Wikipedia

Jake Aarts

Jake Aarts (born 8 December 1994) is a professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Richmond Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He played state-league football with Richmond's VFL side before being drafted to the club's AFL list at the 2019 rookie draft in November 2018. Aarts made his AFL debut in round 5 of the 2020 season.

Jake Aarts
Aarts with Richmond's VFL side in May 2019
Personal information
Date of birth (1994-12-08) 8 December 1994 (age 30)
Original team(s) Richmond (VFL)
Draft No. 16, 2019 rookie draft
Debut Round 5, 2020, Richmond vs. Melbourne, at MCG
Height 177 cm (5 ft 10 in)
Weight 75 kg (165 lb)
Position(s) Small forward
Club information
Current club Richmond
Number 16
Playing career1
Years Club Games (Goals)
2019–2022 Richmond 42 (34)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 2022 season.
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

Early life and state-league football

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Aarts played junior and senior local football at the Beaconsfield Football Club in his teenage years but was overlooked by junior representative TAC Cup clubs.[1] In 2013, he followed former Beaconsfield coach Austinn Jones to the Bendigo Football Club when Jones became the club's VFL head coach.[2][3][4][5] He remained with Bendigo for 32 games over two years playing as a wing and half-forward, but when the club folded at the end the 2014 season, Aarts joined the 2015 VFL-only playing squad for the AFL club Richmond's reserves team.[1][6][7][8][9] There he played alongside the club's non-selected AFL-listed players for three years before being selected to serve in the team's leadership group for the 2018 season.[10][11] Aarts finished 2018 having played 16 matches and holding averages of 13 disposals, four tackles and one goal a game, and earned an invitation to the Victorian state draft combine.[12][6] By the end of the 2018 season, Aarts had played 49 matches with Richmond's reserves and a total of 81 state-league games.[6]

He attended secondary school at St. Francis Xavier College, Beaconsfield

AFL career

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2019 season

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Aarts kicks for goal while with Richmond's VFL side in May 2019

Aarts was drafted by Richmond with the club's first pick and the 16th selection overall in the 2019 rookie draft.[12]

He began his first AFL-listed season by playing reserves grade practice matches with the VFL team in March 2020, including with a three-goal haul in the last of those outings.[13][14] Aarts missed the opening round of the VFL season with injury but by the end of April was labelled "ready for an AFL opportunity" by reserves coach Craig McRae.[15][16] In mid-May, Aarts was named a round 8 non-playing AFL emergency following a strong three-goal performance in the VFL a week earlier.[17][18] He was rested for one VFL match later that month while dealing with general soreness and missed a further match in July with a minor calf injury.[19][20][21] He turned in an excellent VFL performance in early August, notching 24 disposals and three goals in a showing that saw him named as an AFL emergency in round 22.[22][23][24] While he was again an emergency in round 23, Aarts could not make an AFL debut before the beginning of the VFL finals series, where he contributed one goal in a qualifying final win over the Essendon reserves.[25][26] In the preliminary final a fortnight later, Aarts was reported for rough conduct against Port Melbourne's Tom O'Sullivan and received a four-week suspension.[27][28][29] Due to that suspension, Aarts was one of just six players on the Richmond list to play in neither the AFL nor VFL premiership winning sides in 2019.[30] Aarts finished the 2019 season without having made an AFL debut, but having played 16 matches and kicking 18 goals with Richmond's reserves side in the VFL.[31][32]

2020 season

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In the early months of the 2019/20 pre-season, Aarts suffered from groin and hip soreness and had limited participation in training, before returning to full fitness by the first week of February 2020.[33][34] He was selected to play in the opening match of the pre-season series in early-March, his first top-level game since being drafted to the club.[35][36] Aarts was dropped back to reserves level after recording 10 disposals, instead playing in one VFL practice match the following week before the remainder of pre-season practice matches were cancelled due to safety concerns as a result of the rapid progression of the COVID-19 pandemic into Australia.[37][38][39] After just one round of AFL matches and as a result of the still unfolding pandemic, the AFL season was suspended for a period of 11 weeks.[40][41][42] In place of the cancelled VFL season, Aarts' return to match-play came through organised reserves practice matches against opposition team's unselected players.[43] He performed consistently well in three such matches when the season resumed in June, earning an AFL debut in round 5's win over Melbourne at the MCG.[7][44][45][46] Aarts made a solid debut with 15 disposals and three score involvements in the shortened game, played with quarter lengths reduced by one fifth like all matches in that pandemic-affected 17-round season.[47][48][49] In the week that followed, Aarts moved with the main playing group when the club was relocated to the Gold Coast in response to a virus outbreak in Melbourne.[50] He kicked his first two career goals in his third match, a round 7 win over North Melbourne.[51][52] After that breakthrough, Aarts became a regular goalkicker, contributing eight goals over the next four matches including a career-high three goals in round 9's win over the Western Bulldogs.[53][54][55] He remained in the senior side for the rest of the regular season, including as the game's equal-leading goalscorer in a round 18 win over Adelaide despite a minor shoulder injury sustained during the match.[56][57] Aarts held his place into the first week of the finals, contributing eight disposals and three tackles in a qualifying final loss to the Brisbane Lions.[58] It was to be his last AFL match of the season however, with omitted from the semi-final side but named instead as a non-playing emergency across each of the club's final three matches including for the grand final victory over Geelong.[59][60][61] For his debut season in which he featured in 14 of a possible 21 matches, Aarts earned equal-14th place in the club's best and fairest count.[62]

