Australian Football

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Key Facts

Full name
James Thiessen

Known as
James Thiessen

Born
10 February 1974 (age 50)

Age at first & last AFL game
First game: 19y 156d
Last game: 26y 170d

Height and weight
Height: 180 cm
Weight: 80 kg

Senior clubs
Richmond; Norwood; Adelaide

Jumper numbers
Richmond: 46
Adelaide: 29

Recruited from
Glen Waverley Hawks (1993); Richmond (1995); Norwood (1998)

Family links
Tony Thiessen (Father)

James Thiessen

ClubLeagueCareer spanGamesGoalsAvgWin %AKIAHBAMKBV
RichmondAFL1993730.430%11.864.863.000
NorwoodSANFL1995-20031191501.26
AdelaideAFL1998-200044210.4848%8.594.362.890
AFL1993, 1998-200051240.4741%9.044.432.900
SANFL1995-20031191501.26
Total1993, 1995-20031701741.02

AFL: 10,440th player to appear, 4,266th most games played, 3,380th most goals kickedRichmond: 963rd player to appear, 789th most games played, 641st most goals kickedAdelaide: 90th player to appear, 111th most games played, 107th most goals kicked

James Thiessen had his first taste of league football in 1993 with Richmond but after managing just seven appearances for the year he was de-listed. Two years later he bobbed up at Norwood where he would go on to enjoy a fine career, in the process affirming himself as one of the Redlegs’ greatest ever Victorian recruits.

Boasting plenty of pace and highly elusive, he played much of his football on a wing, and was a regular inclusion on Norwood’s best player lists. He also had a keen eye for goal and played a number of compelling games on a half forward flank. His career tally of 150 goals in 119 games with the Redlegs bears testimony to his prowess when stationed in the forward lines. A premiership player in 1997 when Norwood thrashed arch rivals Port Adelaide in the grand final, he also played in the losing grand final team of 1999 against the same opposition. He played once for the South Australian state league side, earning the Fos Williams Medal for a best afield performance against the ACT in Canberra.

Between 1998 and 2000 Thiessen’s Norwood career ran in parallell with a return to the glamour of the AFL, this time with Adelaide, where he played 44 games and kicked 21 goals over the three seasons. The highlight of his stint with the Crows was playing, as a wingman, in the club’s 1998 premiership side. After being de-listed by the Crows in 2000 Thiessen spent a year travelling before returning to the Parade in 2002 for a couple more seasons of SANFL football.

James Thiessen’s father Tony played a total of 24 VFL games for Carlton, Melbourne and North Melbourne.

Author - John Devaney

Sources

Encyclopedia of AFL Footballers by Russell Holesby & Jim Main; Wikipedia articles; http://www.redlegsmuseum.com.au/ON_FIELD/PLAYERS/THIESSEN__James.aspx

Footnotes

* Behinds calculated from the 1965 season on.
+ Score at the end of extra time.