Jack Gunston

Jack Gunston (born 16 October 1991) is a professional footballer who plays for the Hawthorn Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL).

Jack Gunston
Gunston playing for Hawthorn in August 2018
Personal information
Full name Jack Gunston
Date of birth (1991-10-16) 16 October 1991
Original team(s) Sandringham Dragons (TAC Cup)
Draft No. 29, 2009 national draft
Debut Round 9, 2010, Adelaide
vs. Brisbane Lions, at AAMI Stadium
Height 193 cm (6 ft 4 in)
Weight 87 kg (192 lb)
Position(s) Forward
Club information
Current club Hawthorn
Number 19
Playing career1
Years Club Games (Goals)
2010–2011 Adelaide 014 0(20)
2012– Hawthorn 194 (378)
Total 208 (398)
International team honours
Years Team Games (Goals)
2017 Australia 2 (0)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 2020.
2 State and international statistics correct as of 2017.
Career highlights
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

Early life

Gunston was raised in Melbourne and attended Haileybury College, playing school football alongside three other future AFL players (Tom Scully, Jack Hutchins, and Tom Lynch).[1] His father, Ray Gunston, played VFA football for Brunswick, and later moved into sports administration.[2] Gunston began his junior career with the Beaumaris Football Club. He originally played mainly as a midfielder, but after growing 15 centimetres (5.9 in) in two years he began to play more in key positions.[3] In 2009, the year he became eligible for the AFL Draft, Gunston was selected for the Sandringham Dragons, a TAC Cup team. Early in the season, he dislocated his elbow in a practice game, an injury which took eight weeks to heal. Gunston played for the Dragons in only their last six matches, but was nonetheless a second-round pick in the 2009 AFL National Draft, taken by Adelaide with the 29th pick overall.[4]

AFL career

Adelaide (2010–2011)

Gunston made his AFL debut against the Brisbane Lions in round nine of the 2010 AFL season. In a promising debut Gunston collected seven disposals and kicked a vital goal in the final quarter.[5] He played one more game in round 18 against Richmond collecting nine disposals. He finished the year on the wing with Central District's 2010 premiership Side.

In 2011 he played 12 games, kicking five goals against Richmond in round 23.[6]

After two years in Adelaide, Gunston became homesick and sought to return to Victoria. He refused to participate in the finals series for Central District, choosing to return home to Victoria before the end of the SANFL season.[7]Adelaide had awarded him the Mark Bickley Award as the club's best young player, but he was stripped of the title after announcing his intention to leave.[8]

Hawthorn (2012–present)

He was traded to Hawthorn in a deal that saw three draft picks (pick 24, 46 & 64) given to Adelaide and two picks returned (pick 53 and 71).[9]

In his first season at Hawthorn he played 19 games, including the 2012 Grand Final, and followed up in 2013 with 23 games.[10]

Gunston played in the 2013 Grand Final against Fremantle, and was one of the best players on the ground, kicking 4 goals to be the leading goal scorer in the match and finishing second in the Norm Smith Medal count to teammate Brian Lake.[11][12] Gunston played an important role as key forward in 2014, finishing with a career high 58 goals for the season,[13] and earning his second premiership as Hawthorn triumphed in the Grand Final.[14] In 2015 Gunston was Hawthorn's leading goalkicker, kicking 57 goals.[15] He injured his knee in the Qualifying Final against the West Coast Eagles,[16] but returned in the Grand Final to kick 4 goals, in Hawthorn's three-peat victory against the Eagles once more.[17]

In 2016, Gunston was forced to take on new roles due to the season-ending injury received by Jarryd Roughead, occasionally moving into the centre. Regardless, he kicked 51 goals over the Home-and-Away season and the finals, and was widely regarded as being in excellent form.[18][19]

Gunston had a poor beginning to 2017, not kicking a large amount of goals. As both a result of this and large number of injuries suffered by Hawthorn's key defenders, Gunston was moved into the backline, where he significantly improved his performance.[20]

Gunston was moved back into the forward line for 2018.[21] He enjoyed good form, forming a forward partnership with Luke Breust with the pair kicking a combined 105 goals between them.[22] Gunston personally kicked 48 goals and came equal 6th in the Coleman Medal.[23]

In February 2019, it was announced that Gunston had been appointed Vice-Captain, alongside new Captain, Ben Stratton.[24] His forward partnership with Breust was not as effective as the previous season, with the pair kicking only a combined 60 goals between them, and Hawthorn missing the finals.[22]

Playing style

Gunston has a reputation for being very accurate in kicking for goal from set shots, being frequently described as a "sharp-shooter". He is said to have a "very balanced, methodical set-shot routine", with a focus on a straight drop-ball.[25] Towards the end of the 2013 season, it was reported that Gunston had the best conversion rate out of the top 50 goal-kickers in the competition, with 82.5 percent of his set shots from the past two seasons resulting in goals.[26]

