Sam Grlj

Early life and junior football Grlj was raised in Melbourne's eastern suburbs and played junior football with the Canterbury Cobras and the Kew Rovers in the Yarra Junior Football League. He later played junior representative football with the Oakleigh Chargers in the Talent League in 2024 and attended, played for and captained the football side at Camberwell Grammar School through 2025.

In the 2025 Talent League season, Grlj played seven matches, averaging 20.3 disposals and five tackles per game as a half-back and a midfielder. For his performances, he was selected to the Talent League Team of the Year as a half-back.

At the 2025 national draft combine, Grlj recorded the second fastest two kilometre time trial time (5 minutes, 59 seconds) and the ninth best time in the 20 metre sprint (2.926 seconds). Prior to the draft, Grlj was projected to be taken with the 14th overall pick by each of AFL Media, Fox Sports and ESPN.

AFL career Grlj was drafted by Richmond with the club's second selection and the eighth pick overall in the 2025 AFL draft. Grlj will make his AFL debut in round 1 of the 2026 season, in a match against at the MCG.

Player profile Grlj plays as a rebounding half-back. He is notable for his running speed, power and endurance.

Personal life Grlj's paternal family is of Italian, Macedonian and Slovenian heritage, with the name Grlj drawn from Slovenian elements of the family.

Statistics Updated to the end of round 22, 2026.

19 !! 1 !! 4 !! 148 !! 122 !! 270 !! 51 !! 50 !! 0.1 !! 0.2 !! 7.8 !! 6.4 !! 14.2 !! 2.7 !! 2.6 !! 0