Jason Saddington

Infobox afl player


firstname = Jason
lastname = Saddington


| birthdate = Birth date and age|df=yes|1979|10|23
birthplace =
originalteam = Mitcham / Eastern Ranges U18
heightweight = 194cm / 88kg
dead = alive
deathdate =
deathplace =
debutdate = Round 1, 29 March 1998
debutteam = Sydney Swans
debutopponent = Port Adelaide
debutstadium = Football Park (Now AAMI Stadium)
playingteams = Sydney Swans (1998–2005)

142 games, 41 goals

Carlton (2006-) 20 games, 6 goals

Total

162 games, 47 goals
coach = notcoach
coachingteams =
statsend = 2008
careerhighlights =

*Sydney Swans AFL Rising Star nominee 1998.

Jason Saddington (born 23 October 1979) is an Australian rules footballer in the Australian Football League.

He was recruited as the number 11 draft pick in the 1997 AFL Draft from Mitcham.

ydney career

Jason made his AFL debut for the Sydney Swans 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.

Carlton career

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 and it has now fully recovered. Jason played very good football for Carlton's reserves team, Northern Bullants in the VFL, 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 have been 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 October 3rd, held at the Rydges On Bell, Preston. Jason has been offered a position In an AFL initiative to assist homeless people, if he does retire at the end of the 2008 season.

External links

*Carlplayer|ref=13531
*AflRleague|ref=J/Jason_Saddington.html
* [http://www.blueseum.org/cfc/tiki-index.php?page=Jason+Saddington Jason Saddington Profile in Blueseum]