Jai Newcombe

Jai Newcombe (born 2 August 2001) is a professional Australian rules footballer with the Hawthorn Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). Upcoming 7 time brownlow medallist and 4 time premiership player, said by his biggest fan, Big_Jai_Newcombe, multiple times.

Jai Newcombe
Newcombe in 2025
Personal information
Full name	Jai Newcombe
Nickname(s)	Nuke, Duke the Nuke, Jai the Guy, King Kong of Poowong, The Poowong Punisher, The Prince of Poowong, Nub Jnr, Billboard
Date of birth	(2001-08-02) 2 August 2001 (age 24)
Original team(s)	Poowong (EDFL), Box Hill Hawks
Draft	No. 2, 2021 mid-season rookie draft
Debut	Round 13, 2021, Hawthorn vs. Sydney, at Sydney Cricket Ground
Height	187 cm (6 ft 2 in)
Weight	92 kg (203 lb)
Position(s)	Midfielder
Club information
Current club	Hawthorn
Number	3
Playing career1
Years	Club	Games (Goals)
2021–	Hawthorn	96 (40)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of round 21, 2025.
Career highlights
Peter Crimmins Medal: 2024 AFLCA Best Young Player: 2022 22under22team: 2023 (vc) AFL Rising Star nominee: 2022 VFL Team of the Year: 2021
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

Early career

Newcombe grew up in the small rural town of Poowong in Southern Gippsland, and attended the nearby Drouin Secondary College. He participated in the Auskick program at Poowong^[1] and playing junior football for the Poowong Magpies in the Ellinbank & District Football League. Newcombe was unable to secure a place in the Gippsland Power squads at ages 16, 17 and 18. He made the team in 2020 but due to the COVID-19 pandemic was unable to play a game.

Newcombe's AFL career started at the Hawthorn affiliate Box Hill Hawks in the Victorian Football League (VFL). He played a practice match for Box Hill at the start of 2020 and was asked to return in November after Melbourne was released from lockdown. He made the long commute twice a week from Warragul, where he was working, to training at Box Hill.^[2]

AFL career

Newcombe was selected with pick two in the 2021 mid-season draft, having caught the eye of recruiters after an impressive campaign with the Box Hill Hawks across the first half of the 2021 VFL season. The following week, Newcombe made his AFL debut against the Swans,^[3] setting an AFL record for the most tackles in a debut match, with 14.^[4]

Statistics

Updated to the end of round 21, 2025.^[5]

Legend

G	Goals	K	Kicks	D	Disposals	T	Tackles
B	Behinds	H	Handballs	M	Marks

Season	Team	No.	Games	Totals							Averages (per game)							Votes
				G	B	K	H	D	M	T	G	B	K	H	D	M	T
2021	Hawthorn	44	7	1	1	32	30	62	17	39	0.1	0.1	4.6	4.3	8.9	2.4	5.6	0
2022	Hawthorn	44	22	8	6	266	230	496	94	101	0.4	0.3	12.1	10.5	22.5	4.3	4.6	11
2023	Hawthorn	3	22	12	8	244	309	553	100	94	0.5	0.4	11.1	14.0	25.1	4.5	4.3	18
2024	Hawthorn	3	25	11	4	262	357	619	97	111	0.4	0.2	10.5	14.3	24.8	3.9	4.4	24
2025	Hawthorn	3	20	8	6	203	240	443	68	106	0.4	0.3	10.2	12.0	22.2	3.4	5.3
Career			96	40	25	1007	1166	2173	376	451	0.4	0.3	10.5	12.1	22.6	3.9	4.7	53

Honours and achievements

Team

• McClelland Trophy (Hawthorn): 2024^[6]

Individual

• AFLCA best young player: 2022^[7]
• 22under22 team: 2023^[8]
• Peter Crimmins Medal: 2024^[9]
• AFL Rising Star nominee: 2022^[10]
• VFL Team of the Year: 2021^[11]