Australian Football

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Key Facts

Full name
Jason Ball

Known as
Jason Ball

Born
21 November 1972 (age 51)

Age at first & last AFL game
First game: 19y 129d
Last game: 32y 307d

Height and weight
Height: 201 cm
Weight: 104 kg

Senior clubs
Swan Districts; West Coast; Sydney

Jumper numbers
West Coast: 29, 26
Sydney: 27

Recruited from
Swan Districts (1992); West Coast (2000)

Jason Ball

ClubLeagueCareer spanGamesGoalsAvgWin %AKIAHBAMKBV
Swan DistrictsWR1991-1994, 1997, 1999611021.67
West CoastAFL1992-19991031141.1161%7.954.684.5817
SydneyAFL2000-2001, 2003-200590450.5061%6.814.823.8910
WR1991-1994, 1997, 1999611021.67
AFL1992-2001, 2003-20051931590.8261%7.424.754.2627
Total1991-2001, 2003-20052542611.03

AFL: 10,301st player to appear, 725th most games played, 599th most goals kickedWest Coast: 74th player to appear, 67th most games played, 24th most goals kickedSydney: 1,302nd player to appear, 168th most games played, 172nd most goals kicked

Jason Ball was a tall, hefty key forward who commenced his senior League career with Swan Districts in 1991. He would play the last of his 61 games for the club in 1997, but from 1992 his WAFL career ran in tandem with his career at the game's top level with West Coast where, after struggling initially to find his feet, he developed into a key member of the side. A premiership player with the Eagles in 1994, he was the club's top goal kicker with 48 goals the following year and was a West Australian state of origin representative twice.

Towards the end of his time with West Coast Ball suffered from a series of injuries and it was therefore something of a surprise when he was traded to Sydney after the 1999 season. During his time with the Eagles he had played 103 AFL games and kicked 114 goals. His stint with Sydney was also undermined by injury to some extent but when fit and firing he was a formidable force, playing many games as a ruckman rather than the key forward role he had undertaken with West Coast. 

Jason Ball's League career came to an end in the most satisfying way imaginable when he was an important member of the Swans' 2005 grand final defeat of his former club West Coast. His Sydney career comprised 90 games in which he kicked 45 goals.

Author - John Devaney

Sources

Encyclopedia of AFL Footballers by Russell Holmesby & Jim Main; Wikipedia article

Footnotes

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