Past #9: Jess Sinclair - traded to NM as part of Bell deal - 142 games for NM - delisted/retired end '08

[superstar]

Clarke's gunna be very busy! One other Hawker said they'd use him to tag Wells.
Good idea to tag Jess though. The concept of the "quarterback" in AFL can quickly be rendered redundant by applying a tag. Jason Cloke got away with it for virtually the whole of the 2002 season but once he started to be tagged he became a permanent fixture in the Willy side. Similarly Aussie Jones has been less effective since he started to have a defensive forward placed on him.

Nah, i'd go either one of Osborne or Vandenberg on Wells. The other should take Harvey.

 

[Z_K]

Jess has been pretty good.

His best game was V Sydney. He towelled O'Keefe (good footballer) and won it himself. Getting it 28 times by himself is great, because he uses it well, but he can go the other way.

 

[Woodson]

Good on Jess. Shows he is definately enjoying his game and when he gets so p**** off at the ump (most times Jess is RIGHT!) that it doesn't put him off and he continues to put in harder. I downmarked him on Friday night as he backed out when he could of had ( NAILED!!) Tarrant but backed off resulting in a goal to them. I sensed he had the Picione incident flashback that instance so I can't blame him for that. But, heck, would of been a BEAUTY had he connected.

 

[benno87]

Good on Jess. Shows he is definately enjoying his game and when he gets so p**** off at the ump (most times Jess is RIGHT!) that it doesn't put him off and he continues to put in harder. I downmarked him on Friday night as he backed out when he could of had ( NAILED!!) Tarrant but backed off resulting in a goal to them. I sensed he had the Picione incident flashback that instance so I can't blame him for that. But, heck, would of been a BEAUTY had he connected.

Ironic thing is Joffa was the one on the end of Tarrant's high bump.

 

[Carlos]

I think Jess sits pretty comfortably amongst the premier running half backs in the comp at the moment. In the 2nd half of 2002 i was forced to completely re-assess my previous poor opinion of his ability. He really came into his own, and that only increased markedly throughout 03 where i thought he was pretty stiff to miss All Australian selection and where i even rated him as top 5 most important to our fortunes, which i still do. Simply put, we rarely seem to lose when he plays his best footy.

I tipped him to be an All Oz at the start of this year and recon its looking pretty good so far. Just hope he can continue his stellar form.

And even if the opposition start putting the srews on him i dont think his value will diminish. While being wonderfully attacking he is still terrific at stopping a man himself, and has tremendous play-reading ability in terms of judging when to leave his man or suck back. You rarely see him get found out, and he is pretty selfless in terms of helping out his teammates.

I'm definitely a fan.

 

[Harris 10]

Great season by Jess so far, was really at the crossroads 10 - 15 games ago. The suspension was a huge hurdle in his career which he has made it over.

Only people on this site had him at the crossroads.
The suspension had nothing to do with his form last year as he was playing injured for the first part of the season but by the end of last year he was playing good footy again.

Going on the same theory Harris is at the crossroads

 

[mav-1]

said before and I'll say it again, he is one of the most underated players in our team. He's very good overhead and his disposal has improved out of sight. This was one of the big reasons Freo let him go, he kept giving up the ball. But now that he rusns with the ball and finds himself space he generally picks one of our players out. Loving your work Jess!

 

[Yianni]

I think Jess sits pretty comfortably amongst the premier running half backs in the comp at the moment. In the 2nd half of 2002 i was forced to completely re-assess my previous poor opinion of his ability. He really came into his own, and that only increased markedly throughout 03 where i thought he was pretty stiff to miss All Australian selection and where i even rated him as top 5 most important to our fortunes, which i still do. Simply put, we rarely seem to lose when he plays his best footy.

I tipped him to be an All Oz at the start of this year and recon its looking pretty good so far. Just hope he can continue his stellar form.

And even if the opposition start putting the srews on him i dont think his value will diminish. While being wonderfully attacking he is still terrific at stopping a man himself, and has tremendous play-reading ability in terms of judging when to leave his man or suck back. You rarely see him get found out, and he is pretty selfless in terms of helping out his teammates.

