Orazio Fantasia

Orazio Fantasia
Fantasia playing for Essendon in August 2018
Personal information
Full name Orazio Maurice Fantasia
Nicknames "Raz", "Razzle Dazzle"[1]
Born (1995-09-14) 14 September 1995
Adelaide, South Australia
Original team Norwood (SANFL)
Draft No. 55, 2013 national draft
Height 180 cm (5 ft 11 in)
Weight 77 kg (170 lb)[2]
Position Forward
Playing career
Years Club Games (Goals)
2014–2020 Essendon 80 (111)
2021–2023 Port Adelaide 19 (30)
2024–2025 Carlton 21 (16)
Total 120 (157)
Career highlights
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

Orazio Maurice Fantasia (/əˈrɑːziːoʊ fæntəˈsiːə/ ə-RAH-zee-oh fan-tə-SEE-ə or /fænˈteɪʒə/ fan-TAY-zhə;[a] born 14 September 1995) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for Essendon, Port Adelaide and Carlton in the Australian Football League (AFL).

AFL career

Fantasia graduated from Norwood Morialta High School in 2013.[6] Fantasia played his junior football for the Payneham Norwood Union Football Club where his talent was identified by South Australian Hall of Famer Garry McIntosh who selected him in the club's senior side as a 15 year old. He made his senior debut for Norwood in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL) in 2013. In only his fourth game he was a member of their 2013 SANFL premiership side.[6]

Essendon

Fantasia was drafted into the AFL by the Essendon Football Club with the 55th overall selection in the 2013 national draft.[7]

He made his debut against Richmond in round 20, 2014[8] and was dropped for the following round but regained his spot in round 22 against the Gold Coast, replacing Dyson Heppell who missed the game due to a broken hand. In the final round of the 2015 season, he was rewarded with a nomination for the AFL Rising Star where he recorded 27 disposals and five marks in the Bombers' three-point victory over Collingwood.[9]

Fantasia received a second nomination for the Rising Star after his three goals, eleven disposals, seven contested possessions, and seven tackles in round 17, 2016.[10]

In August 2018, Fantasia signed a three-year deal, keeping him at Essendon until the end of the 2021 season.[11]

At the end of the 2020 AFL season, Fantasia requested a trade back home to South Australia, and was traded to Port Adelaide on the final day of the trade period.[12]

Port Adelaide

Fantasia struggled with injuries and form during his time at Port Adelaide, and was delisted after the expiration of his three-year contract having managed only 19 matches for the club in his three years.[13]

Carlton

Fantasia was thrown a lifeline by Carlton, signing a two-year contract as a Delisted Free Agent ahead of the 2024 AFL season.[14][15]

Fantasia played 21 matches for Carlton over his two seasons, before being delisted at the end of the 2025 season.[16]

Statistics

Statistics are correct to the end of the 2025 season[17]
Legend
  G  
 Goals
  K  
 Kicks
  D  
 Disposals 
  T  
 Tackles
  B  
 Behinds 
  H  
 Handballs 
  M  
 Marks
Season Team No. Games Totals Averages (per game)
G B K H D M T G B K H D M T
2014 Essendon 46 3 0 2 9 17 26 8 1 0.0 0.7 3.0 5.7 8.7 2.7 0.3
2015 Essendon 46 5 2 0 41 40 81 16 18 0.4 0.0 8.2 8.0 16.2 3.2 3.6
2016 Essendon 13 19 29 25 146 136 282 75 72 1.5 1.3 7.7 7.2 14.8 4.0 3.8
2017 Essendon 13 20 39 22 161 114 275 74 53 2.0 1.1 8.1 5.7 13.8 3.7 2.7
2018 Essendon 13 13 20 16 109 92 201 54 64 1.5 1.2 8.4 7.1 15.5 4.2 4.9
2019 Essendon 13 15 20 12 101 72 173 46 32 1.3 0.8 6.7 4.8 11.5 3.1 2.1
2020 Essendon 13 5 1 0 27 22 49 15 6 0.2 0.0 5.4 4.4 9.8 3.0 1.2
2021 Port Adelaide 13 15 28 23 126 52 178 48 30 1.8 1.5 8.4 3.4 11.8 3.2 2.0
2022 Port Adelaide 13 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
2023 Port Adelaide 13 3 2 5 13 10 23 5 5 0.7 1.7 4.3 3.3 7.7 1.7 1.7
2024 Carlton 14 15 9 7 68 59 127 29 22 0.6 0.5 4.5 3.9 8.5 1.9 1.5
2025 Carlton 14 6 7 4 41 27 68 18 13 1.2 0.7 6.8 4.5 11.3 3 2.2
Career 120 157 116 842 641 1483 388 316 1.3 1.0 7.0 5.3 12.4 3.2 2.6

