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Austinn Jones
Personal information
Full name Austinn Gregg Jones
Nickname(s) Aussie
Date of birth (1976-09-28) 28 September 1976 (age 48)
Original team(s) Beaconsfield/Southern Stingrays
Draft 48th overall, 1994 National Draft
Height 176 cm (5 ft 9 in)
Weight 82 kg (181 lb)
Position(s) Wing, half back flank
Playing career1
Years Club Games (Goals)
1995–2005 St Kilda 226 (127)
International team honours
Years Team Games (Goals)
2004 Australia ? (?)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 2005.
2 State and international statistics correct as of 2004.
Career highlights
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

Austinn Gregg "Aussie" Jones (born 28 September 1976) is a former Australian rules footballer who played with St Kilda in the Australian Football League (AFL).

The 1.76 m (5 ft 9+1⁄2 in) Jones played for the Collingwood reserves in the mid-1990s, but they were afraid to recruit him due to him weighing just 64 kilograms. "Aussie", as he is more commonly known, refused to give up on his dream to play AFL football, and was recruited to St Kilda in the 1994 AFL Draft. He made his debut in 1995 still weighing in at the high 60s.

In 1996 and 1997, Jones established himself as one of the league's better wingers/half-back flankers, with his pace and hard running a big advantage for the Saints.

Jones played in St Kilda's victorious 1996 pre-season grand final side—the club's first pre-season premiership.[1]

Jones played in 22 of 22 matches in the 1997 home-and-away rounds in which St Kilda qualified in first position for the 1997 AFL finals, winning the club's second minor premiership.[2] St Kilda would make it to the 1997 AFL Grand Final but would lose to Adelaide by 31 points, their first of two successive premierships, although Jones kicked a goal and was among his side's best players.

Jones's stellar 1997 season was capped off by earning All-Australian selection.

In fact, Jones put the Saints in a very strong position,[when?] kicking a Goal of the Year contender with a magnificent long run and goal. At that stage during that game,[which?] the Saints had a comfortable lead, and the Jones goal looked like the team would run away with the game. It was not to be, however, with the Saints forfeiting a half-time lead to lose the match.

Jones played in St Kilda's victorious 2004 pre-season grand final side—St Kilda's second pre-season final win.[3]

Jones career suffered from inconsistency in the following years; however, in 2004, the first year St Kilda had made the finals since 1998, Jones again won All-Australian selection and was back to his best. However, Jones, even then, doubted whether he would be able to cope with the mental pressures of AFL football, and was even considering retirement at just 27 years old.

In 2005, he suffered a major setback when he was dropped to the Victorian Football League midway through the year. Although he regained his form, Jones admitted that he was at his lowest ebb as a player at this stage. He fought his way back into the seniors and performed admirably during the Saints' late-season charge into the top four.

Despite hinting at his retirement previously, it was a huge shock when Jones called it quits from the game with one year to run on his contract, having just turned 29. He cited the mental pressures, more than the physical toll, as the reason for his retirement. In 2006, he was the contracted as the player-coach at country football club the Narre Warren Magpies. His venture as coach was a successful one; in his first year as coach, the team won the Casey Cardinia Football League grand final. Jones coached Narre Warren again in 2007.

Narre Warren, under the guidance of Aussie Jones in his last game as player-coach, secured the second of two back-to-back premierships on 22 September 2007. He coached Gippsland Power in the 2008 TAC Cup season.

In July 2012, Jones was appointed as head coach of the newly formed standalone VFL team Bendigo Gold, with his coaching stint to commence in Gold's inaugural year as a standalone VFL side in 2013.

Statistics

[edit]
[4]
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
1995 St Kilda 29 19 10 7 134 82 216 33 20 0.5 0.4 7.1 4.3 11.4 1.7 1.1 0
1996 St Kilda 29 22 25 25 259 129 388 75 22 1.1 1.1 11.8 5.9 17.6 3.4 1.0 1
1997 St Kilda 5 25 22 9 323 167 490 77 32 0.9 0.4 12.9 6.7 19.6 3.1 1.3 5
1998 St Kilda 5 23 23 13 238 101 339 63 32 1.0 0.6 10.3 4.4 14.7 2.7 1.4 1
1999 St Kilda 5 19 12 18 180 82 262 72 18 0.6 0.9 9.5 4.3 13.8 3.8 0.9 2
2000 St Kilda 5 17 9 7 182 60 242 47 18 0.5 0.4 10.7 3.5 14.2 2.8 1.1 1
2001 St Kilda 5 16 4 3 206 80 286 46 20 0.3 0.2 12.9 5.0 17.9 2.9 1.3 5
2002 St Kilda 5 16 6 2 208 95 303 46 12 0.4 0.1 13.0 5.9 18.9 2.9 0.8 2
2003 St Kilda 5 22 7 3 317 108 425 85 30 0.3 0.1 14.4 4.9 19.3 3.9 1.4 3
2004 St Kilda 5 25 3 6 346 120 466 85 37 0.1 0.2 13.8 4.8 18.6 3.4 1.5 11
2005 St Kilda 5 22 6 3 252 93 345 73 31 0.3 0.1 11.5 4.2 15.7 3.3 1.4 1
Career 226 127 96 2645 1117 3762 702 272 0.6 0.4 11.7 4.9 16.6 3.1 1.2 32

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "AFL 1996 Ansett Cup Grand Final – St Kilda v Carlton". Slattery Media Group. 23 March 1996. Archived from the original on 16 July 2011. Retrieved 7 November 2009.
  2. ^ "1997 Season Scores and Results – Ladder". AFL Tables. Retrieved 7 November 2009.
  3. ^ "AFL 2004 Wizard Cup Grand Final – Geelong v St Kilda". Slattery Media Group. 13 March 2004. Archived from the original on 16 July 2011. Retrieved 2009-11-07.
  4. ^ "Austinn Jones stats". AFL Tables. Retrieved 1 October 2019.
[edit]
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