Australian Football

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Key Facts

Full name
James Gordon Krakouer

Known as
Jim Krakouer

Born
13 October 1958 (age 65)

Place of birth
Mount Barker, WA (6324)

Ethnicity
Indigenous Australian

Age at first & last AFL game
First game: 23y 165d
Last game: 32y 218d

Height and weight
Height: 167 cm
Weight: 67 kg

Senior clubs
Claremont; North Melbourne; St. Kilda

Jumper numbers
North Melbourne: 3
St. Kilda: 3

Recruited from
Claremont (1982); North Melbourne (1990)

State of origin
WA

Family links
Phil Krakouer (Brother)Andrew Krakouer (Brother)Andrew Krakouer (Son)Nathan Krakouer (Nephew)

Jim Krakouer

ClubLeagueCareer spanGamesGoalsAvgWin %AKIAHBAMKBV
ClaremontWAFL1977-1981882142.43
North MelbourneV/AFL1982-19891342291.7152%12.966.312.7651
St. KildaAFL1990-19911370.5462%10.466.232.150
WAFL1977-1981882142.43
V/AFL1982-19911472361.6153%12.746.312.7151
Total1977-19912354501.91

AFL: 9,313th player to appear, 1,376th most games played, 306th most goals kickedNorth Melbourne: 731st player to appear, 79th most games played, 20th most goals kickedSt. Kilda: 1,360th player to appear, 748th most games played, 530th most goals kicked

To suggest that the Claremont Football Club struck gold when it procured the services of Mount Barker brothers Jim and Phil Krakouer would not be so much a case of stating the obvious as of understating it. Seldom, if ever, has football boasted a more exhilarating and potent 'double act'.

James Gordon Krakouer, the elder of the brothers, was the first to make his way to Perth, where it was anticipated that he would spend the 1977 season undergoing careful grooming in the Claremont colts team. However, it did not take long for club officials to recognise that here was a special and extraordinarily precocious talent who was already as good if not better than most of the current crop of league players. Moreover, it soon emerged that Jim Krakouer was unhappy with city life, and would probably have returned home to Mount Barker had he not been presented with the alluring inducement of regular senior football. It was thus in everyone's interests that Krakouer spend the 1977 season playing for a Claremont league side that was beginning to re-emerge as a force after several lack lustre years.

In 1978, Jim's younger brother Phil arrived at Claremont, and this had the simultaneous effect of calming Jim, and of eliciting his best form, although this was somewhat inconsistently displayed at first.

Nimble, quick, and with superb disposal skills, Jim Krakouer was also prone to aggressive outbursts, in consequence of which he was no stranger to the tribunal. The problem was, if anything, exacerbated by his extraordinary courage, which often saw him ploughing in where angels, or at any rate footballers with more acute senses of self-preservation, would fear to tread; inevitably, he would end up getting hurt, and equally inevitably he would react with unrestrained violence, eliciting the ire of umpires and opposition players alike.

Overall, however, the positives far outweighed the negatives: Jim Krakouer made his interstate debut in 1979, and two years later was a key factor in the Tigers' surge - a long overdue surge, in the view of many - to the premiership. He won the Claremont fairest and best award that year, as well as running third in the Sandover Medal voting, and the following season saw him venture east, along, almost inevitably, with his brother, to play out the remaining seasons of his career in the VFL. During his time with Claremont he played a total of 88 senior league games. He also played six times for Western Australia.

Krakouer spent eight seasons with brother Phil at North Melbourne from 1982-89. Together they delighted North fans in particular and footy fans in general with their sublime skill and uncanny ability to work together. Jim played 134 games for North, kicking 229 goals and took out the Kangaroos' best and fairest award in 1986. He saw out his career with St Kilda, playing 13 games with the Saints in 1990-1.

Author - John Devaney

Sources

Full Points Footy's WA Football Companion

Footnotes

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