Retired #43: Anthony "Walla" McDonald-Tipungwuti - Wins a flag with the Mildura Imperials

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Contract Status: Unrestricted Free Agent 2023
My Boy Draft 2023: Pick 5, citizen-erased
 
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andleanback said:
Sounds like he’s still a fair way off from playing afl from Scott’s interview on 7
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He's still a while away but seeing how he is looking at training - it's a vast improvement to where he was 3-6 months ago. Maybe we don't see him RD1 but I wouldn't be surprised if it's within the first month of the season.
 

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Perfect! Couldn’t have been a more perfect re-introduction. Heat out of the contest. Didn’t run him into the ground. A bit of match conditioning. Comes on just as Hawthorn get a little run on to lift energy in the stadium. And gets his goal for the iconic moment. The talisman.
 
windyhill said:
This has lifted me like nothing else for a ******* long time. I can’t explain how happy I am to have The Great Man back. I don’t care if he fails. If he does it’s in our colours. So ******* happy.
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That’s what I’m talkiiiiinggg abouttt....
 
ant555 said:
Was great to see him back but he only had about 20 minutes in him :cool: It was worth those 20 minutes :)
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Lucky we didn't have an injury early on in the game
 

McDonald-Tipungwuti reveals the story behind his retirement ... and his extraordinary comeback​

Marnie Vinall
March 20, 2023 — 12.48pm

Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti has detailed the reasons for his sudden retirement from football, and explained how he needed to reconnect with Country and Indigenous elders to rediscover his passion for the game.

The Essendon pressure-forward received a rapturous reception from fans when he was subbed into the match during the last quarter against Hawthorn at the MCG on Sunday, 10 months after stepping away from the AFL. At that time, it looked as if McDonald-Tipungwuti would be lost to football for good, aged just 28.

By his own admission, he’d lost his love of football, and while there were personal circumstances that he doesn’t wish to delve into, he opened up on the journey of discovery that followed.

“I lost the passion for it. I guess I didn’t even enjoy football. So, it was something that I had to find again,” McDonald-Tipungwuti told The Age in an exclusive interview.

“And probably for me, it was the best thing to step away from football and go and find myself again.”

During those months away from football, McDonald-Tipungwuti travelled around Australia, visiting Indigenous communities and elders.

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After quitting football last year, Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti took his dog Drover and travelled to remote parts of Australia, but now he’s back playing the game he loves. / Instagram

The reception he received in those communities, from elders and young fans, convinced him he had more to give as a footballer.

McDonald-Tipungwuti travelled through the middle of Australia with his dog Drover. They visited Alice Springs, Uluru, Katherine, Darwin and the Tiwi Islands, where he’s from, then headed to Broome in Western Australia, and back to Melbourne.

“It was eye-opening,” McDonald-Tipungwuti said. “It was an amazing feeling to go back and get that connection again to Country and meet other Indigenous people around Australia.

“I really loved my journey; driving and camping and seeing beautiful places. Personally, I just needed that break to go back and sort of find myself again.”

“[I got] feedback of ‘You’re still young, even though you retired’. That support from people … I think that gave me a drive to go ‘OK, well, I’m 29, let’s just try and get back in line again’. It’s been a hard, long road, but I’ve really enjoyed my time doing it.”

He said the journey also gave him comfort that if he didn’t make it back to football, there were other places where he belonged.

“It was the best thing to step away from football and go and find myself again, and I knew that if I do come back, I’ll work hard for it,” he said. “But if I don’t, then at least I can go and continue my journey elsewhere in the community or give back to young kids”.

The trip also involved an informal meeting with Fremantle coach Justin Longmuir while in Perth after he’d indicated an interest in returning to the sport, not necessarily to Essendon.

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Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti returns to the AFL arena on Sunday against Hawthorn. / Getty

However, new Essendon coach Brad Scott was keen to regain the forward and his former Bombers teammate, Irishman Conor McKenna. While McKenna opted for a fresh start at Brisbane, McDonald-Tipungwuti took up Scott’s offer and the challenge to prove his commitment to a comeback.

“We worked really hard to get Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti back because the thought of ‘Walla’ making a comeback to AFL footy but not wanting to play for Essendon ... one of the first meetings I had with Conor McKenna, when I was appointed, and Conor wanting to come back from Ireland to play AFL footy at any other club other than Essendon,” said Scott.

McDonald-Tipungwuti returned to the Bombers on a one-year contract for 2023.

He said the support of his teammates, particularly experienced Bombers Zach Merrett, Andy McGrath, Jake Stringer and Jayden Laverde had helped him settle back at the club.

He said the club had a new feel to it since his return – especially with the inclusion of young Indigenous players, the Davey twins, Alwyn jnr and Jayden, and fellow Tiwi Islander Anthony Munkara, who names “Tippa” as a mentor – and he is enjoying helping them grow as footballers.

His comeback from retirement was a welcome surprise to many Essendon fans, and lovers of the sport generally, as was his return to the senior team on the hallowed turf of the MCG, which came quicker than expected.

On Sunday afternoon, he ran out early in the last quarter against Hawthorn after being activated as the substitute for Harry Jones.

The roar from the crowd was deafening, beaten only by the chant of “Tippa” before he kicked a goal from a set shot minutes later.

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Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti / Getty

“It was a quite chilling moment,” said McDonald-Tipungwuti. “The whole stadium went off.”

He admitted he didn’t expect to be selected for round one, and the rise from thinking he’d never play again to kicking a goal in front of the cheering masses was uplifting.

“I was like, well, I’d be happy if I play one or two games during the season, but I never thought I would play round one,” he said.

“I mean, watching Alwyn [Davey Jnr start the game]; I was bit jealous because I was going, ‘I want to go and play with him now but I had to wait and be patient’.”

He’s candid about his journey back to football being challenging, and knows there’s still a lot more fitness work to be done before his name is regularly on the team list.

“I’ve still got fair bit going on [in terms of returning]. But I’ve been learning and keep working on my fitness and the connection with the boys,” McDonald-Tipungwuti said.

Likewise, Scott was frank about his selection prospects post-game on Sunday.

“The journey for him at times seemed like it might be insurmountable, but he has worked extremely hard, and he deserves his spot in the team. I just thought it was a great moment for Essendon fans and for our club,” Scott said.

“While the perspective is important, and we’ve got a long way to go, we should celebrate the little wins too, and that was just a great moment when ‘Walla’ [McDonald-Tipungwuti] came on the ground.”

While there have been difficult moments, McDonald-Tipungwuti is relishing being back at the club that gave him his start in the AFL.

“First day back I was like ‘Well, maybe I should have stayed retired and not come back again’, but I’ve really enjoyed every minute of it … I’m really happy that I chose to come back.

“I mean, it was pretty hard. But preseason is always hard. And yeah, had a lot of support from the boys and the staff and Brad. My mum [Jane McDonald] has been really good.

“So yeah, I’ve loved and enjoyed my time, and I’ve still got, hopefully, a few more years to go. But we’ll take it week by week for now.”
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www.theage.com.au

McDonald-Tipungwuti reveals the story behind his retirement ... and his extraordinary comeback

Last May, Essendon fan favourite Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti stepped away from football after losing his passion for the game. He spent the rest of the year on a journey of self-discovery but was back at the MCG on Sunday, making a stirring comeback.
www.theage.com.au www.theage.com.au
 
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Retired #43: Anthony "Walla" McDonald-Tipungwuti - Wins a flag with the Mildura Imperials

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