Nathan Jones (Australian footballer)

Nathan Jones (born 20 January 1988) is a former Australian rules footballer known for playing for the Melbourne Football Club in the Australian Football League. He is the older brother of St Kilda player Zak Jones.[2] He served as the captain of Melbourne from 2014 until he stepped down at the end of the 2019 season.

Nathan Jones
Jones playing for Melbourne in June 2019
Personal information
Full name Nathan Jones
Nickname(s) Jonesy, Chunk[1]
Date of birth (1988-01-20) 20 January 1988
Original team(s) Dandenong Stingrays (TAC Cup)
Draft No. 12, 2005 national draft
Debut Round 17, 2006, Melbourne vs. Western Bulldogs, at MCG
Height 180 cm (5 ft 11 in)
Weight 87 kg (192 lb)
Position(s) Midfielder
Playing career1
Years Club Games (Goals)
2006–2021 Melbourne 302 (141)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 2021.
Career highlights
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

Early life

Jones played for the Dandenong Stingrays in the TAC Cup during his junior career and was selected to play for Vic Metro in the 2005 AFL Under-18 Championships. He was named in the 2005 Under-18 All-Australian team as a follower.[3] He played in the TAC Cup Grand Final (now known as NAB League Boys) for Dandenong in 2005 and collected 36 disposals; however, they were defeated by 15 points by Gippsland Power.

Growing up, he was a St Kilda supporter.[4]

AFL career
Jones in May 2007

Jones was drafted to Melbourne with their first selection and the 12th overall in the 2005 national draft.[5] He made his debut against the Western Bulldogs in Round 17, 2006, at the Melbourne Cricket Ground and played the remaining eight games for the season, including the elimination final win against St Kilda and the semi-final loss to Fremantle. After his fourth match, he earned the Round 20 Rising Star nomination for his game against the Kangaroos, where he collected 25 disposals.[5] After Melbourne were eliminated from the finals, he played for Melbourne's VFL-affiliate team, Sandringham, and played in their premiership side.

Jones played 21 games during 2007 and earned a second Rising Star nomination after the round 17 loss to Port Adelaide. He finished third in the award behind Joel Selwood and Scott Pendlebury and received 17 votes out of a possible 45.[5] He was the runner-up in Melbourne's best and fairest with 190 votes, finishing behind James McDonald who received 260 votes.

Jones cemented himself in Melbourne's side by playing 21 games in 2008 in what was a disappointing year for the club, finishing on the bottom of the ladder. He played 21 matches in 2009 in a year where the club received the wooden spoon for the second consecutive season. After the Round 2 match against Collingwood in 2009, Jones's father was attacked by Collingwood fans in an altercation outside the ground.[6] Jones remained a consistent figure in the side, playing every match in 2010 and 2011, including his 100th AFL game in the latter season.[7]

Jones at training in July 2015

Jones established himself as Melbourne's leading midfielder in 2012 by winning his first Keith 'Bluey' Truscott Medal as the club's best and fairest;[8] in addition, he polled 14 votes in the Brownlow Medal count to finish inside the top 20. He was named as vice captain prior to the 2013 season.[9]

In May 2013, Jones was appointed as interim co-captain alongside Jack Trengove, replacing the injured Jack Grimes.[10] He played every match during the season and won the best and fairest for the second consecutive season, finishing ahead of Colin Garland.[11]

After the appointment of new coach Paul Roos, Jones was elected as co-captain alongside Jack Grimes for the 2014 season.[12] He played every match for the season, amassing a career-high 610 disposals, the second-highest tally in the league during the home-and-away season, as well as having the fourth-highest number of clearances.[13] He won his third consecutive Keith 'Bluey' Truscott Medal, a feat only previously achieved by club champion Jim Stynes.[14]

At the end of 2014, Jones signed a four-year contract extension with the Demons, practically ensuring he would remain a one-club player.[15] In February 2015, after Jack Grimes relinquished the co-captaincy, Jones was announced as sole captain, with Lynden Dunn named as vice-captain.[16] He played his 200th AFL game in the Round 22 match against Fremantle; however, he suffered an ankle injury in the second quarter that forced him to be substituted out of the game.[17] He finished fifth in the best-and-fairest count;[18] and, despite playing every match for the season, it was announced that he had played most of the season with a neck injury.[19]

In 2021, the 33-year-old Jones sustained multiple injuries (including a hamstring[20] and later calf injury[21]) that saw him missing the majority of his season (as in 2020, where he'd injured his quadriceps[22]). Nonetheless, Jones became just the second Melbourne player, after David Neitz, to reach the 300-game milestone for the club, doing so against Richmond in round six.[23] After Melbourne qualified for the 2021 AFL Grand Final, the injured Jones made the decision to return home to Victoria to be with his wife for the birth of their twins.[24] He subsequently announced his retirement from the AFL, finishing on 302 games, four short of the club's all-time games record held by Neitz.[25]

