Anthony Munkara

Essendon let go of young forward Anthony Munkara

The 18-year-old has departed the Dons.

Published by
Mitch Keating

Uncapped Essendon forward Anthony Munkara has departed the club after the Bombers came to the decision not to hand the teenager a contract for the 2024 season.

Munkara departs the Dons without an AFL appearance to his name after spending the past year with the club, having joined Essendon last off-season as a graduate out of their Next Generation Academy.

A West Adelaide and Tiwi Islands product, Munkara was an automatic list addition for the Bombers through last year's draft period as a category B rookie signing in November.

He would play 15 games at VFL level for Essendon in 2023 for a return of 12 goals and an average of 6.6 disposals per game.

On Thursday, Essendon confirmed Munkara would not be offered a new deal, with the club deciding to part ways with the young forward, who will return to the Tiwi Islands.

“Anthony has learnt a lot during his time at Essendon and has shown good talent and capability at stages this year. We wish him the best with his future and his return to Tiwi Islands,” Essendon performance boss Dan McPherson said in a club statement.

Munkara's delisting follows the recent list culls of Alastair Lord, Rhett Montgomerie and Cian McBride, who were also not offered contracts for 2024.

Essendon has also bid farewell to Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti and Andrew Phillips, who both announced their retirements at the back end of this season.

Published by
Mitch Keating