Jai Newcombe (born 2 August 2001) is a professional Australian rules footballer with the Hawthorn Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL).
Jai Newcombe | |||
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Personal information | |||
Full name | Jai Newcombe | ||
Nickname(s) | Nuke, Duke the Nuke, King Kong of Poowong | ||
Date of birth | (2001-08-02) 2 August 2001 (age 21) | ||
Original team(s) | Poowong (EDFL), Gippsland Power | ||
Draft | No. 2, 2021 mid-season rookie draft | ||
Debut |
Round 13, 2021, Hawthorn vs. Sydney, at Sydney Cricket Ground | ||
Height | 186 cm (6 ft 1 in) | ||
Weight | 85 kg (187 lb) | ||
Position(s) | Midfielder | ||
Club information | |||
Current club | Hawthorn | ||
Number | 44 | ||
Playing career1 | |||
Years | Club | Games (Goals) | |
2021– | Hawthorn | 29 (9) | |
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of the 2022 season. | |||
Career highlights | |||
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Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com |
Growing up in the small rural town of Poowong in Southern Gippsland. Newcombe participated in the Auskick program at Poowong[1] and playing junior football for the Poowong Magpies in the Ellinbank & District Football League. Newcombe was unable to secure a place in the Gippsland Power squads at ages 16, 17 and 18. Newcombe made the team in 2020, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic he was unable to play a game.
Newcombe's AFL career started with playing for Hawthorn affiliate Box Hill Hawks in the Victorian Football League (VFL). He played a practice match for Box Hill at the start of 2020 and was asked to come back in November after Melbourne was released from lockdown. He made the long commute twice a week from Warragul (where he was working) to training at Box Hill.[2]
Newcombe was selected with Pick 2 in the 2021 mid-season draft, having caught the eye of recruiters after building an impressive campaign with the Box Hill Hawks across the first half of the 2021 VFL season. The following week, Newcombe made his AFL debut against the Swans,[3] setting an AFL record for the most tackles in a debut match, with 14.[4]
Updated to the end of the 2022 season.[5]
G |
Goals | K |
Kicks | D |
Disposals | T |
Tackles |
B |
Behinds | H |
Handballs | M |
Marks |
Season | Team | No. | Games | Totals | Averages (per game) | Votes | ||||||||||||
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G | B | K | H | D | M | T | G | B | K | H | D | M | T | |||||
2021 | Hawthorn | 44 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 32 | 30 | 62 | 17 | 39 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 4.6 | 4.3 | 8.9 | 2.4 | 5.6 | 0 |
2022 | Hawthorn | 44 | 22 | 8 | 6 | 266 | 230 | 496 | 94 | 101 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 12.1 | 10.5 | 22.5 | 4.3 | 4.6 | 11 |
Career | 29 | 9 | 7 | 298 | 260 | 558 | 111 | 140 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 10.3 | 9.0 | 19.2 | 3.8 | 4.8 | 11 |
Individual
Hawthorn Football Club – current squad | |
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* denotes rookie listed players |
AFL Coaches Association best young player | |
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2022 AFL Rising Star nominees | |
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Italics denote winner |
2021 AFL mid-season rookie draft | |
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First round |
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Second round |
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