Alistair Nicholson

Infobox afl player


firstname = Alistair
lastname = Nicholson


birthdate = Birth date and age|1978|3|4|df=y
birthplace =
originalteam = Claremont Football Club (WA)
heightweight = 197cm / 102kg
dead = alive
deathdate =
deathplace =
debutdate = Round 6, 4 May 1997
debutteam = Melbourne Demons
debutopponent = St Kilda
debutstadium = Waverley Park
playingteams = Melbourne Demons (1997-)

110 Games, 3 Goals
coach = notcoach
coachingteams =
statsend = 2006
careerhighlights =

*2000 AFL Grand Final side

Alistair "Big Jack" Nicholson (born 4 March 1978) is a former Australian rules footballer with the Melbourne Football Club.

Nicholson was schooled at Scotch College, Perth, where he was School Captain in his final year of 1995, he was also Co-Captain of Hockey. Fellow AFL footballer Rowan Jones followed Nicholson as School Captain in 1996.

Making his debut in 1997 in the number 8 guernsey, the large figure of the man known as "Big Jack" has been a strong presence in defence for the Demons. Nicholson, a specialist key position defender, was most suited to fullback and was much maligned during his career, described by critics as "old, slow and useless" and "unfashionable". [" [http://www.theage.com.au/realfooty/news/Robert-Walls/Jack-is-back/2005/06/17/1118869095106.html Jack is Back] ", Robert Walls, "The Age", 18 June 2005.] However, Nicholson was shown a lot of faith by coach Neale Daniher, and was signed on until the end of the 2007 season.

The next year, however, saw a sharp decline in Nicholson's career. Due to the emergence of much-improved fullback Nathan Carroll, Nicholson was relegated to the Sandringham Zebras for all of the 2006 season. At the end of the year, he was delisted and paid out his contract (which still had a year to run), effectively ending his AFL career.

References

External links

*Melbplayer|ref=13388
*AflRleague|ref=A/Alistair_Nicholson.html