Statistics
Statistics are correct to the end of 2020.[10]
Legend
 G  Goals  B  Behinds  K  Kicks  H  Handballs  D  Disposals  M  Marks  T  Tackles
Significant statistics
# Played in that season's premiership team
AFL playing statistics
Season Team No. Games Totals Averages (per game) Votes
G B K H D M T G B K H D M T
2010Adelaide28 21011516540.50.05.52.58.02.52.00
2011Adelaide6 121911903912960211.60.97.53.310.85.01.80
2012Hawthorn19 1939221398722678292.11.27.34.611.94.11.50
2013#Hawthorn19 234617228127355128572.00.79.95.515.45.62.51
2014#Hawthorn19 235827238132370137412.51.210.35.716.16.01.86
2015#Hawthorn19 245735277119396179522.51.511.55.016.57.52.27
2016Hawthorn19 245133260125385154712.11.410.85.216.06.43.04
2017Hawthorn19 221911278138416132580.90.512.66.318.96.02.66
2018Hawthorn19 235132292117409125462.21.412.75.117.85.42.010
2019Hawthorn19 20262122189310111461.31.111.14.515.55.62.35
2020Hawthorn19 1631211334818168231.91.38.33.011.34.31.45
Career 20839823021671026319311774481.91.110.44.915.45.72.244

Honours and achievements

Team

Individual

Personal life

Gunston's partner is Melbourne model Dani Shreeve.[27]

References
  1. "Haileybury Sport" (PDF). The Haileyburyian (Summer 2014): 15.
  2. Smith, Patrick (2 August 2016). "AFL money man Ray Gunston well versed in clubland". The Australian. Retrieved 21 August 2016.
  3. Anderson, Jon (22 September 2012). "Hawthorn's Jack Gunston has proved a handy acquisition as third tall forward". Herald Sun. Retrieved 21 August 2016.
  4. Gill, Katrina (1 December 2009). "Injury almost ruined Gunston's chances". Adelaide Football Club. Archived from the original on 29 March 2012.
  5. "Lions killed off by Crows". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 24 May 2010.
  6. Willis, Max (29 September 2013). "From a skinny 18-year-old to Grand Final hero - the story of Jack Gunston". The Roar. Retrieved 14 March 2020.
  7. Laidlaw, Robert. "2010 Grand Final - Great Victory For Flag". Central District Bulldogs. Archived from the original on 27 September 2011.
  8. Rucci, Michelangelo (11 September 2011). "Crows stripped Gunston of award". The Advertiser. Retrieved 22 September 2011.
  9. Spits, Scott (12 October 2011). "Hawks secure Gunston". The Age.
  10. "Jack Gunston's player profile at AFL Tables". AFL Tables.
  11. "Voting for the Norm Smith Medal 2013". The Age. 28 September 2013. Retrieved 14 March 2020.
  12. Ryan, Peter (29 September 2013). "Straight-shooting Gunston lifted when it mattered". Australian Football League. Retrieved 14 March 2020.
  13. "AFL Goalkickers for Season 2014". Footywire. Retrieved 14 March 2020.
  14. Thomsen, Simon (27 September 2014). "Hawthorn Wins The 2014 AFL Grand Final - And They Were Simply Awesome". Business Insider. Retrieved 14 March 2020.
  15. Pettyfor, Clare (10 November 2015). "Season Review: Gunston". Hawthorn Football Club. Retrieved 14 March 2020.
  16. Pierik, Jon (22 September 2015). "AFL finals 2015: Hawthorn;s Jack Gunston in race to prove fitness". The Age. Retrieved 14 March 2020.
  17. Connolly, Rohan (3 October 2015). "AFL grand final 2015: Hawthorn beat West Coast to win three premierships in a row". The Age. Retrieved 14 March 2020.
  18. Hill, Jeremy (22 October 2016). "Season Review: Jack Gunston". Hawthorn Football Club. Retrieved 13 March 2020.
  19. Baldwin, Adam (10 June 2016). "Jack Gunston in career-best form despite Hawthorn's scoring decline". Fox News. Retrieved 13 March 2020.
  20. Marlow, Brandon (12 August 2017). "The kids are alright in defence". Hashtag Footy. Retrieved 13 March 2020.
  21. Davidson, Ryan (6 February 2018). "Gin Hawk heads forward after backline stint". Australian Football League. Retrieved 13 March 2020.
  22. Meyers, H.B. (16 January 2020). "The Good, Bad and Ugly - Hawthorn Season Preview 2020". The Mongrel Punt. Retrieved 12 March 2020.
  23. "AFL Goalkickers for Season 2018". Footywire. Retrieved 13 March 2020.
  24. Kennett, Jeff (28 February 2019). "Letter to members: Our captain". Hawthorn Football Club.
  25. Waterworth, Ben (27 August 2014). "The List: Who's the best seat shot for goal?". Fox Sports. Retrieved 21 August 2016.
  26. Baum, Greg (6 September 2013). "Gunston a Hawk-eye goalkicker". The Age. Retrieved 21 August 2016.
  27. Miletic, Daniella (24 September 2018). "Brownlow Medal 2018 LIVE: The winners, the dresses and red carpet arrivals". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
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