Tendai Mzungu
Encyclopedia
Tendai Mzungu is an Australian rules football
er for the Fremantle Football Club
in the Australian Football League
(AFL) and the Perth Football Club
in the West Australian Football League
(WAFL).
Originally from the Trinity
Aquinas
Football Club, he made his WAFL league debut for Perth in 2006. He played 72 games over 5 years, winning Perth's best and fairest
award in 2010, and polling 20 votes in the 2010 Sandover Medal.
Fremantle obtained Mzungu in the Trade Week before the 2010 AFL Draft
, trading their 39th selection to the new club, in return for Mzungu and the 44th selection, after he was pre-listed by the Gold Coast as part of the new club's entry concessions. Fremantle had originally intended to rookie list
him, but decided to obtain him via a trade after his good form in the 2010 WAFL season.
Mzungu performed well for Fremantle in the 2011 NAB Cup
pre-season games and was tipped to replace the injured Roger Hayden
in Fremantle's backline. However, in Fremantle's final pre-season game he damaged his knee medial ligament
He returned to football 10 weeks later, be selected directly to the AFL, rather than for Perth in the WAFL. His debut for Fremantle was in the Round 9 match at AAMI Stadium against , which Fremantle won by 52 points. He was selected as the substitute player and only played the final quarter, replacing Hayden Ballantyne
who suffered from a corked thigh (quadriceps contusion).
Nicknamed Muz, his father is Zimbabwe
an but he was born in Melbourne
and moved to Western Australia
at the age of nine. His surname, Mzungu, means white person or foreigner in Swahili
.
Australian rules football
Australian rules football, officially known as Australian football, also called football, Aussie rules or footy is a sport played between two teams of 22 players on either...
er for the Fremantle Football Club
Fremantle Football Club
The Fremantle Football Club, nicknamed The Dockers, is an Australian rules football team which plays in the Australian Football League . The club is based in the port city of Fremantle at the mouth of the Swan River in Western Australia...
in the Australian Football League
Australian Football League
The Australian Football League is both the governing body and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football...
(AFL) and the Perth Football Club
Perth Football Club
The Perth Football Club, nicknamed the Demons, is an Australian rules football club playing in the West Australian Football League . The club plays its matches at Lathlain Park.-History:...
in the West Australian Football League
West Australian Football League
The West Australian Football League is an Australian rules football league based in Perth, Western Australia. The WAFL is the second-most popular in the state, behind the nation-wide Australian Football League...
(WAFL).
Originally from the Trinity
Trinity College, Perth
Trinity College, is an independent day school for boys, located in East Perth, a suburb of Perth, Western Australia. The school was established in 1962, Trinity is a school in the Edmund Rice Tradition. and is located on reclaimed land adjacent to the Swan River foreshore...
Aquinas
Aquinas College, Perth
Aquinas College is a Catholic independent, day and boarding school for boys, located in Salter Point, Western Australia. Its sister school is Santa Maria Ladies College located in Attadale...
Football Club, he made his WAFL league debut for Perth in 2006. He played 72 games over 5 years, winning Perth's best and fairest
Best and Fairest
Best and Fairest is the term commonly used in Australian sport to describe the player adjudged to have had the best performance in a game or over a season for a given sporting club or competition while not receiving a suspension for misconduct or breaching the rules during that season.In the...
award in 2010, and polling 20 votes in the 2010 Sandover Medal.
Fremantle obtained Mzungu in the Trade Week before the 2010 AFL Draft
2010 AFL Draft
The 2010 AFL Draft consists of four opportunities for player acquisitions during the 2010/11 Australian Football League off-season. These are the Trade Week; held between , the National Draft; held on the , the Pre-Season Draft and the Rookie Draft .This is the first national draft to feature the...
, trading their 39th selection to the new club, in return for Mzungu and the 44th selection, after he was pre-listed by the Gold Coast as part of the new club's entry concessions. Fremantle had originally intended to rookie list
Rookie list
The Rookie List is a means for Australian Football League clubs to maintain additional players outside of the 38-man primary or senior list. Rookie listed players are not eligibile to play in AFL home and away or finals matches unless they are elevated to the senior list, either to replace a...
him, but decided to obtain him via a trade after his good form in the 2010 WAFL season.
Mzungu performed well for Fremantle in the 2011 NAB Cup
2011 NAB Cup
-Quarter-finals:-Semi-finals:-Grand Final:-NAB Challenge:Teams that are eliminated from the NAB Cup are scheduled to play against each other, mostly at regional venues, to provide all teams warm-up games for the main season and expose regional audiences to AFL level football.On 16 December 2010,...
pre-season games and was tipped to replace the injured Roger Hayden
Roger Hayden
Roger Hayden is a former Australian rules footballer. He played as a back pocket for the Fremantle Football Club after beginning his senior football career with South Fremantle Football Club in the West Australian Football League ....
in Fremantle's backline. However, in Fremantle's final pre-season game he damaged his knee medial ligament
Medial collateral ligament
The medial collateral ligament of the knee is one of the four major ligaments of the knee. It is on the medial side of the knee joint in humans and other primates. It is also known as the tibial collateral ligament, or abbreviated as the MCL.- Structure :It is a broad, flat, membranous band,...
He returned to football 10 weeks later, be selected directly to the AFL, rather than for Perth in the WAFL. His debut for Fremantle was in the Round 9 match at AAMI Stadium against , which Fremantle won by 52 points. He was selected as the substitute player and only played the final quarter, replacing Hayden Ballantyne
Hayden Ballantyne
Hayden Ballantyne is an Australian rules footballer, who was selected by Fremantle in the 2008 AFL Draft. He was recruited from Peel Thunder in the WAFL...
who suffered from a corked thigh (quadriceps contusion).
Nicknamed Muz, his father is Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the African continent, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia and a tip of Namibia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east. Zimbabwe has three...
an but he was born in Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
and moved to Western Australia
Western Australia
Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...
at the age of nine. His surname, Mzungu, means white person or foreigner in Swahili
Swahili language
Swahili or Kiswahili is a Bantu language spoken by various ethnic groups that inhabit several large stretches of the Mozambique Channel coastline from northern Kenya to northern Mozambique, including the Comoro Islands. It is also spoken by ethnic minority groups in Somalia...
.