AustralianFootball.com Celebrating the history of the great Australian game
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
Club | League | Career span | Games | Goals | Avg | Win % | AKI | AHB | AMK | BV |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Footscray | V/AFL | 1931-1932 | 7 | 4 | 0.57 | 57% | 18.00 | — | 9.00 | 0 |
Fitzroy | V/AFL | 1933-1934 | 24 | 23 | 0.96 | 50% | 4.75 | — | 1.75 | 1 |
North Melbourne | V/AFL | 1935-1941 | 88 | 8 | 0.09 | 22% | 15.33 | — | 4.33 | 43 |
V/AFL | 1931-1941 | 119 | 35 | 0.29 | 29% | 10.38 | — | 3.63 | 44 | |
Total | 1931-1941 | 119 | 35 | 0.29 | 29% | 10.38 | — | 3.63 | 44 |
Pre 1965 stats are for selected matches only
AFL: 3,845th player to appear, 1,962nd most games played, 2,683rd most goals kickedFootscray: 143rd player to appear, 726th most games played, 527th most goals kickedFitzroy: 447th player to appear, 418th most games played, 197th most goals kickedNorth Melbourne: 201st player to appear, 153rd most games played, 388th 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