Jack Sinclair (footballer)

Jack Sinclair (born 12 February 1995) is an Australian rules footballer who plays for the St Kilda Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL)

Jack Sinclair
Sinclair playing for St Kilda in April 2019
Personal information
Full name Jack Sinclair
Date of birth (1995-02-12) 12 February 1995
Original team(s) Oakleigh Chargers (TAC Cup)
Draft No. 1, 2015 Rookie Draft
Height 180 cm (5 ft 11 in)
Weight 80 kg (176 lb)
Position(s) Defender / midfielder
Club information
Current club St Kilda
Number 35
Playing career1
Years Club Games (Goals)
2015– St Kilda 165 (53)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 2023.
Career highlights
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

Early life

Sinclair grew up supporting Carlton due to his father,[1] but his maternal grandfather Bill Gleeson played for St. Kilda, a team he would ultimately join in 2015.[2] Sinclair attended Scotch College with future St Kilda teammate Jack Billings.[3] He grew up in the Melbourne suburbs of Kew East and Balwyn.[4] During his time at Scotch he was closely mentored by past Copeland Trophy winner Barry Price[5].

Sinclair was overlooked in his draft year 2013. He then spent 2014 playing for the Oakleigh Chargers in the TAC Cup under 18 as an overage player and also played for Port Melbourne in the Victorian Football League (VFL)[6] where he caught the eye of recruiters. Prior he played community football for Kew Comets in the Yarra Junior Football League[7],as well as school football for Scotch in the APS school sports competition.

AFL career

He was drafted by St Kilda with the first pick in the 2014 Rookie Draft. In his first years at the club, Sinclair was mentored by Jack Newnes.[8] Of the mentoring, Sinclair stated that "being able to work with him on a wing, I’ve learned a lot from him....It’s been great having him around, just with little things like sitting in on my reviews and trying to help me out. I really look up to him. I think he’s a really good player.”[8] Sinclair made his AFL debut in Round 1 of the 2015 AFL season against Greater Western Sydney and played an impressive 18 games in his debut season. He would have also played finals in his debut year, however the Saints' missed the top eight on percentage only.

2017-2019

Sinclair was awarded Robert Harvey's number 35 ahead of the 2017 season, with Sinclair stating that “when they offered it to me I was more than happy to say yes. I watched a lot of the Sainters growing up and Robert Harvey was one of my favourite players to watch across the whole league”.[9] Sinclair was left out of the Saints side for the first five matches of 2017, but returned to the side and did not miss another senior match for the season, playing as a wingman and half-forward. He averaged just under 21 disposals a game and had three games of 25 disposals or more.

Ahead of the 2018 season, Champion Data ranked Sinclair as one of the AFL's 55 'elite' footballers, with his inside game, his pressure and his scoreboard impact listed as he key traits.[8] Sinclair went on to play 20 games that season, averaging just under 20 disposals a game.

Sinclair was one of seven Saints to play every game in 2019, predominantly playing on the wing and averaging 17 disposals and four tackles per game. He also was in the Saints' top three for metres gained.[10]

2020

Sinclair started the season as an emergency for the first seven games of the season, squeezed out of new coach Brett Ratten's new side, particularly with the arrival of Bradley Hill, a three-time premiership wingman. Sinclair finally made his 2020 debut, collecting 15 disposals in the Saints' win over Port Adelaide. Sinclair then went on to play every game for the remainder of the season, including two finals, playing as a wingman, half-forward, and inside midfielder.

