssendon, for whom Fantasia then played, stated that "Orazio is [also] comfortable if people continue to run with [the "fan-TAY-zhə"] pronunciation."[3] Following Fantasia's expression of his preferences on the matter, commentator Brian Taylor was criticised for continuing to use the "fan-TAY-zhə" pronunciation, claiming it to be an "Australianism".[3] Despite his own expressed preferences, Fantasia typically uses the "fan-TAY-zhə" pronunciation when referring to himself.[4][5]
External links
edit
- Orazio Fantasia's profile on the official website of the Essendon Football Club
- Orazio Fantasia's playing statistics from AFL Tables