Wardlaw completed his secondary education at St Kevin's College in Toorak.
[2][3] Wardlaw attracted favourable attention from the AFL community after his performance for the Australian Academy team against the Collingwood Magpies VFL side where he won the 'best on ground' award for his team with 18 disposals and 8 tackles.
He is a close friend of fellow 2022 draftee Elijah Tsatas, with the pair having played together since the age of 11 for various Vic Metro teams.
[5] Wardlaw was highly rated by recruiters and deemed likely to be selected in the first 5 picks of the 2022 AFL Draft.
[7] In round 2 of 2024, Wardlaw became just the 18th player to earn his second AFL Rising Star nomination.