Jason Saddington
Encyclopedia
Jason Saddington is a retired Australian rules football
er in the Australian Football League
.
He was recruited as the number 11 draft pick in the 1997 AFL Draft
from Mitcham
.
in Round 1, 1998 against Port Adelaide
. He had a consistent debut season in 1998 and was nominated for the Norwich Rising Star award that year. He kicked 4 goals against the Kangaroos
in Round 4 of 2004 in one of his best matches of his career, and was noted as a consistent rebounding backman with a strong mark. However, a serious knee injury in Round 10, 2004 against the Western Bulldogs
interrupted his career and the very slow process of recovery resulted in Jason being traded to the Carlton Football Club
at the end of the 2005 season. He played 142 games in eight seasons at the Swans.
, in the early rounds of season 2007 and played his first senior game of the 2007 AFL Season
at the MCG against Magpies
in Round 7 on Saturday 12 May 2007 taking a team high total of 12 marks. He played his 150th AFL game against the Kangaroos
at Carrara Stadium
on the Gold Coast
the following week. With the resignation of Denis Pagan
as Carlton coach and the placement of Brett Ratten
in that role, Jason's abilities as a part time forward were put to good use. He kicked one goal in each of the first four games coached by Ratten including one booming kick of 65 metres from the centre square against Collingwood in Round 18. He was selected for his first game of his two games of the 2008 season against Port Adelaide in Round 19. Jason won the Bullants' Best and Fairest
award, the Laurie Hill Trophy on Friday 3 October, held at the Rydges On Bell, Preston
. Jason was offered a position in an AFL
initiative to assist homeless people.
Saddington officially retired from the AFL
on the 13 October 2008. He continued to play on with the Northern Bullants
as a VFL
-listed player in 2009, where he was a part of the club's losing grand final team. He currently plays for the Balmain Dockers in the Sydney AFL competition alongside premiership players Nick Davis and Chad Fletcher.
Australian rules football
Australian rules football, officially known as Australian football, also called football, Aussie rules or footy is a sport played between two teams of 22 players on either...
er in the Australian Football League
Australian Football League
The Australian Football League is both the governing body and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football...
.
He was recruited as the number 11 draft pick in the 1997 AFL Draft
1997 AFL Draft
The 1997 AFL Draft was held at the conclusion of the 1997 Australian Football League season. A pre-season draft was also held prior to the 1998 season....
from Mitcham
Mitcham, Victoria
Mitcham is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 20 km east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Whitehorse. At the 2006 Census, Mitcham had a population of 14,211.-History:...
.
Sydney
Jason made his AFL debut for the Sydney SwansSydney Swans
The Sydney Swans Football Club is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League . The club is based in Sydney, New South Wales. The club, founded in 1874, was known as the South Melbourne Football Club until it relocated to Sydney in 1982 to become the Sydney...
in Round 1, 1998 against Port Adelaide
Port Adelaide Football Club
The Port Adelaide Football Club is an Australian rules football club based in Alberton, South Australia, which plays in the Australian Football League and the South Australian National Football League...
. He had a consistent debut season in 1998 and was nominated for the Norwich Rising Star award that year. He kicked 4 goals against the Kangaroos
North Melbourne Football Club
The North Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed The Kangaroos, is the fourth oldest Australian rules football club in the Australian Football League and is one of the oldest sporting clubs in Australia and the world...
in Round 4 of 2004 in one of his best matches of his career, and was noted as a consistent rebounding backman with a strong mark. However, a serious knee injury in Round 10, 2004 against the Western Bulldogs
Western Bulldogs
The Western Bulldogs are an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League . The club is based at the Whitten Oval in West Footscray, an inner-western suburb of Melbourne...
interrupted his career and the very slow process of recovery resulted in Jason being traded to the Carlton Football Club
Carlton Football Club
The Carlton Football Club is a professional Australian rules football club based in Melbourne, Victoria. The club competes in the Australian Football League, and was one of the eight founding members of that competition in 1897...
at the end of the 2005 season. He played 142 games in eight seasons at the Swans.
