Australian Football

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