| Nathan Jones | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Jones playing in August 2018 | |||
| Personal information | |||
| Full name | Nathan Jones | ||
| Nicknames | Jonesy, Chunk[1] | ||
| Born | (1988-01-20)20 January 1988 (age 37) | ||
| Original team | Dandenong Stingrays (TAC Cup) | ||
| Draft | No. 12,2005 national draft | ||
| Debut | Round 17, 2006,Melbourne vs.Western Bulldogs, atMCG | ||
| Height | 180 cm (5 ft 11 in) | ||
| Weight | 87 kg (192 lb) | ||
| Position | 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 | |||
Nathan Jones (born 20 January 1988) is a formerAustralian rules footballer and current coach known for playing for and coaching theMelbourne Football Club in theAustralian Football League. He is the older brother ofSt Kilda playerZak Jones.[2] He served as the captain of Melbourne from 2014 until he stepped down at the end of the 2019 season.
Jones played for theDandenong Stingrays in theTAC Cup during his junior career and was selected to play for Vic Metro in the2005 AFL Under-18 Championships. He was named in the 2005Under-18 All-Australian team as afollower.[3] He played in theTAC Cup Grand Final (now known as NAB League Boys) for Dandenong in 2005 and collected 36 disposals; however, they were defeated by 15 points byGippsland Power.
Growing up, he was aSt Kilda supporter.[4]
_(2007).jpg)
Jones was drafted toMelbourne with their first selection and the 12th overall in the2005 national draft.[5] He made his debut against theWestern Bulldogs in Round 17, 2006, at theMelbourne Cricket Ground and played the remaining eight games for the season, including the elimination final win againstSt Kilda and the semi-final loss toFremantle. After his fourth match, he earned the Round 20Rising Star nomination for his game against theKangaroos, where he collected 25 disposals.[5] After Melbourne were eliminated from the finals, he played for Melbourne'sVFL-affiliate team,Sandringham, and played in their premiership side.
Jones played 21 games during 2007 and earned a secondRising Star nomination after the round 17 loss toPort Adelaide. He finished third in the award behindJoel Selwood andScott Pendlebury and received 17 votes out of a possible 45.[5] He was the runner-up in Melbourne'sbest and fairest with 190 votes, finishing behindJames 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 thewooden spoon for the second consecutive season. After the Round 2 match againstCollingwood 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 established himself as Melbourne's leading midfielder in 2012 by winning his firstKeith 'Bluey' Truscott Medal as the club's best and fairest;[8] in addition, he polled 14 votes in theBrownlow 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 alongsideJack Trengove, replacing the injuredJack Grimes.[10] He played every match during the season and won the best and fairest for the second consecutive season, finishing ahead ofColin Garland.[11]
After the appointment of new coachPaul 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 championJim 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, withLynden Dunn named as vice-captain.[16] He played his 200th AFL game in the Round 22 match againstFremantle; 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 ahamstring[20] and latercalf injury[21]) that saw him missing the majority of his season (as in 2020, where he'd injured hisquadriceps[22]). Nonetheless, Jones became just the second Melbourne player, afterDavid Neitz, to reach the 300-game milestone for the club, doing so againstRichmond in round six.[23] After Melbourne qualified for the2021 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]
Jones began his coaching career in theVAFA, leading Peninsula Grammar to a narrow finals miss in the2024 VAFA season. Jones then joined his former clubMelbourne, as their senior midfield and stoppages coach,[26] replacingGreg Stafford (footballer),[27] as the Demons reworked their coaching staff following the departure of assistantAndrew McQualter to theWest Coast Eagles senior coach position.[28]
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 | 2 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 64 | 47 | 111 | 20 | 25 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 8.0 | 5.9 | 13.9 | 2.5 | 3.1 | 2 |
| 2007 | Melbourne | 2 | 21 | 10 | 6 | 219 | 146 | 365 | 61 | 86 | 0.5 | 0.6 | 10.4 | 6.9 | 16.9 | 2.9 | 3.9 | 5 |
| 2008 | Melbourne | 2 | 21 | 9 | 6 | 212 | 220 | 432 | 65 | 53 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 10.1 | 10.5 | 20.6 | 3.1 | 2.5 | 0 |
| 2009 | Melbourne | 2 | 20 | 8 | 11 | 209 | 234 | 443 | 77 | 41 | 0.4 | 0.6 | 10.5 | 11.7 | 22.2 | 3.9 | 2.1 | 4 |
| 2010 | Melbourne | 2 | 22 | 9 | 12 | 198 | 227 | 425 | 54 | 62 | 0.4 | 0.5 | 9.0 | 10.3 | 19.3 | 2.5 | 2.8 | 1 |
| 2011 | Melbourne | 2 | 22 | 14 | 9 | 266 | 241 | 507 | 100 | 68 | 0.6 | 0.4 | 12.1 | 11.0 | 23.1 | 4.5 | 3.1 | 1 |
| 2012 | Melbourne | 2 | 21 | 16 | 10 | 265 | 251 | 516 | 45 | 95 | 0.8 | 0.5 | 12.6 | 12.0 | 24.6 | 2.1 | 4.5 | 14 |
| 2013 | Melbourne | 2 | 22 | 8 | 7 | 233 | 276 | 509 | 46 | 76 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 10.6 | 12.5 | 23.1 | 2.0 | 3.4 | 6 |
| 2014 | Melbourne | 2 | 22 | 7 | 6 | 311 | 299 | 610 | 64 | 115 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 14.1 | 13.6 | 27.7 | 2.9 | 5.2 | 13 |
| 2015 | Melbourne | 2 | 22 | 12 | 7 | 268 | 255 | 523 | 53 | 95 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 12.2 | 11.6 | 23.8 | 2.4 | 4.3 | 10 |
| 2016 | Melbourne | 2 | 22 | 10 | 11 | 288 | 329 | 617 | 56 | 118 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 13.1 | 15.0 | 28.0 | 2.5 | 5.4 | 11 |
| 2017 | Melbourne | 2 | 16 | 10 | 6 | 207 | 232 | 439 | 63 | 86 | 0.6 | 0.4 | 12.9 | 14.5 | 27.4 | 3.9 | 5.4 | 7 |
| 2018 | Melbourne | 2 | 25 | 15 | 10 | 285 | 329 | 614 | 66 | 93 | 0.6 | 0.4 | 11.4 | 13.2 | 24.6 | 2.6 | 3.7 | 7 |
| 2019 | Melbourne | 2 | 22 | 8 | 5 | 241 | 210 | 451 | 83 | 53 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 11.0 | 9.5 | 20.5 | 3.8 | 2.4 | 0 |
| 2020[a] | Melbourne | 2 | 8 | 1 | 3 | 50 | 54 | 104 | 23 | 13 | 0.1 | 0.4 | 6.3 | 6.8 | 13.0 | 2.9 | 1.6 | 0 |
| 2021[b] | Melbourne | 2 | 8 | 2 | 3 | 50 | 45 | 95 | 23 | 12 | 0.3 | 0.4 | 6.3 | 5.6 | 11.9 | 2.9 | 1.5 | 0 |
| 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
Team
Individual
