Touk Miller (/ˈtk/, rhymes with "Luke";[1] born 22 February 1996) is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the Gold Coast Suns in the Australian Football League (AFL). Miller plays as a midfielder and was drafted to the Suns as the 29th overall pick in the 2014 AFL draft.

Touk Miller
Miller playing for Gold Coast in June 2021
Personal information
Full name Touk Miller
Nickname(s) Toik/Toyk
Date of birth (1996-02-22) 22 February 1996 (age 28)
Place of birth Melbourne, Australia
Original team(s) Maribyrnong Park (EDFL)/St Kevin's College (APS)/ Calder Cannons (TAC Cup)
Draft No. 29 2014 AFL Draft
Height 178 cm (5 ft 10 in)
Weight 84 kg (185 lb)
Position(s) Midfielder
Club information
Current club Gold Coast
Number 11
Playing career1
Years Club Games (Goals)
2015– Gold Coast 191 (55)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 2024.
Career highlights
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

Early life

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Miller was born in Melbourne to an African-American father[2] and an Australian mother of Jamaican and English descent.[3] His father, Wylie, is an Ohio-born frontman-singer in the legendary soul band, Grand WaZoo, and a bass guitar soloist, and his mother, Ruth, is a veteran marathon runner and triathlete.[4] Touk started high school in the selective sports academy at Maribyrnong College. He then accepted a scholarship to St Kevin's College for both his football and cricket talents.[5] Miller was selected to represent the under 15 Victorian state cricket team at the national championships in March 2011 and made his first XI debut for the North Melbourne Cricket Club at the Junction Oval in December 2011[6] before electing to focus on football the following year.[7]

Junior career

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Miller played all of his junior years with the Maribyrnong Park Lions in the Essendon District Football League and made his senior debut for the club in 2011 at the age of 15. He played junior football for both St Kevin's College in the APS football competition and the Calder Cannons in the TAC Cup. He also captained both the Cannons and the Vic Metro Under 18 team in the 2014 AFL Under 18 Championships.[8]

AFL career

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Miller made his debut for the Suns in round 1 of the 2015 season.[9] Miller earned a rising star nomination in round 16 of that year where he had 27 disposals and two goals against the Greater Western Sydney Giants.[10] In May of 2015, Touk re-signed to the Suns, keeping him contracted to the club until 2017.[11]

Miller was promoted to the Gold Coast vice-captaincy at the beginning of 2019.[12] He played his 100th AFL game in Round 23 against Greater Western Sydney. Despite missing several matches through injury, Miller finished 6th in Gold Coast's 2019 best and fairest count.[13] In May 2021, Miller was handed a one-match ban for rough conduct against St Kilda player Nick Coffield.[14] At the end of the 2021 season, Miller was in the All-Australian team and won the Gold Coast Suns best and fairest

Miller was appointed Gold Coast co-captain for the 2022 season.[15]

Following the 2022 AFL season, Miller was named All Australian, Gold Coast's Club Champion and the AFLCA MVP.

Statistics

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Updated to the end of 2024.[16]

Legend
  G  
Goals
  K  
Kicks
  D  
Disposals 
  T  
Tackles
  B  
Behinds 
  H  
Handballs 
  M  
Marks
Season Team No. Games Totals Averages (per game) Votes
G B K H D M T G B K H D M T
2015 Gold Coast 44 22 7 8 184 190 374 51 111 0.3 0.4 8.4 8.6 17.0 2.3 5.1 0
2016 Gold Coast 11 18 4 6 174 211 385 51 88 0.2 0.3 9.7 11.7 21.4 2.8 4.9 2
2017 Gold Coast 11 20 7 6 135 282 417 67 90 0.4 0.3 6.8 14.1 20.9 3.4 4.5 0
2018 Gold Coast 11 22 6 7 198 287 485 77 123 0.3 0.3 9.0 13.1 22.1 3.5 5.6 4
2019 Gold Coast 11 18 4 3 183 219 402 81 103 0.2 0.2 10.2 12.2 22.3 4.5 5.7 5
2020[a] Gold Coast 11 17 3 4 117 163 340 50 88 0.2 0.2 10.4 9.6 20.0 2.9 5.2 3
2021 Gold Coast 11 21 8 8 334 334 668 95 149 0.4 0.4 15.9 15.9 31.8 4.4 7.1 17
2022 Gold Coast 11 22 8 11 373 253 626 83 133 0.4 0.5 17.0 11.5 28.5 3.8 6.0 27
2023 Gold Coast 11 13 4 1 191 133 324 50 68 0.3 0.1 14.7 10.2 24.9 3.8 5.2 3
2024 Gold Coast 11 18 4 7 217 257 474 58 87 0.2 0.4 12.1 14.3 26.3 3.2 4.8
Career 191 55 61 2166 2329 4495 663 1040 0.3 0.3 11.3 12.2 23.5 3.5 5.4 61

Notes

  1. ^ The 2020 season was played with 17 home-and-away matches per team (down from 22) and 16-minute quarters with time on (down from 20-minute quarters with time on) due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Honours and achievements

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Individual

References

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  1. ^ "How to say the AFL's trickiest names". Australian Football League. 30 March 2022. Retrieved 30 September 2022.
  2. ^ Touk explains 'weird', made-up name, his Maribyrnong to AFL journey
  3. ^ Touk Miller draws inspiration from marathon Mum
  4. ^ AFL Draft 2014: Touk Miller a steal for Gold Coast Suns
  5. ^ Losing sleep, Touk Miller counts down the days to the AFL draft
  6. ^ 15 year old debutant
  7. ^ Calder Cannons star Touk Miller earmarked for top from young age
  8. ^ Michell, Tim (23 November 2014). "Calder Cannons captain Touk Miller boasts a rare leadership double that gives him an AFL Draft point of difference". Moonee Valley Leader.
  9. ^ Touk sets sights on round one
  10. ^ "How Miller Touk 'Rocket' by surprise". AFL Players' Association. 21 July 2015. Retrieved 18 September 2022.
  11. ^ "Touk Miller extends contract until end of 2017". goldcoastfc.com.au. Retrieved 18 September 2022.
  12. ^ "Every club's leadership group in 2019". AFL Players' Association. 21 March 2019. Retrieved 18 September 2022.
  13. ^ "Season Review: Touk Miller". 16 September 2019. Retrieved 29 September 2019.
  14. ^ "Finlayson, Miller accept AFL suspensions". The West Australian. 10 May 2021. Retrieved 18 September 2022.
  15. ^ "2022 Leadership Group unveiled".
  16. ^ "Touk Miller". AFL Tables. Retrieved 21 March 2021.
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