2021 season

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Ahead of the 2021 season, Aarts switched guernsey numbers, adopting the number 16 last worn by Shaun Hampson in 2017.[63]

Player profile

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Aarts plays as a small forward and half-forward, adept at tackling and applying defensive pressure on rebounding opposition defenders while also being relatively strong at ball-winning in contest situations compared to most small forwards.[64][12] In his junior years, his time with Bendigo and his early seasons with Richmond's VFL side, Aarts played as an inside midfielder, before making a move to the forward line under the direction of Richmond VFL coach Craig McRae.[6][65][66]

AFL statistics

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Updated to the end of round 23, 2022.[31]

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
2019 Richmond 39 0 — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
2020[a] Richmond 39 14 14 5 71 64 135 31 33 1.0 0.4 5.1 4.6 9.6 2.2 2.4 1
2021 Richmond 16 21 18 12 122 100 222 53 53 0.9 0.6 5.8 4.8 10.6 2.5 2.5 0
2022 Richmond 16 7 2 2 20 29 49 6 14 0.3 0.3 2.9 4.1 7.0 0.9 2.0 0
Career 42 34 19 213 193 406 90 100 0.8 0.5 5.1 4.6 9.7 2.1 2.4 1

Notes

  1. ^ The 2020 season was played with 17 home-and-away matches per team (down from 22) and 16-minute quarters with time on (down from 20-minute quarters with time on) due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Personal life

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Prior to his professional career, Aarts worked as a qualified carpenter.[3]

Aarts and partner Amelia had a baby daughter in January 2021.[67]

