Player Watch Welcome to Hawthorn : Jai “Duke” Newcombe - 2022 AFLCA Best Young Player, extends to 2026!

[Strapping Young Lad]

 

[Bedi]

The 2019 draft, in hindsight, is one of the best of the modern era. The section of 23 year old players this season has some of the best players in the competition, including 6 of the top 20 rated players for 2024.

Caleb Serong
Matt Rowell
Hayden Young
Noah Anderson
Chad Warner
Jai Newcombe
Sam Flanders
Tom Green
Luke Jackson
Nic Martin
Kozzie Pickett
Will Day

In terms of coaches votes over their career, the top 5 are:

Caleb Serong - 282 from 103 games
Noah Anderson - 216 from 104 games
Jai Newcombe - 191 from 76 games
Chad Warner - 189 from 83 games
Matt Rowell - 182 from 85 games

So, despite having played a year and a half less footy than his compatriots and coming from a mile further back, Jai has clawed his way to third on that list and the second highest average with 2.5 CV per game to Caleb Serong with 2.7 CV per game. A star, only getting better every year.

few of these names above polled very well tonight, and Jai right among them.

 

[AlwaysHawks15]

Great season and went up a level in the finals but 24 votes means nothing when a player like Cripps gets 45. Absolute joke the Brownlow. The Bont is twice the footballer than Cripps!

Not twice the footballer. Cripps is the best contested ball winner of the modern era. Just a beast of a player. Bont is the more well rounded more skillful of the two.

 

[Bugs1977]

What's the training he is doing overseas?
And who else is going?

Pretty sure it's some form of high altitude training in Utah I think

 

[Elhawko]

24 votes would have been a medal back in the day.

Crazy how many votes winners are getting.

That's because only about two or three midfielders from each team poll! Voting is really concentrated among maybe 40 players across the 18 teams and before the season even starts we can all name who those 40 will be. I remember when ruckman won the Brownlow on a regular basis. This year I'm not sure Meek polled at all and yet he was in our top three or four most influential players. Even Sic only got four! I'd like to see a team by team breakdown that shows the % of votes the top two midfielders received for their respective teams versus everyone else. Or the number of votes polled by AA team members who aren't midfielders.

 

[jenniferHAWKinS]

Not twice the footballer. Cripps is the best contested ball winner of the modern era. Just a beast of a player. Bont is the more well rounded more skillful of the two.

Exaggeration on twice the footballer but Bont is quicker, more skilful, more elusive and kicks more goals. Josh Kennedy jnr has had 4 better seasons of contested ball than any one season from Cripps, so NO he isn’t the best contested ball winner of the modern era. 45 Brownlow Medal votes from a player who averaged 28.83 possessions in a team that won 13 games is an embarrassment for the AFL! Hopefully Newk (born to play finals) wins a Norm Smith Medal one day because it sure beats winning that joke of a medal presented tonight!

 

[HairyO]

Great season and went up a level in the finals but 24 votes means nothing when a player like Cripps gets 45. Absolute joke the Brownlow. The Bont is twice the footballer than Cripps!

Have to wonder how many would choose Cripps over Bont.

Well done to Newk but he, like many others, vacuum'd up all our votes rather than them properly being distributed amongst our deserving players.

B&F will be interesting.

 

[theiaofseed]

 

[toomanysquibs]

Polled enough to be the #10 Brownlow medal performer, #14 AFL Coaches votes getter, surely adds the PCM this year after just missing out in 22 and 23 following his borderline dominant finals performance in both games ?

 

[Hawks future]

Cripps polled 26 more votes then the whole richmond team is crazy