Connor Menadue

Connor Menadue (born 19 September 1996) is a former professional Australian rules footballer for the North Melbourne Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL), having previously played for 39 AFL matches over a five-year tenure with the Richmond Football Club.

He played junior football with Altona Junior Football Club before crossing over to play with Spotswood in the Western Region Football League in 2012.

In 2013 Menadue played TAC Cup football with the Western Jets.

He was drafted by Richmond in the second round of the 2014 national draft and made his debut in round 7 the following season.

He returned to the club in 2014, playing 16 games and kicking 16 goals for the season.

He also held averages of 19.6 disposals and four tackles per game.

Menadue played for the Victorian Metro side at 2014's Under-18 National Championships.

He appeared in three matches and recorded an average of five tackles per game.

At the 2014 draft combine he recorded the fifth best time in the 20 metre sprint.

He was lauded by draft experts for his elite speed and running ability.

Menadue was drafted by with their second pick and 33rd selection overall in the 2014 AFL draft.

He made his AFL debut in round 7 of the 2015 AFL season in a match against Collingwood at the MCG.

Menadue was initially selected as an emergency before being called up to the team on the morning of the match.

He was substituted into the game at three-quarter time and recorded one disposal and two tackles in the last quarter of the Tigers' victory.

Menadue kicked his first career goal the next week, in a round 8 victory against.

He would play five straight matches before being omitted from Richmond's round 13 side, playing the rest of the season in the club's reserves side in the VFL.

Strong form in the 2016 pre-season competition saw Menadue return to the senior side for round 1, 2016, kicking two goals and recording 13 disposals in the club's victory over.

He went on to play in each of the club's first nine matches.

He was subsequently dropped, and played VFL football until being recalled for the club's round 14 match with.

It was a then-career best match, with Menadue recording his best disposal output to date (19) and a team-high six tackles.

Menadue was again dropped from the senior side in round 18 before returning in round 22 for just one more senior match.

He finished the season having played 14 matches and averaging 13.2 disposals.

Menadue began 2017 playing with Richmond's reserves side in the VFL and made his first senior appearance in round 4's victory over Brisbane.

He was dropped from the side following the round 5 win over, but would return in round 9 to face the GWS Giants at Spotless Stadium in Sydney.

He kicked two goals in the tight loss and would remain in the side for the following two weeks.

Through Richmond's bye at the mid-way point of the season he had played five matches, kicked two goals and recorded an average of 11.4 disposals per game.

Returning from the bye in round 13 against, Menadue was involved in an incident where Swans forward Lance Franklin hit him with a bump during play.

Menadue spoke down the impacts of the hit and Franklin ultimately avoided suspension.

After round 15 Menadue placed second in the league for peak on-field sprint speeds recorded during the season (35.0 kilometres per hour).

He played his final senior match for the season in round 16, being dropped the week following for his part in the club's 67-point loss to.

He played the remainder of the season with the club's reserves side in the VFL.

There he joined the team through its three finals wins and in its losing grand final against Port Melbourne.

Although he would not play in the match like his premiership winning club mates, Menadue was still involved in Grand Final day, winning the Grand Final sprint and upsetting pre-race favourite Jayden Hunt.

Leading into 2018 Menadue underwent a role change, shifting from the wing to the half-back position.

He had a largely uninterrupted pre-season training campaign but some soreness and minor injuries in late February and early March meant he was unable to partake in the AFL pre-season competition.

He was worked back into fitness during VFL pre-season matches in late March however, including one against the where he recorded an equal team-high 25 disposals.

Menadue remained with the reserves team into the start of their season proper and after some strong form was named the carryover emergency for the club's AFL match-up with in round 3.

Menadue played in a premiership with Richmond's reserves side in the VFL side in 2019.

After being delisted by Richmond at the end of 2019 and after one year out of the league, he was redrafted by North Melbourne in the 2021 rookie draft.

Menadue spent his teenage years in Seabrook in Melbourne's south-west.