Jayden Laverde


Jayden Laverde is a professional Australian rules footballer who currently plays for in the Australian Football League, having previous played eleven seasons for the Essendon Football Club. He was recruited with the 20th overall selection in the 2014 national draft.

Early life

Laverde started his career playing for the Keilor Football Club playing all his junior years there. as a young age he was touted for his athleticism and uniqueness.
Laverde played for the Western Jets in the TAC Cup and the Keilor Football Club. He was named All-Australian in the AFL Under 18 Championships, playing for Vic Metro. He made his AFL debut against in round 15 of the 2015 AFL season.

AFL career

Laverde was drafted with pick 20 in the 2014 national draft. In 2015, his first season at, he played nine games and kicked five goals. In 2016 he suffered an ankle injury and was sidelined for eight weeks.
Originally starting his career as a forward, in the 2021 AFL season his career was reinvigorated with a move to defence.
Laverde played 145 games for Essendon over 11 seasons, before he was delisted at the end of the 2025 AFL season, and will join GWS after the 2025 national draft.
Laverde officially joined Greater Western Sydney on the first day of the 2025/26 Supplemental Selection Period.

Statistics

! colspan=3| Career
! 145 !! 38 !! 38 !! 1200 !! 810 !! 2010 !! 796 !! 303 !! 0.3 !! 0.3 !! 8.3 !! 5.6 !! 13.9 !! 5.5 !! 2.1