I'm definitely a fan.

Carlos, I think you meant to post this in the Piacone thread...

 

[della]

I actually follow the Cats but i must say i have been very impressed by Jess this year, really has found his home the last few years floating around half back and seems to find alot more of the footy then he did when he first arrived at the club, one of the better skilled players in the Kangs side i am expecting much of the same from him during the reaminder year, along with Makepeace in defence thewy both r good users who set up play for the like of Harvey, Wells etc, hope he keeps firing and continues the good form.

della!

 

[Event Horizon]

I actually follow the Cats but i must say i have been very impressed by Jess this year, really has found his home the last few years floating around half back and seems to find alot more of the footy then he did when he first arrived at the club, one of the better skilled players in the Kangs side i am expecting much of the same from him during the reaminder year, along with Makepeace in defence thewy both r good users who set up play for the like of Harvey, Wells etc, hope he keeps firing and continues the good form.

della!

Couldn't agree more. Jess has plenty of class, and when his attitude is right, is one of our most valuable players.

Couldn't believe it when so many on this board wanted him traded after one ordinary year just because we have a lot of half back flankers. But in reallity the only other player on our list who can fill that position atm is Urch, and he is yet to find the match fitness after persistent hammy.

Trotter is too young and he would be a waste to play in that position when he is ready IMHO, as would Jesse Smith. The likes of Gibson and Schwarze could play the role but Sinclair has way more class than those two, so I reckon getting rid of Jess would be a huge mistake.

Hope he can keep up the good form!

 

[Bren]

I might be putting my neck out here, but i think he is most improved.
I know alot of people will say Brown is, but just think...Brown played good against Blues and Swans, and ok against Saints. Where as Jess has been very solid in all 6 games racking up possies (20 kicks against Crows) and been in outstanding form...

Any thoughts?

 

[Ausgard]

Very little disagreement other than its more like he is back to his pre-smacking out Piccione form (and possibly a bit more) rather than he has suddenly taken it all to the next level.

He was very very good in 2003 and he is now back to that sort of form or possibly better.

Brown and Watt have also improved quite a bit but that is more to do with positional changes that suit their abilities more than a sudden change in form.

Hale should also be right up there because of his job on everitt last week but he had a bit of a poor one today - not that the conditions suited him.

Sansbury and Pratt should also be praised because of the improvements they have made


An interesting thing to note is that the ones I have seen the most improvement in a 5 of our backmen and our Ruck

after the last couple of years that would be best case scenario at the start of the season and would be unsurprising that we had such a good start to the season

 

[Bren]

Ausgard: Best foot note ever!

True about Our backline, but still think that Jess has been doing a new role in defence, kind of like a midfielder in the backline creating havoc.

 

[FootyGirl]

back to his pre-smacking out Piccione form

Love the descriptor .. agree with you also.

 

[Bren]

An interesting thing to note is that the ones I have seen the most improvement in a 5 of our backmen...

Where do you think Jess plays?

 

[Kanga20]

He was always a great player, just looked out of sorts last year cos he missed the first 5 games. He and Michael Stevens up there with most improved. Hopefully, Watt can take a leaf out of there books

 

[spurs]

Shagger has had a fantastic year so far as has Makepeace

 

[Bren]

Shagger has had a fantastic year so far as has Makepeace

Shagga always plays good at the start of the year and then i think that the presure gets to him to much, hope that he is more consistent this year.
Makepeace has always in my opinion played well... a quiet achiever but a regular achiever

 

[Scallop Industry Thug]

no doubt he's bak to his '03 level. but hes also been helped by the flooding tactics, meaning he gets a lot of cheapies. very good tho

 

[Dingster]

no doubt he's bak to his '03 level. but hes also been helped by the flooding tactics, meaning he gets a lot of cheapies. very good tho

I think that it's more that he is being used better. The sweeping role across half back is perfect for him as he's such a good kick.

 

[Ausgard]

Love the descriptor .. agree with you also.

Where do you think Jess plays?

