An athletic and ultra competitive player, Karl’s development during his U/18 year with the Sandringham Dragons and Haileybury College was enormous. Coming from relative obscurity at the start of the season, Karl starred for the Sandringham Dragons in the early part of the 2013 season to then be selected to play for Vic Metro in the U/18 NAB AFL National Championships.   The experience of playing for Vic Metro against the best of the best further accelerated his development and confidence in the game leading to a great finish to his season.

Having to sit and wait as name after name was read out during the 2013 NAB AFL Draft, Karl thought his hopes were almost dashed until Port Adelaide jumped at the opportunity at pick 68. From there Karl quickly relocated to Adelaide before jumping on a plane with his new team mates to go on a grueling preseason camp in Dubai. Wasting no time, Karl threw himself into the rigors of AFL training and did not look back being named as an emergency for the senior side on a number of occasions as well as regularly being amongst the best players in the SANFL competition. 

After a second preseason under his belt, Karl began to make an impression on the senior team playing 7 games in 2015. This foundation ultimately led to Karl enjoying his best season in 2016 which included playing 15 games on the wing where he used his pace to take on the game. This form continued into 2017 before missing over 6 weeks with a knee injury. However Karl quickly returned to the team in the last rounds of the season before the team lost the Elimination Final to West Coast.

Season 2018 was quite frustrating, after starting out of the team, Karl worked his way into the side before being knocked unconscious in a heavy tackle. After missing a few weeks, Karl again broke into the team and has not looked back, adding 17 games to his career tally in 2019 resulting in him signing for a further 3 years with Port Adelaide. Off the back of a fresh contract, Karl had his best season to date, playing in each of Port Adelaide’s games in 2020 and finishing in the top 10 for the club Best & Fairest. This progress continued in 2021 and he was named in the All Australian squad.

Coming out of contract at the end of the 2022 Season, Karl was a highly sort after player from rival clubs. Weighing up his decision to stay on at Port Adelaide or return to his home town of Melbourne was a tough decision given the career he had carved out for himself at the Power. After a lot of thought, Karl exercised his Free Agency rights to join Hawthorn for at least the next four seasons. In 2023, Karl had another great season playing 21 games, averaging 23 disposals and finishing in the top 10 for Hawthorn’s Best and Fairest. With a young group assembled at the Hawks, Karl is looking forward to leading the group with his experience.

Karl’s interest off the field includes Landscape Architecture which he has commenced studies in and Photography which he has found a real passion and talent for.

Recruited From: 2013 NAB AFL Draft, Pick 68 from Sandringham Dragons (TAC Cup)