Jude Bolton

Jude Bolton
Personal information
Full nameJude Bolton
Date of birth15 March 1980
Original teamCalder Cannons (TAC Cup)
Draft#8, 1998 National Draft, Sydney
Height/Weight181cm / 84kg
Position(s)Midfielder
Playing career1
YearsClubGames (Goals)
1999–2013Sydney325 (196)
International team honours
YearsTeamGames (Goals)
2004Australia2 (0)
1 Playing statistics correct to end of 2013 season.
Career highlights
  • AFL Premiership 2005, 2012
  • Madden Medal 2013

Jude Bolton (born 15 March 1980) is a retired Australian rules football player who represented the Sydney Swans in the AFL between 1999 and 2013.[1]

Early life

Jude attended St Bernard's College Essendon and played football for the school as well as the Calder Cannons Under 18s team, before being selected as the 8th pick in the 1998 National Draft.

AFL career

Bolton played his first senior game for Sydney against Carlton in round 12 of the 1999 season and received a Rising Star Award nomination the following year. By 2001, he was a regular member of the team and went on to represent Australia in the International Rules series in 2004.

He was noted for his never ending determination to attack and go after the ball; Bolton often accumulated large numbers of tackles. In 2005, the season in which the Swans won their first premiership in 72 years using a tough man-on-man style of play, Bolton made 122 tackles, the 2nd highest for the club and 3rd overall in the AFL.

After a couple of years of arguably sub-par form and being floated as trade bait, Bolton stepped back up in 2009 and 2010 to play his best football. His contested ball winning, tackling and hardness at the contest were all areas in which he led the way for the Swans.

None of his performances were more impressive than his game against Essendon at the SCG in 2010, in which he picked up 36 disposals, 26 of which were contested, laid 12 tackles, won 5 free kicks, won 12 clearances and sent the ball inside forward 5 times. He also provided the handball to Adam Goodes for the match sealing goal.

Bolton started 2011 in outstanding fashion, showing that he was not yet ready to consider retiring. While his 2nd half of the year was slowed due to a knee injury, Bolton still managed to contribute most weeks to the side's performance and as such was rewarded with a further one year extension, ending after the 2012 season.

On Saturday, 9 April 2011, Bolton laid an AFL-record 19 tackles in a match, playing an integral role in victory over the West Coast Eagles.[2] In the Second Semi-final, he set the new record for the most tackles lain in a VFL/AFL career, surpassing former captain Brett Kirk's tally of 1278 career tackles. His final career total was 1490 tackles, which was the record until surpassed by Lenny Hayes late in 2014.[1]

On August 26, 2013, Bolton announced he would retire at the conclusion of the 2013 season.[3] He played his last game in Sydney's preliminary final loss to Fremantle on 21 September and scored his final goal for the Swans.

After football

In December 2013 Bolton is a crew member aboard racing supermaxi yacht Perpetual Loyal in the 2013 Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race, with his other celebrity crew members, Karl Stefanovic, Larry Emdur, Tom Slingsby, Phil Waugh and Guillaume Brahimi.[4]

He is currently seen as a boundary rider for the Seven Network's coverage of AFL matches.

Personal life

He is unrelated to former Swans teammate Craig Bolton. His wife Lynette Bolton stars in WAG Nation, a reality show that documents the lives of five wives and girlfriends of Australian sportsmen. Bolton has two daughters, Siarra, born in 2012, and Piper, born in 2014.

Statistics

[5]
Legend
 G  Goals  B  Behinds  K  Kicks  H  Handballs  D  Disposals  M  Marks  T  Tackles
† Denotes seasons in which Bolton won an AFL Premiership
Led the league for the Season only*
Led the league after Finals only*
Led the league after Season and Finals*

*10 games required to be eligible.

Season Team # Games G B K H D M T G B K H D M T
Totals Averages (per game)
1999 Sydney 24 9 3 1 64 43 107 17 13 0.3 0.1 7.1 4.8 11.9 1.9 1.4
2000 Sydney 24 16 15 3 126 73 199 36 27 0.9 0.2 7.9 4.6 12.4 2.3 1.7
2001 Sydney 24 23 14 7 199 122 321 72 46 0.6 0.3 8.7 5.3 14.0 3.1 2.0
2002 Sydney 24 19 9 9 139 124 263 58 67 0.5 0.5 7.3 6.5 13.8 3.1 3.5
2003 Sydney 24 24 13 6 266 212 478 104 76 0.5 0.3 11.1 8.8 19.9 4.3 3.2
2004 Sydney 24 24 12 7 280 211 491 83 102 0.5 0.3 11.7 8.8 20.5 3.5 4.3
2005† Sydney 24 24 3 5 270 182 452 80 122 0.1 0.2 11.3 7.6 18.8 3.3 5.1
2006 Sydney 24 25 12 7 308 160 468 77 134 0.5 0.3 12.3 6.4 18.7 3.1 5.4
2007 Sydney 24 23 6 10 214 198 412 66 105 0.3 0.4 9.3 8.6 17.9 2.9 4.6
2008 Sydney 24 24 11 5 244 231 475 84 143 0.5 0.2 10.2 9.6 19.8 3.5 6.0
2009 Sydney 24 22 12 8 228 243 471 69 155 0.5 0.4 10.4 11.0 21.4 3.1 7.0
2010 Sydney 24 24 15 7 196 303 499 67 138 0.6 0.3 8.2 12.6 20.8 2.8 5.8
2011 Sydney 24 22 19 12 230 199 429 53 154 0.9 0.5 10.5 9.0 19.5 2.4 7.0
2012† Sydney 24 22 23 10 183 253 436 70 117 1.0 0.5 8.3 11.5 19.8 3.2 5.3
2013 Sydney 24 24 29 17 166 164 330 69 91 1.2 0.7 6.9 6.8 13.8 2.9 3.8
Career 325 196 114 3113 2718 5831 1005 1490 0.6 0.4 9.6 8.4 17.9 3.1 4.6

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Player Totals". AFL Tables. Retrieved 19 September 2014.
  2. ↑ AFL clubs send tackle counts skyward
  3. ↑ Jude Bolton announces retirement
  4. ↑ "Sydney to Hobart 2013". Perpetual. 2013-12-02. Retrieved 2013-12-02.
  5. ↑ Jude Bolton's player profile at AFL Tables

External links

Awards
Preceded by
Luke Power		 Madden Medal
2013 		Succeeded by
Lenny Hayes