Majak Daw

2016 Mark of the Year

Majak Daw (born 11 March 1991 in Khartoum, Sudan) is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the North Melbourne Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). Daw and his family in Australia are refugees from the civil wars in Sudan. Daw became the first Sudanese Australian to be drafted to an AFL club when he was contracted to North Melbourne in the 2009 AFL Draft. Daw's drafting gained international attention; it was reported by the BBC and the Voice of America. Daw made his first appearance for North Melbourne in a NAB Cup match on 20 February 2011. He won mark of the year in 2016 with a hanger on a collingwood player.

Daw was born in Khartoum, Sudan, the third of his parents' nine children. His family fled the Second Sudanese Civil War, living in Egypt for three years, then moved to Australia in 2003.

Playing for the Western Jets Daw was identified as a future "key position" player by North Melbourne and the Western Bulldogs. Daw went to the 2009 Victorian Screening portion of the AFL pre-draft testing. He impressed with a 13.6 in the beep test and 3.03 seconds in a 20-metre sprint along with a standing jump of 70 centimetres. He was one of 11 young Australian rules footballers to be given 2010 Mike Fitzpatrick Scholarships awarded by the AFL Players Association, and accepted the awards on behalf of the other players.