Carlton
Ironically, Jason debuted for Carlton against his old club, the Sydney Swans, in Round 3, 2006. He played six consecutive games, scoring two goals, before his season was again ended by the recurring knee injury. It was at this late stage that Jason was told for the first time that the medical staff at Sydney Swans were aware of complications that had resulted from his first knee injury and had withheld this information from him and also from his new club. Carlton then took a chance on Jason and had specialists operate on his knee again. Fully recovered, Jason played very good football for Carlton's r, the Northern BullantsNorthern Bullants
Northern Blues Football Club is a long-established Australian rules football club based in Preston and currently playing in the Victorian Football League representing the central and outer areas of Melbourne...
, in the early rounds of season 2007 and played his first senior game of the 2007 AFL Season
2007 AFL season
The 2007 AFL Season was the 111th season of the Australian Football League, the highest-level professional Australian rules football league in Australia...
at the MCG against Magpies
Collingwood Football Club
The Collingwood Football Club, nicknamed The Magpies, is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League...
in Round 7 on Saturday 12 May 2007 taking a team high total of 12 marks. He played his 150th AFL game against the Kangaroos
North Melbourne Football Club
The North Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed The Kangaroos, is the fourth oldest Australian rules football club in the Australian Football League and is one of the oldest sporting clubs in Australia and the world...
at Carrara Stadium
Carrara Stadium
Carrara Stadium is a sporting venue on the Gold Coast in Queensland, Australia, located in the suburb of Carrara....
on the Gold Coast
Gold Coast, Queensland
Gold Coast is a coastal city of Australia located in South East Queensland, 94km south of the state capital Brisbane. With a population approximately 540,000 in 2010, it is the second most populous city in the state, the sixth most populous city in the country, and also the most populous...
the following week. With the resignation of Denis Pagan
Denis Pagan
Denis Pagan is a former Australian rules football coach and player in the VFL/AFL. He is current coach of Northern Knights in TAC Cup.-Playing career:...
as Carlton coach and the placement of Brett Ratten
Brett Ratten
Brett "Ratts" Ratten is a former Australian rules footballer and the current coach of the Carlton Football Club in the Australian Football League....
in that role, Jason's abilities as a part time forward were put to good use. He kicked one goal in each of the first four games coached by Ratten including one booming kick of 65 metres from the centre square against Collingwood in Round 18. He was selected for his first game of his two games of the 2008 season against Port Adelaide in Round 19. Jason won the Bullants' Best and Fairest
Best and Fairest
Best and Fairest is the term commonly used in Australian sport to describe the player adjudged to have had the best performance in a game or over a season for a given sporting club or competition while not receiving a suspension for misconduct or breaching the rules during that season.In the...
award, the Laurie Hill Trophy on Friday 3 October, held at the Rydges On Bell, Preston
Preston, Victoria
Preston is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 9 km north from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Darebin. At the 2006 Census, Preston had a population of 27,892.-Settlement:...
. Jason was offered a position in an AFL
Australian Football League
The Australian Football League is both the governing body and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football...
initiative to assist homeless people.
Saddington officially retired from the AFL
Australian Football League
The Australian Football League is both the governing body and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football...
on the 13 October 2008. He continued to play on with the Northern Bullants
Northern Bullants
Northern Blues Football Club is a long-established Australian rules football club based in Preston and currently playing in the Victorian Football League representing the central and outer areas of Melbourne...
as a VFL
Victorian Football League
The Victorian Football League which evolved from the former Victorian Football Association , taking its new name as from the 1996 season, is the premier Australian rules football league in Victoria The Victorian Football League (VFL) which evolved from the former Victorian Football Association...
-listed player in 2009, where he was a part of the club's losing grand final team. He currently plays for the Balmain Dockers in the Sydney AFL competition alongside premiership players Nick Davis and Chad Fletcher.