Mark Jamar

Mark Jamar
Mark Jamar during the 2007 AFL Season
Personal information
Full name	Mark Jamar
Date of birth	9 August 1983 (1983-08-09) (age 28)
Place of birth	Port Pirie, South Australia
Original team	Lions Football Club, North Adelaide Football Club
Draft	pick 6, Rookie Draft (2001) Melbourne
Height/Weight	199 cm / 103 kg
Club information
Current club	Melbourne
Number	40
Playing career1
Years	Club	Games (Goals)
2003–	Melbourne	110 (44)
1 Playing statistics to end of 2011 season .
Career highlights
All Australian 2010

Mark "Russian"^[1] Jamar (born 9 August 1983) is a professional Australian rules footballer currently playing with the Melbourne Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL).

Early life

Jamar was born and raised in the country South Australian town of Port Pirie. He played his early football at the Lions Football Club of the Spencer Gulf Football League, before moving to North Adelaide in the South Australian National Football League.

Jamar was a standout performer at the 2001 AFL National Under 18 Championships being selected in the All Australian team. However, despite this he was overlooked in that years Draft. He was, however, selected at pick 6 of the Rookie Draft by Melbourne.

AFL career

He was elevated to the senior list, and debuted in 2003. Jamar wears the number 40 and is a 100 kg+ ruckman who sometimes fills in up forward.

He kicked 5 goals straight in a game against Carlton in 2009 and also beat young West Coast ruckman Nicholas Naitanui so convincingly that the youngster was forced into light training duties during the next few weeks.

2003 Mark Jamar was drafted at pick number 6 to the Melbourne Demons in the 2001 Rookie Draft. He debuted in the opening round of the 2003 season against Hawthorn, which the Demons won 106–100. He had a quiet debut with only 4 disposals, a mark and a hit-out on the stats sheet. However he improved in his next match, a 27-point win over the Port Adelaide Power in which he registered 6 disposals, 10 hit-outs and his first AFL goal. He went on to play another 7 games that season, all 7 of which Melbourne lost. They finished 14th and did not play in the finals. Jamar ranked 4th among rising stars in total hit-outs in 2003 and 3rd among rising stars in hit-outs per game in 2003.

2004 Jamar only played 3 games this season, including an elimination final that the Demons lost in a 5-point match against Essendon. He averaged 5 disposals and 7 hit-outs. The Demons finished 5th.

2005 Throughout season 2005 Jamar played 8 games of which the Demons won 5. He averaged 3 disposals and 8 hit-outs and kicked 1 goal in the ruck. Melbourne finished 7th and played in the elimination final against the Geelong Cats, which they lost 116–61.

2006 In his best season so far, Jamar missed only 1 game in the whole premiership season. He consolidated himself as a reliable ruckman for the Demons. He averaged 10 hit-outs and 4 disposals and kicked 10 goals and 2 behinds for the complete season. Melbourne finished the season 7th on the ladder and played St Kilda in the elimination final, which the Demons won 90–72. Jamar contributed in the ruck with 7 hit-outs and 4 disposals. He did not play against Fremantle the following week when the Demons were defeated by 28 points and eliminated from the finals.

2007 Jamar missed the middle part of the season, but played the first and last 5 games of the season. He only played in 2 winning matches and averaged 6 disposals and 10 hit-outs as well as kicking 4 goals for the season. The Demons finished 14th.

2008 In his 6th and arguably best season, Jamar played 14 games and averaged 8 disposals and 19 hit-outs and kicked 4 goals. Though Melbourne finished last and did not qualify for finals, Jamar had made himself known in the AFL, performing reliably in the ruck. He ranked 9th in hit-outs per game for 2008.

2009 A stress fracture in his foot resulted in Jamar missing a lot of the 2009 season. In the games he did play he played in the primary ruck position, averaging 23 hit-outs and 11 disposals. Once again the Demons finished bottom of the ladder, but Jamar's efforts as Melbourne's main big man did not go unnoticed. He ranked 7th in hit-outs per game for the year.

2010 Jamar has gone from strength to strength as Melbourne's number one ruck in 2010, playing an instrumental part in the Demons' rise up the ladder this year, averaging 29 hit-outs, 12 disposals and three contested marks per game, with four goals over the first seven rounds. He was ranked second in the AFL for hit-outs per game, was named as the second ruckman for the 2010 All-Australian squad^[2] and finished third in Melbourne's Best and Fairest, behind Brad Green and James Frawley.^[3]

Personal life

Jamar sometimes goes by the nickname "Russian".^[1]

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Hogan, Jesse (7 May 2010). "The Russian is coming". The Age (Melbourne). http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/the-russian-is-coming-20100506-ugv3.html. 
2. ^ http://www.afl.com.au/news/newsarticle/tabid/208/newsid/102544/default.aspx
3. ^ Clark, Jay (3 September 2010). "Brad Green wins Keith "Bluey" Truscott gong". Herald Sun. http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/brad-green-wins-keith-bluey-truscott-gong/story-e6frf9jf-1225913539920. Retrieved 3 September 2010. 

External links

• Mark Jamar Profile
• Mark Jamar's statistics from AFL Tables

Persondata
Name	Jamar, Mark
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	9 August 1983
Place of birth	Port Pirie, South Australia
Date of death
Place of death