Jason Dunstall

Infobox afl player NEW


playername = Jason Dunstall
fullname = Jason Hadfield Dunstall


birthdate = birth date and age|1964|8|14|df=y
birthplace = Brisbane, Queensland
originalteam = Coorparoo
draftpick =
heightweight = 188cm / 111kg
position =
dead = alive
deathdate =
deathplace =
currentclub =
guernsey =
years = 1985 – 1998
clubs = Hawthorn
games(goals) = 269 (1254)
coach = notcoach
coachingteams =
statsend = 1998
careerhighlights =

* Peter Crimmins Medal 1988, 1989, 1992, 1993
* Hawthorn Premiership Team 1986, 1988, 1989, 1991
* Hawthorn Leading Goalkicker 1986-1996, 1998
* Hawthorn Captain 1995-1998
* All-Australian 1988, 1989, 1992, 1994
* Represented both Victoria and the All-Stars in State of Origin
* Coleman Medal 1988, 1989, 1992
* Hawthorn Team of the Century

Jason Hadfield Dunstall (born in Brisbane, Queensland on 14 August 1964), is a former Australian rules football player for the Hawthorn Football Club of the AFL. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest full-forwards and the greatest Queensland born player of all time.

He attended the Anglican Church Grammar School from 1977-1981

VFL/AFL career

Jason Dunstall was recruited from the Coorparoo Football Club in Queensland, playing his entire career for the Melbourne based Hawthorn Hawks and making his VFL/AFL football debut in 1985.

Nicknamed "Piggy" due to his stocky physique, Jason Dunstall has proved himself to be one of the greatest full-forwards to have ever played, kicking 1254 goals, a feat only exceeded by Tony Lockett with 1360 and Gordon Coventry with 1299.

He kicked 100 goals in a season a record six times and won the Coleman Medal in 1988, 1989 and 1992.

In May 1992, he kicked a career best of 17 goals in a game against the Richmond Football Club.

At 188 cm, Dunstall was not an overly tall full-forward and was not known for taking overhead marks. Instead, he often used his explosive pace off the mark to lead into space enabled him to take trademark chest marks and diving marks. Other times, he used his stocky 100 kg + frame to outbody opponents. Often he would physically wrestle his opponents for position - a technique no longer allowed in the modern game.

Dunstall had an extremely high accuracy in kicking goals from set shots. These techniques, as well as his ability to shrug tackles and snap goals more than made up for his lack of height.

Dunstall played in premiership sides in 1986, 1988, 1989 and 1991. He also played in 5 night premierships.

He represented both Queensland and Victoria in State of Origin including the famous 1989 Victoria vs South Australia match where he lined up alongside 2 other great full-forwards in Gary Ablett and Tony Lockett in front of a record crowd of 91,960.

From 1995-98, he captained the Hawks.

Dunstall was unfortunate to narrowly miss the prestigious Brownlow Medal on several occasions, finishing twice second, and twice third in voting (Tony Lockett is the only player of Dunstall's field position to have won the medal). Dunstall was renowned for being fair player and despite his intimidating size in an era when the game was notorious for behind-the-play incidents, he was well respected by umpires preferring to do all his punching post-retirement.

Jason Dunstall qualified for the prestigious All-Australian side in 1988, 1989, 1992 and 1994, and was also part of the Hawthorn Team of the Century. He retired at the end of season 1998 after 269 games.

Post-football

Dunstall has been guest commentator on the Seven Network and radio station 3AW and was a regular panellist in the early days of "The AFL Footy Show".

Dunstall recently held the position of interim CEO at Hawthorn, and currently works on radio station Triple M as a commentator. His stint as CEO led to the nickname of "The Chief", which has eventually evolved into "The Chieftain". His mannerisms on Fox Footy and Triple M lean towards professionalism, which at times can be seen as too serious (as on the 80's Heritage Round episode of "The AFL Footy Show" on 20 July 2006.) He is the focus on continual baiting by his Triple M co-commentators and is nicknamed "The Ugandan National Symbol" for his gorilla-like style, attitude and demeanour. These gorilla references have crept into The Footy show, where both fans and Sam Newman repeatably bait him with video clips and props. In September 2008 The Footy Show launched a competition called "The Great Chief Chase" in which viewers can win prizes when they submit photo's of themselves with Dunstall, making reference to the Chief's apparent submissive personality. Newman told viewers "not to take no for an answer" and gave out street references for Dunstall's local golf course.

He has also hosted various television shows, including Channel 7's Live and Kicking, Fox Footy's "Saturday Central" (with Wayne Carey), "On the Couch" and "League Teams".

He was a host of Triple M radio show "The Gospel" with Nathan Brown (Western Bulldogs/Richmond Tigers), Peter Everitt (St.Kilda Saints/Hawthorn Hawks/Sydney Swans) and Nick Riewoldt (St. Kilda Saints) until 2006.

He is currently the co-host of "The Dead Set Legends" alongside Andrew Gaze on Saturday mornings on the Triple M Melbourne radio station.

Dunstall is now the host of Before the Bounce, a weekly football show broadcast on Foxtel.

External links

* [http://stats.rleague.com/afl/stats/players/J/Jason_Dunstall.html Jason Dunstall Playing Statistics]
* [http://www.fullpointsfooty.net/QToC_forwards.htm Full Points Footy Queensland Team of the Century Profile]
* [http://www.saxton.com.au/default.asp?sd8=2096 Speaker Profile]