Malcolm Rosas

Malcolm Rosas
Personal information
Full name Malcolm Rosas Jr.
Nickname Mally
Born (2001-06-27) 27 June 2001 (age 24)
Darwin, Northern Territory
Original teams Darwin Buffaloes (NTFL)
NT Thunder (NEAFL)
Draft Academy Pre-Selection, 2019 AFL draft, Gold Coast
Height 180 cm (5 ft 11 in)
Weight 73 kg (161 lb)
Position Forward
Club information
Current club Sydney
Number 10
Playing career1
Years Club Games (Goals)
2020–2025 Gold Coast 49 (46)
2026– Sydney 0 (0)
Total 49 (46)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of the 2025 season.
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

Malcolm Rosas Jr. (born 27 June 2001) is a professional Australian rules footballer who plays for the Sydney Swans in the Australian Football League (AFL), having initially been drafted by Gold Coast.

Early life

Rosas Jr was born and raised in Darwin, Northern Territory.[1] His mother is of Indigenous Australian descent from the Northern Territory (Ngalakgan and Rembarrnga)[2] and his father is of South Sea Islander descent from Queensland.[3] Rosas Jr's grandfather, Bill Dempsey, is a 2022 Australian Football Hall of Fame inductee,[4] an inaugural Hall of Fame inductee in both the WAFL[5] and AFL Northern Territory[6] as well as being named in the Indigenous Team of the Century in 2005.[7] Rosas Jr grew up playing Australian rules football, rugby league and soccer at high levels but eventually chose to focus on football in his mid-teenage years.[8] He played all his junior football for the Darwin Buffaloes in the NTFL and signed to play senior football for the NT Thunder in the NEAFL in his final year of junior football in 2019. He was the first player signed by the Gold Coast Suns Academy program via their Darwin Academy, signing a 2 year deal until 2021.[9]

AFL career

In October 2019, Rosas Jr was drafted to the Gold Coast Suns via their academy pre-selection access.[10] He made his AFL debut at 19 years of age in round 9, 2021 against the Brisbane Lions in QClash 20 at Metricon Stadium.[11]

Rosas Jr played 49 matches for the Suns over six seasons with the club, and then requested a trade to the Sydney Swans at the end of the 2025 season. His trade was completed on 7 October.[12][13]

Statistics

Updated to the end of the 2025 season.[14]

Legend
  G  
Goals
  K  
Kicks
  D  
Disposals 
  T  
Tackles
  B  
Behinds 
  H  
Handballs 
  M  
Marks
Season Team No. Games Totals Averages (per game) Votes
G B K H D M T G B K H D M T
2020[a] Gold Coast 41[citation needed] 0 0
2021 Gold Coast 41 4 0 4 14 5 19 5 6 0.0 1.0 3.5 1.3 4.8 1.3 1.5 0
2022 Gold Coast 41 15 14 7 77 63 140 27 46 0.9 0.5 5.1 4.2 9.3 1.8 3.1 0
2023 Gold Coast 41 19 19 17 109 68 177 38 42 1.0 0.9 5.7 3.6 9.3 2.0 2.2 0
2024 Gold Coast 41 7 12 6 38 13 51 14 11 1.7 0.9 5.4 1.9 7.3 2.0 1.6 0
2025 Gold Coast 41 4 1 4 17 6 23 5 5 0.3 1.0 4.3 1.5 5.8 1.3 1.3 0
Career[15] 49 46 38 255 155 410 89 110 0.9 0.8 5.2 3.2 8.4 1.8 2.2 0

Notes

  1. ^ The 2020 season was played with 17 home-and-away matches per team (down from 22) and 16-minute quarters with time on (down from 20-minute quarters with time on) due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

References

  1. ^ program#:~:text=Darwin%20born%20and%20bred%2C%20Malcolm,of%20the%202021%20AFL%20season. "MALCOLM ROSAS BECOMES THE FIRST TERRITORIAN TO JOIN THE GC SUNS UNDER NEW PROGRAM". AFL Northern Territory. 30 October 2019. Retrieved 5 May 2022. {{cite news}}: Check |url= value (help)
  2. ^ "AFL Players' Indigenous Map 2021" (PDF). AFL Players Association. 1 June 2021. Retrieved 19 July 2021.
  3. ^ "Malcolm Rosas set to be Gold Coast Suns' first product from NT link". The Australian. 15 November 2019. Retrieved 15 February 2022.
  4. ^ "AFL HALL OF FAME: Ebert rises to Legend status, eight new inductees". Australian Football League. 15 June 2022. Retrieved 17 June 2022.
  5. ^ Hall of Fame Inductees – wafootball.com.au. Retrieved 3 February 2012.
  6. ^ AFLNT Legends – aflnt.com.au. Retrieved 3 February 2012.
  7. ^ Team for the Ages: Indigenous Team of the Century – sportingpulse. Retrieved 3 February 2012.
  8. ^ "Gold Coast rookie Malcolm Rosas jnr is doing his family proud". The Age. 26 April 2022. Retrieved 20 January 2022.
  9. ^ MALCOLM ROSAS BECOMES THE FIRST TERRITORIAN TO JOIN THE GC SUNS UNDER NEW PROGRAM from AFL Northern Territory 30 October 2019
  10. ^ "NT star Malcolm Rosas Jnr joins SUNS". 30 October 2019.
  11. ^ "Livewire Sun locked in for QClash debut". afl.com.au. 11 May 2021. Retrieved 29 September 2025.
  12. ^ "Make me a Swan: Wantaway Sun chooses his preferred home". afl.com.au. 29 September 2025. Retrieved 29 September 2025.
  13. ^ @AFL_House (7 October 2025). "Trade approved" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  14. ^ "Malcolm Rosas". AFL Tables. Retrieved 9 February 2026.
  15. ^ "Malcolm Rosas". AFL Tables. Retrieved 9 February 2026.