Austinn Jones
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| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Birth | September 28, 1976 , |
| Recruited from | Beaconsfield |
| Playing career¹ | |
| Debut | Round 1, April 2, 1995, St Kilda vs. West Coast Eagles, at WACA |
| Team(s) | St Kilda (1995-2005)
226 games, 127 goals |
| ¹ Statistics to end of 2005 season | |
| Career highlights | |
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Austinn "Aussie" Jones (born September 28, 1976) is a former Australian rules footballer with the St Kilda Football Club.
The 176cm 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, however, 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 60's.
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. In 1997 he had a stellar year, Jones winning All-Australian selection, and his team making the Grand Final. In fact, Jones put the Saints in a very strong position, kicking possibly Goal of the Year with a magnificent long run and goal. At that stage the Saints had a comfortable lead and the Jones goal looked like the team would run away with the game. It wasn't to be, however, with the Saints forfeiting a half-time lead to lose the match.
Jones career suffered from inconsistency in the following years, however in 2004, the first year St Kilda 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.
In 2005 he suffered a major setback when he was dropped to the VFL mid-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 4.
Despite hinting at his retirement previously, it was a huge shock when Jones called it quits from the game of AFL with one year to run on his contract, and 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 playing coach at the country club, the Narre Warren Magpies. His venture as coach was a successful one as in his first year as coach the team won the Casey Cardinia Football League grand final. In 2007 The Narre Warren Magpies, again with Jones as the playing coach, are attempting to win back to back premierships as the team will play off in a grand final in September 2007
Narre Warren, under the guidance of Aussie Jones in his last game as playing coach, won back to back premierships on Saturday 22 September 2007. Is now the coach of Gippsland Power in the TAC CUP for the 2008 season.
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