2021
See also: 2021 St Kilda Football Club season

After spending his career to date as an offensive player in the midfield or at half-forward, Sinclair was switched to the backline ahead of the 2021 season. In the pre-season game against Carlton, Sinclair had 28 disposals, 10 score involvements, eight intercepts, seven inside-50s.[11] While he had never played in the backline in his career, Sinclair cemented his role from that moment and the switch proved a masterstroke for both the Saints and Sinclair, with the latter ultimately having his career-best season. Sinclair notched up his 100th AFL game in Round Two, where he was ceremoniously handed his guernsey pre-game by Tony Lockett.[11] One of Sinclair's best games came in the 69-point Round Seven win over Hawthorn, where he had 26 disposals, five rebound-50s, four inside-50s and a goal. He also earned six AFL Coaches’ Association votes for that performance.[11] He also had an influential game against Sydney in Round 12 where he had 29 disposals, 11 contested possessions and six rebounds. At the midway point of the season, Sinclair was First for St Kilda's intercepts (99), second for goal assists (eight), third for rebound-50s (46), contested possessions (99), defensive-half pressure acts (123), ground-ball gets (75).[11] For his outstanding season, Sinclair was nominated by his teammates for the AFL Players' Association Most Valuable Player Award (each team puts forward three player nominations to the AFLPA). [12] Sinclair also finished second in the Trevor Barker Award, collecting 155 votes as well as the Robert Harvey Best Clubman Award.[13]

2023

Jack Sinclair played a superb season capping it off with an All Australian blazer and the prestigious Scoops Medal

Statistics

Updated to the end of 2023.[14]

Legend
  G  
 Goals
  K  
 Kicks
  D  
 Disposals 
  T  
 Tackles
  B  
 Behinds 
  H  
 Handballs 
  M  
 Marks
  †  
 Led the league for 
the season
Season Team No. Games Totals Averages (per game) Votes
G B K H D M T G B K H D M T
2015St Kilda 40181878910519440451.00.44.95.810.82.22.50
2016St Kilda 40944516211331240.40.45.76.912.63.42.70
2017St Kilda 35178816818535363560.50.59.910.920.83.73.00
2018St Kilda 35206918521039570710.30.59.310.519.83.53.60
2019St Kilda 352241120416536962770.20.59.37.516.82.83.50
2020[lower-alpha 1]St Kilda 351201987317130300.00.18.26.114.32.52.50
2021St Kilda 352132281162443102480.10.113.47.721.14.92.30
2022St Kilda 352242428†181609127550.20.119.5†8.227.75.82.59
2023St Kilda 352463470223693119490.30.119.69.328.65.02.021
Career 165 53 47 1974 1366 3340 644 455 0.3 0.3 12.0 8.3 20.2 3.9 2.8 30

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

Individual

References
  1. The Long Game | #05 Jack Sinclair, retrieved 12 May 2023
  2. "Back from the brink: Sinclair's rise from the outer". saints.com.au. Retrieved 28 August 2021.
  3. Landsberger, Sam (16 April 2015). "Jack Sinclair makes the most of his opportunity at St Kilda with former school mate Jack Billings". Herald Sun.
  4. The Long Game | #05 Jack Sinclair, retrieved 12 May 2023
  5. "https://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/teams/st-kilda/jack-sinclair-makes-the-most-of-his-opportunity-at-st-kilda-with-former-school-mate-jack-billings/news-story/81b1b546909b8c484d588d8712e522d0". {{cite web}}: External link in |title= (help)
  6. Hustwaite, Megan (10 June 2014). "Oakleigh Chargers rising star Jack Sinclair is finding a place for himself at Port Melbourne in the Victorian Football League". Progress Leader.
  7. "How five Kew Comets became shining stars". afl.com.au. Retrieved 22 September 2022.
  8. "Jack Sinclair is St Kilda's shock 'elite' wingman setting incredibly high standards on training track". Fox Sports. 13 February 2018. Retrieved 28 August 2021.
  9. "Sinclair humbled to receive Harvey's No. 35". saints.com.au. Retrieved 28 August 2021.
  10. "Jack Sinclair | AFL". saints.com.au. Retrieved 28 August 2021.
  11. "Mid-season snapshot: Jack Sinclair". saints.com.au. Retrieved 28 August 2021.
  12. "Steele sweeps up AFLPA MVP nominations". saints.com.au. Retrieved 28 August 2021.
  13. "Steele joins elite company with back-to-back Trevor Barker Awards". saints.com.au. Retrieved 18 September 2021.
  14. "Jack Sinclair". AFL Tables. Retrieved 22 October 2023.
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