Half Back Flank I would have said - the play maker / go-to man to give your team run out of defense to set up attacks

 

[Woodson]

Most improved ? Jess ? nah. He along with the usual suspects are picking up where they left off. Players like Hale and Pratt are my vote for most improved Roos. I expect Jess and the likes of Shagger (who I can't understand why the media are starting to realise how good he actually is uh duh! ) have been in the system a fair while and are expected to be more consistant that's all. Shagga won the 2001 B&F, Norm Smith Medal (many have already forgotten that!!) and represented Vic so what the hell is 'career best form' anyway ? Dingbat Media talk again.

 

[Chadwiko]

Weekly feature - Jess Sinclair
11:00:49 AM Thu 5 May, 2005
Scott Spits
Exclusive to kangaroos.com.au

Jess Sinclair can rarely get through an interview without reference to his infamous clash with now-teammate Lance Picioane in late 2003.

The Kangaroos midfielder pleaded guilty to striking Hawthorn's Picioane - who suffered facial fractures and concussion - and was handed a five-match suspension, resulting in Sinclair missing the first three rounds of last year.


By a twist of football fate, Picioane was picked by the Kangaroos after being discarded by the Hawks lasted year and ended up at Arden Street with Sinclair.

While Sinclair was extremely apologetic for his actions at the time, the fact that Picioane became teammate has helped the 26-year-old erase the incident from his mind.

"You regret what you do but you can't take back what's happened. You've got to deal with it and get on," Sinclair said this week.

"Last year it was sort of in the back of my mind. Now that he's at the club and I've actually got to know him quite well - it's something that I don't really think about much anymore."

There are no hard feelings between the pair and the much-publicised clash in even the subject of some mirth at the Kangaroos.

"When he (Picioane) came down to the club, a few of the guys had a joke about it every now and then which is pretty funny."

While there was no recrimination between the pair, Sinclair admits the suspension did impact on his form in 2004.

"Missing the first three games of the season last year sort of put me on the back foot. When I came back in the side I just really wasn't up to speed with the game. I really did struggle to find my feet early," the half-back flanker said.

The difference this year is noticeable with Sinclair enjoying an excellent start to the season after undergoing a tough off-season of training. The attacking defender has picked up more than 20 possessions in three of the Kangaroos' six matches thus far, helping the club achieve a 5-1 record.

"It's been reasonable," said Sinclair of his own form. "I'm more happy with the fact that the side's winning. I couldn't really care less as long as I'm playing a part and we're winning. That's the main thing. There's nothing worse than playing well and losing."

At 26 years of age with 126 matches under his belt with Fremantle and the Roos, Sinclair is aware of his football mortality.

"I've probably only got about five years left mainly. It's amazing how the years creep away from you," Sinclair said of his future.

"I'd be more than happy to finish my career at the Kangaroos. They're a fantastic footy club. I'd assume I will stay with them until my playing days are over."

After another excellent start to a season under coach Dean Laidley, there appears to be a change in focus at Arden Street to avoid a late-season fade-out.

"One of the things we said after this year was when we won I think it was three in a row - because we were at the same stage as what we were the year before - was not to get carried away," Sinclair said.

"Maybe a few boys last year thought it was all coming a bit too easy. We said we'll just keep a lid on it.

"Also, I think we're playing a lot different footy … The way we're playing now is we're a lot more accountable. We just sort of grind sides down. I think that goes down to our fitness work we did over summer."
=======================================


I've spoken to Jess on several occasions when he is in Adelaide, and every single time he strikes me as just being a top-notch guy. Enjoys a good laugh, but takes his football very seriously.

In fact, he reminds me a lot of Shannon Grant in his early days with the Kangaroos (attitude wise). Shagga and Peter Bell used to be such larrakins

 

[spurs]

Great to hear Jess wants to stay at North for the rest of his playing years. Its important that he realises that he has 5 years to make the most of his opportunities.

In 2-3 years time i feel something special is going to happen and we win a premiership.

Lets beat Port this week and remain in the top 2.

Can you all believe we will be a third through the season after this round.

 

[jasps1]

that makes me feel sick
life is just not as good in the off season
its as simple as that