Joel Smith

Joel Smith (born 3 May 1977) is a former Australian rules footballer.

For other people named Joel Smith, see Joel Smith (disambiguation).

Joel Michael Smith
Personal information
Date of birth (1977-05-03) 3 May 1977
Original team(s) Yarrawonga / Murray Bushrangers
Debut Round 3, 16 April 1995, St Kilda
vs. Adelaide, at Football Park
Height 185 cm (6 ft 1 in)
Weight 87 kg (192 lb)
Playing career1
Years Club Games (Goals)
1995–1997 St Kilda 058 (51)
1998–2007 Hawthorn 163 (39)
Total 221 (90)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 2007.
Career highlights
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

Beginning his career in 1995 as a bright young prospect for St Kilda, Smith was touted as the future of the club.

Smith played in St Kilda’s 1996 AFL Ansett Australia Cup winning side – the club's first AFL Cup win.[1]

He provided 3 good years of service before being incurring a serious anterior cruciate ligament injury requiring reconstruction late in the 1997 home and away season, missing the Saints' finals series.

A contractual dispute meant he moved to Hawthorn at the end of 1997.[2] While he was injured all throughout 1998 and did not play a game, Hawthorn recognised this talent and kept him on the list.

Smith made his return in the 1999 season and his role at the Hawks was as a running half-back, setting up attacking plays. He has been very successful playing this role throughout his career, and in 2001, won All-Australian selection and the Peter Crimmins Medal. He again won All-Australian selection in 2003, was vice captain in the 2005 season, and consistently finished in the top bunch of players in his club's best and fairest award.

Smith retired at the end of the 2007 season, during which Hawthorn returned to the finals for the first time in 6 years, citing that the rapidly improving Hawthorn side was likely to mean reduced opportunities for him in 2008.[3]

Statistics
[4]
Legend
 G  Goals  B  Behinds  K  Kicks  H  Handballs  D  Disposals  M  Marks  T  Tackles
AFL playing statistics
Season Team No. Games Totals Averages (per game) Votes
G B K H D M T G B K H D M T
1995 St Kilda 420671909928965250.30.49.55.014.53.31.31
1996 St Kilda 422222224612236896301.01.011.25.516.74.41.41
1997 St Kilda 41623172079430163171.41.112.95.918.83.91.13
1998 Hawthorn 110———————————————
1999 Hawthorn 11178121305818834140.50.77.63.411.12.00.82
2000 Hawthorn 11171051317720852170.60.37.74.512.23.11.00
2001 Hawthorn 1124053158740282330.00.213.13.616.83.41.47
2002 Hawthorn 115226218801950.40.412.43.616.03.81.01
2003 Hawthorn 1122562229231476430.20.310.14.214.33.52.03
2004 Hawthorn 11227226110636773480.30.111.94.816.73.32.20
2005 Hawthorn 11204423314637995240.20.211.77.319.04.81.25
2006 Hawthorn 111901199115314111280.00.110.56.116.55.81.50
2007 Hawthorn 11173514712427193280.20.38.67.315.95.51.60
Career 221 90 88 2343 1138 3481 859 312 0.4 0.4 10.6 5.1 15.8 3.9 1.4 23

References
  1. "AFL 1996 Ansett Cup Grand Final – St Kilda v Carlton". Slattery Media Group. 23 March 1996. Archived from the original on 16 July 2011. Retrieved 7 November 2009.
  2. Denham, Greg (3 February 1998). "Young Saint quits to join Hawks". The Age.
  3. "Hawthorn's Joel Smith retires from AFL". 25 September 2007.
  4. "Joel Smith stats". AFL Tables. Retrieved 1 October 2019.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.