Jesse White (footballer)

Jesse White
Personal information
Full nameJesse White
Date of birth9 January 1988
Place of birthMelbourne, Australia
Original teamSouthport (QAFL)
Draft#79, 2006 National Draft, Sydney
Height/Weight197cm / 107kg
Position(s)Forward
Club information
Current clubCollingwood
Number9
Playing career1
YearsClubGames (Goals)
2008–2013
2014–
Total		Sydney
Collingwood		71 (73)
23 (26)
94 (99)
1 Playing statistics correct to end of Round 5, 2015 season.
Career highlights

Jesse Jackson White (born 9 January 1988) is an Australian rules footballer for the Collingwood Football Club in the Australian Football League. He was drafted to the Sydney Swans on 25 November 2006 with selection 79.

Early life and Basketball

White was born in Melbourne, Victoria[1] to a father who previously played in the Victorian Football Association and a mother that played in the Women's National Basketball League. The family moved to the Gold Coast, Queensland when White was two years old. He attended John Paul College during his high school years. White was first selected to represent Queensland in Basketball at the under 12s level and continued to make representative teams up until the under 18s level. As a basketballer, White was judged the 'player of the championships' while competing for Queensland at the 2005 national schoolboys basketball carnival. Later that year he rejected a scholarship offer from the Australian Institute of Sport to concentrate on football.

Junior football

White played his junior football at the Surfers Paradise Australian Football Club on the Gold Coast. He was selected to represent Queensland in 2004 at the under 16s level. He remained at Surfers Paradise up until the under 16s level when he made the switch to the Southport Australian Football Club to play under 18s and senior football. Despite having a good year for the Southport Sharks and the under 18s Queensland team, White was overlooked in the 2005 AFL Draft. He remained at Southport for the 2006 season where he achieved a QAFL premiership and was a standout performer in Queensland's victorious run at the 2006 AFL National Under 18 Championships. White's outstanding season would see him be drafted by the Sydney Swans with the 79th pick in the 2006 AFL Draft.

AFL career

Sydney

Despite playing in a trial match against Collingwood, a NAB Cup match against Western Bulldogs, and a trial match against Richmond during the 2007 pre-season, White didn't make his league debut until Rd 6, 2008. It was a controversial debut, with White mistakenly entering the playing field before Darren Jolly left the field in the final minutes of their drawn match against North Melbourne. The AFL fined Sydney $50,000 for having an extra man on the field for approximately 18 seconds.[2]

Move up forward

Jesse White was groomed as a replacement in the forward line in life after Barry Hall and Michael O'Loughlin. However, in 2009 when Everitt retired, White was often called into the side as a second ruckman, but failed to impact the game. After Sydney spearhead Barry Hall's retirement, White was moved back into the forward line to give it a boost of strength with considerable success, kicking 4 goals in his first match as a permanent forward. White's main strength is his considerable speed for a man of his size, and causes many defenders headaches. He has played and arguably out-done some of the top defenders in the AFL such as Matthew Scarlett, in a game in Sydney late in the year where White kicked three goals. Jesse then signed a three-year contract extension with the Sydney Swans that would keep him out of reach of the new Gold Coast club.

In 2010, White didn't manage to play quite to the level expected of him though he did provide a few highlights. He took one of the marks of the year against North Melbourne at Etihad Stadium leaping over Lachie Hansen. In 2011, due to the new sub rule, White has had to again play as a pinch-hitting ruckmen rotating in the forward line. He has struggled for consistency but in Round 22 in a crucial game against St Kilda, White performed strongly kicking a goal and having a presence.

In 2013, White had his best season thus far at Sydney scoring 20 goals in 15 games.

Collingwood

On October 21, White moved to Collingwood in a three-way trade which saw draft picks exchanged between the Sydney Swans, West Coast Eagles and Collingwood Magpies.[3]

Rising star award nomination

In Round 22 of the 2009 AFL season, White was awarded the final nomination for the 2009 AFL Rising Star award.[4]

Statistics

Statistics are correct to the end of the 2014 season [5]
Legend
 G  Goals  B  Behinds  K  Kicks  H  Handballs  D  Disposals  M  Marks  T  Tackles
Season Team # Games G B K H D M T G B K H D M T
Totals Averages (per game)
2008 Sydney 18 2  —  — 5 4 9 5 5  —  — 2.5 2 4.5 2.5 2.5
2009 Sydney 18 18 20 13 86 56 142 72 20 1.1 0.7 4.8 3.1 7.9 4 1.1
2010 Sydney 18 20 22 12 87 81 168 65 20 1.1 0.6 4.4 4.1 8.5 3.3 1
2011 Sydney 18 13 9 1 54 48 102 26 39 0.6 0.4 12.1 11.0 23.1 4.5 3.1
2012 Sydney 18 3 2  — 19 10 29 12 7 0.7  — 6.3 3.3 9.6 4 2.3
2013 Sydney 18 15 20 12 109 81 190 72 26 1.3 0.8 7.3 5.4 12.7 4.8 1.7
2014 Collingwood 18 18 20 14 126 63 189 59 38 1.1 0.8 7 3.3 10.3 3.3 2.1
Career 89 93 62 486 343 829 311 155 1 0.7 5.5 3.8 9.3 3.5 1.7

References

  1. ↑ AFL Queensland - Jesse White Profile
  2. ↑ Hinds, Richard; Swans fined $50,000 but get to keep their points;Realfooty;2008-04-30
  3. ↑ Ryan, Peter (21 October 2013). "Swan forward flies south to Collingwood". AFL.com.au. BigPond.
  4. ↑ Swans' Jesse White gets Rising Star nod
  5. ↑ Jesse White's player profile at AFL Tables

External links