Sam Sheldon is an Australian rules footballer who plays for the Brisbane Lions

Brisbane Lions

The Brisbane Lions is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League . The club is based in Brisbane, Queensland. The club was formed from the merger of the Brisbane Bears and the Fitzroy Lions in 1996...

 in the Australian Football League

Australian Football League

The Australian Football League is both the governing body and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football...

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Early life

Sam has Indigenous Australian heritage and his tribal ancestry can be traced to the Wemba-Wemba

Wemba-Wemba

The Wemba-Wemba are an Indigenous Australian group in north-Western Victoria and south-western New South Wales, Australia, including in the Mallee and the Riverina regions. They are also known as the Wamba-wamba....

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Draft

Sheldon was drafted

AFL Draft

The AFL Draft is the annual draft of new unsigned players by Australian rules football teams that participate in the main competition of that sport, the Australian Football League.-History:...

 to the Brisbane Lions in 2006

2006 AFL Draft

The 2006 AFL Draft is a recent national draft of the Australian Football League. The AFL Draft is the annual draft of talented players by Australian rules football teams that participate in the main competition of that sport, the Australian Football League....

. Sheldon could have opted to be drafted

AFL Draft

The AFL Draft is the annual draft of new unsigned players by Australian rules football teams that participate in the main competition of that sport, the Australian Football League.-History:...

 to Carlton Football Club

Carlton Football Club

The Carlton Football Club is a professional Australian rules football club based in Melbourne, Victoria. The club competes in the Australian Football League, and was one of the eight founding members of that competition in 1897...

 under the Father-Son Rule

Father-son rule

The father-son rule is a rule that allows clubs to select the sons of players who have made a major past contribution to the team in Australian rules football, most notably the Australian Football League...

. Sam Sheldon's father is Ken Sheldon

Ken Sheldon

Kenneth "Ken" Sheldon is a former Australian rules footballer in the Victorian Football League. He is the father of Brisbane Lions player, Sam Sheldon.-Carlton career:...

 who played for Carlton (and then for St Kilda) in a career that included 3 premierships for the "Navy Blues" in 1979

1979 VFL Grand Final

The 1979 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Carlton Football Club and Collingwood Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 29 September 1979. It was the 83rd annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League, staged to...

, 1981

1981 VFL Grand Final

The 1981 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Carlton Football Club and Collingwood Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 26 September 1981. It was the 85th annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League, staged to...

, and 1982

1982 VFL Grand Final

The 1982 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Carlton Football Club and Richmond Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 25 September 1982. It was the 86th annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League, staged to determine...

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