References

  1. ^ McFarlane, Glenn (30 July 2017). "Essendon small forward Orazio Fantasia opens up on nicknames, confidence, goals and more". Herald Sun. News Corp Australia. Retrieved 30 July 2017.
  2. ^ "Orazio Fantasia - essendonfc.com.au". essendonfc.com.au. Retrieved 22 October 2018.
  3. ^ a b Dexter, Rachael (11 May 2019). "'We pronounce it with the Australianism in it': Taylor won't follow suit on Fantasia". The Age. Retrieved 30 September 2022.
  4. ^ McClure, Sam (13 May 2019). "My name is ... Fantasia comes full circle on pronunciation". The Age. Retrieved 30 September 2022.
  5. ^ Future Stars (11 May 2017). "It's not too late to get your Mother's Day shopping done! We sent Essendon Football Club's Orazio Fantasia down to Chemist Warehouse!". Facebook. Retrieved 30 September 2022.
  6. ^ a b Morgan, Kym (20 November 2013). "Orazio Fantasia's fantasy season about to get even better with AFL draft". The Advertiser.
  7. ^ "Pick 55 - Orazio Fantasia". Essendon Football Club. 21 November 2013.
  8. ^ Potter, Shane (7 August 2014). "Fantasia named to debut". Retrieved 2 August 2017.
  9. ^ Twomey, Callum (7 September 2015). "Bomber Fantasia wins Rising Star nod". AFL.com.au. Bigpond. Retrieved 18 July 2016.
  10. ^ Landsberger, Sam (18 July 2016). "Orazio Fantasia wins rare second Rising Star nomination as he looks forward to Essendon's bright future". Herald Sun. News Corp Australia. Retrieved 18 July 2016.
  11. ^ "Orazio Fantasia re-signs with Essendon". 1116 SEN. 14 August 2018.
  12. ^ Valencich, Glenn (12 November 2020). "Essendon's Orazio Fantasia makes AFL trade move to Port Adelaide". Seven News.
  13. ^ "Port Adelaide makes four further list changes". Port Adelaide Football Club. 30 October 2023.
  14. ^ "Carlton hand AFL lifeline to discarded Port Adelaide small forward Orazio Fantasia". Seven News. 27 October 2023.
  15. ^ "New Blue: Former Bombers, Port forward joins Carlton". AFL Media. 2 November 2023.
  16. ^ "Former Bomber, Power forward among three delistings at Carlton". AFL Media. 28 August 2025.
  17. ^ "Orazio Fantasia". afltables.com. 10 November 2020. Retrieved 10 November 2020.

Footnotes

  1. ^ Fantasia has used both pronunciations of his surname. He has noted that the "fan-tə-SEE-ə" pronunciation is closer to the original Italian pronunciation. In 2019, however, a spokesperson for Esssendon, for whom Fantasia then played, stated that "Orazio is [also] comfortable if people continue to run with [the "fan-TAY-zhə"] pronunciation."[3] Following Fantasia's expression of his preferences on the matter, commentator Brian Taylor was criticised for continuing to use the "fan-TAY-zhə" pronunciation, claiming it to be an "Australianism".[3] Despite his own expressed preferences, Fantasia typically uses the "fan-TAY-zhə" pronunciation when referring to himself.[4][5]
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