Australian Football

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Key Facts

Full name
James Cordner

Known as
Jock Cordner

Born
9 June 1910

Died
14 September 1996 (aged 86)

Age at first & last AFL game
First game: 21y 39d
Last game: 30y 342d

Height and weight
Height: 175 cm
Weight: 75 kg

Senior clubs
Footscray; Fitzroy; North Melbourne

Jumper numbers
Footscray: 28
Fitzroy: 2
North Melbourne: 6

Recruited from
Footscray (1933); Fitzroy (1935)

Jock Cordner

Advanced stats
ClubLeagueCareer spanGamesGoalsAvgWin %AKIAHBAMKBV
FootscrayV/AFL1931-1932740.5757%18.00—9.000
FitzroyV/AFL1933-193424230.9650%4.75—1.751
North MelbourneV/AFL1935-19418880.0922%15.33—4.3343
V/AFL1931-1941119350.2929%10.38—3.6344
Total1931-1941119350.2929%10.38—3.6344

Pre 1965 stats are for selected matches only

AFL: 3,845th player to appear, 1,921st most games played, 2,657th most goals kickedFootscray: 143rd player to appear, 720th most games played, 524th most goals kickedFitzroy: 447th player to appear, 418th most games played, 197th most goals kickedNorth Melbourne: 201st player to appear, 152nd most games played, 384th most goals kicked

A long-kicking, strong-marking centreman who almost invariably used the ball to good effect, Jock Cordner surprisingly struggled to establish himself at his first two league clubs before becoming acknowledged as one of the foremost players in the game at the third. He commenced his VFL career at Footscray in 1931, but a leg injury, sustained while playing cricket, restricted him to just seven games in two seasons. He moved to Fitzroy in 1933 but failed to earn consistent senior selection despite putting in some fine performances. 

In 1935, after 24 VFL games for the Roys, he was cleared to North Melbourne, and here at last he hit his straps. A VFL interstate representative every year between 1937 and 1939, he had few peers as a centreman in the league, and was arguably North Melbourne's most important player. He won the club's best and fairest award in 1938, and was appointed captain at the start of a 1941 season that eventually saw him forced to retire because of injury. The North Melbourne phase of his career saw him play a total of 88 league games.

Author - John Devaney

Sources

Full Points Footy Publications

Footnotes

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