Statistics
[26]
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
2006 Melbourne 2820644711120250.30.08.05.913.92.53.12
2007 Melbourne 22110621914636561860.50.610.46.916.92.93.95
2008 Melbourne 2219621222043265530.40.310.110.520.63.12.50
2009 Melbourne 22081120923444377410.40.610.511.722.23.92.14
2010 Melbourne 22291219822742554620.40.59.010.319.32.52.81
2011 Melbourne 222149266241507100680.60.412.111.023.14.53.11
2012 Melbourne 221161026525151645950.80.512.612.024.62.14.514
2013 Melbourne 2228723327650946760.40.310.612.523.12.03.46
2014 Melbourne 22276311299610641150.30.314.113.627.72.95.213
2015 Melbourne 22212726825552353950.50.312.211.623.82.44.310
2016 Melbourne 2221011288329617561180.50.513.115.028.02.55.411
2017 Melbourne 21610620723243963860.60.412.914.527.43.95.47
2018 Melbourne 225151028532961466930.60.411.413.224.62.63.77
2019 Melbourne 2228524121045183530.40.211.09.520.53.82.40
2020[lower-alpha 1] Melbourne 2813505410423130.10.46.36.813.02.91.60
2021[lower-alpha 2] Melbourne 282350459523120.30.46.35.611.92.91.50
Career 302 141 112 3366 3395 6761 899 1091 0.5 0.4 11.1 11.2 22.4 3.0 3.6 81

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.
  2. Statistics include one game in which Jones was a used medical substitute (round 7) and one game in which he was an unused medical substitute (round 15).

Honours and achievements

Team

Individual

References
  1. Lovett, Michael, ed. (31 July 2015). "Pocket Profile–Nathan Jones". AFL Record, Round 18, 2015. Melbourne, VIC: AFL Media.
  2. Schmook, Nathan (23 June 2014). "Zak Jones' breath of fresh air". sydneyswans.com.au. Bigpond. Retrieved 13 August 2015.
  3. Sheehan, Kevin (5 July 2005). "NAB AFL U18 Championships - All Australians". AFL.com.au. Fox Sports Pulse. Retrieved 29 September 2015.
  4. Burgan, Matt; Lewis, Georgina (28 August 2015). "Jones' journey to 200 AFL games: part one". MelbourneFC.com.au. Retrieved 1 September 2015.
  5. Lovett, Michael, ed. (February 2015). AFL Record Season Guide 2015. Melbourne, Victoria: AFL Media. p. 512.
  6. Russell, Mark (18 July 2012). "Demon player's father 'bashed for telling abusive Pies fan to calm down'". The Age. Fairfax Media. Retrieved 16 May 2014.
  7. Burgan, Matt (20 May 2011). "Q&A with Nathan Jones". melbournefc.com.au. Retrieved 30 November 2015.
  8. "Melbourne Demons midfielder Nathan Jones wins the 'Bluey' Truscott medal as club's best and fairest". Fox Sports (Australia). News Corp Australia. 14 September 2012. Retrieved 29 September 2015.
  9. Guthrie, Ben (18 January 2013). "Melbourne unveils new leadership group". MelbourneFC.com.au. Bigpond. Retrieved 29 September 2015.
  10. "Jones named a Demons co-captain". AFL.com.au. Bigpond. 9 May 2013. Retrieved 29 September 2015.
  11. Hogan, Jesse (5 September 2013). "Jones is top Demon". The Age. Fairfax Media. Retrieved 29 September 2015.
  12. Warner, Michael (29 January 2014). "Nathan Jones joins Jack Grimes as co-captain of Melbourne for 2014 season". herald Sun. News Corp Australia. Retrieved 29 September 2015.
  13. Guthrie, Ben (11 September 2014). "Demons keen to keep Nathan Jones". AFL.com.au. Bigpond. Retrieved 3 November 2014.
  14. Ralph, Jon (4 September 2014). "Melbourne skipper Nathan Jones wins third best and fairest award, Dom Tyson and Bernie Vince follow". The Herald Sun. News Corp Australia. Retrieved 5 September 2014.
  15. Clark, Jay (18 December 2014). "Nathan Jones signs new contract with Melbourne, Demons hope to lure brother Zak from Sydney Swans". Herald Sun. News Corp Australia. Retrieved 11 January 2015.
  16. Burgan, Matt (3 February 2015). "Melbourne announces 2015 leaders". MelbourneFC.com.au. Bigpond. Retrieved 1 September 2015.
  17. Malcolm, Alex (30 August 2015). "Dockers seal top spot with easy win over Dees". AFL.com.au. Bigpond. Retrieved 30 August 2015.
  18. Guthrie, Ben (11 September 2015). "Vince ends Jones' streak for maiden Demons crown". AFL.com.au. Bigpond. Retrieved 11 September 2015.
  19. Pierik, Jon (11 September 2015). "Melbourne Demons captain Nathan Jones to have neck surgery". The Age. Fairfax Media. Retrieved 29 September 2015.
  20. readMay 13, Jasper Bruceless than 2 min; NewsWire, 2021-5:40PMNCA (13 May 2021). "AFL veteran suffers nailbiting setback". news. Retrieved 11 September 2021.
  21. "Injury Report | Jones, Brown and Laurie to miss again". melbournefc.com.au. Retrieved 11 September 2021.
  22. "Nathan Jones left devastated by latest injury setback as Dees roasted for being 'far too ahead of themselves'". Fox Sports. 22 August 2020. Retrieved 11 September 2021.
  23. Gibson, Ben (20 April 2021). "Year-by-year: Jones' journey to 300 games". Melbourne FC. Retrieved 28 January 2023.
  24. @7afl (10 September 2021). "Register" (Tweet). Retrieved 11 September 2021 – via Twitter.
  25. "Farewell to a champion: Jones announces his retirement". Melbourne Football Club. 15 September 2021. Retrieved 15 September 2021.
  26. "Nathan Jones". AFL Tables. Retrieved 16 April 2014.
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