References

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  1. ^ a b Amy, Paul (17 August 2020). "'Smocker' no shocker: The unlikely rise of Richmond forward Jake Aarts". Herald Sun. News Corp Australia. Retrieved 20 October 2020.
  2. ^ Greenberg, Tony (3 May 2020). "Special step in Aarts' football journey". Richmond FC. Telstra Media. Retrieved 5 July 2020.
  3. ^ a b Phelan, Jennifer (27 November 2019). "Mature-age Tiger rookie nails the art of hard work". AFL Media. Telstra Media. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
  4. ^ Bourke, Adam (9 July 2020). "Jake Aarts' pathway from the Bendigo Gold to Richmond". Bendigo Advertiser. Australian Community Media. Retrieved 20 October 2020.
  5. ^ Ciconte, Dominic (10 April 2013). "Powerhouses Narre Warren and Cranbourne to become the hunted in Casey Cardinia Football League". Herald Sun. News Corp Australia. Retrieved 5 July 2020.
  6. ^ a b c d "AFL DRAFT WATCH: JAKE AARTS". VFL. SportsTG. 1 November 2018. Archived from the original on 27 March 2019. Retrieved 5 July 2020.
  7. ^ a b "Aarts to make senior debut against Demons". Richmond FC. Telstra Media. 5 July 2020. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
  8. ^ "VFL Tigers finalise 2015 playing list". Richmond FC. Telstra Media. 9 April 2015. Retrieved 5 July 2020.
  9. ^ Cavanagh, Chris (13 April 2015). "Richmond to field youthful side under coach Tim Clarke in VFL in 2015". Herald Sun. News Corp Australia. Melbourne Leader.
  10. ^ "Riewoldt stars in match practice". Richmond FC. Telstra Media. 20 February 2020. Retrieved 5 July 2020.
  11. ^ "Morris to lead VFL Tigers". Richmond FC. Telstra Media. 28 February 2018. Retrieved 5 July 2020.
  12. ^ a b c "VFL Tiger Jake Aarts selected in the Rookie Draft". Richmond FC. Telstra Media. 23 November 2018. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
  13. ^ Mann, Brenton (9 March 2020). "VFL Tigers overtaken by Hawks". Richmond FC. Telstra Media. Retrieved 6 July 2020.
  14. ^ Mann, Brenton (28 March 2019). "VFL Tigers primed for Round 1". Richmond FC. Telstra Media. Retrieved 6 July 2020.
  15. ^ "VFL Report: Round 2". Richmond FC. Telstra Media. 16 April 2019. Retrieved 6 July 2020.
  16. ^ Mann, Brenton (30 April 2019). "VFL Report: Round 4". Richmond FC. Telstra Media. Retrieved 6 July 2020.
  17. ^ Mann, Brenton (5 May 2019). "VFL Tigers tick another box". Richmond FC. Telstra Media. Retrieved 6 July 2020.
  18. ^ Greenberg, Tony (10 May 2019). "Two Tiger changes". Richmond FC. Telstra Media. Retrieved 6 July 2020.
  19. ^ "Round 12 injury update". Richmond FC. Telstra Media. 4 June 2019. Retrieved 6 July 2020.
  20. ^ "Rioli to play for VFL Tigers". Richmond FC. Telstra Media. 31 May 2019. Retrieved 6 July 2020.
  21. ^ Mann, Brenton (18 July 2019). "VFL Report: Round 15". Richmond FC. Telstra Media. Retrieved 6 July 2020.
  22. ^ "In the mix: Who's pushing for selection in round 22?". AFL Media. Telstra Media. 13 August 2019. Retrieved 6 July 2020.
  23. ^ Kalac, Grace (15 August 2019). "Dusty named in squad". Richmond FC. Telstra Media. Retrieved 6 July 2020.
  24. ^ Mann, Brenton (14 August 2019). "VFL Report: Round 19". Richmond FC. Telstra Media. Retrieved 6 July 2020.
  25. ^ Kalac, Grace (23 August 2019). "Two Tiger changes for Lions clash". Richmond FC. Telstra Media. Retrieved 6 July 2020.
  26. ^ Mann, Brenton (31 August 2019). "Nank the hero as VFL Tigers come back from the brink". Richmond FC. Telstra Media. Retrieved 6 July 2020.
  27. ^ Mottershead, James (14 September 2019). "Richmond VFL team through to Grand Final after barnstorming last quarter". Herald Sun. News Corp Australia. Retrieved 6 July 2020.
  28. ^ "Aarts to miss VFL Grand Final". Richmond FC. Telstra Media. 18 September 2019. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
  29. ^ Mann, Brenton (19 September 2019). "VFL Tigers and Seagulls battle for premiership glory". Richmond FC. Telstra Media. Retrieved 6 July 2020.
  30. ^ Marshall, Konrad. Stronger & Bolder. Melbourne, Australia: Slattery Media Group. p. 192. ISBN 9781743796375.
  31. ^ a b "Jake Aarts". AFL Tables. Retrieved 6 July 2020.
  32. ^ "Scoring Summary". 2019 Hard Yakka / Totally Workwear VFL. Archived from the original on 24 September 2019. Retrieved 6 July 2020.
  33. ^ "Pre-season injury update". Richmond FC. Telstra Media. 5 December 2019. Retrieved 6 July 2020.
  34. ^ "Pre-Marsh Series Injury Report". Richmond FC. Telstra Media. 18 February 2020. Retrieved 6 July 2020.
  35. ^ Kalac, Grace (28 February 2020). "Higgins returns for Marsh 1". Richmond FC. Telstra Media. Retrieved 6 July 2020.
  36. ^ Collins, Ben (1 March 2020). "Pie mid's injury sours big win over Tigers as cult hero returns". AFL Media. Telstra Media. Retrieved 6 July 2020.
  37. ^ Mann, Brenton (8 March 2020). "VFL Tigers overrun Werribee". Richmond FC. Telstra Media. Retrieved 6 July 2020.
  38. ^ Beveridge, Riley (13 March 2020). "Game off: Tiger stars to miss valuable practice match". AFL Media. Telstra Media. Retrieved 6 July 2020.
  39. ^ "Tigers finalise team for GWS clash". Richmond FC. Telstra Media. 6 March 2020. Retrieved 6 July 2020.
  40. ^ Barrett, Damien (22 March 2020). "'Most serious threat in 100 years': AFL postpones season". AFL Media. Telstra Media. Retrieved 6 July 2020.
  41. ^ "AFL suspends season in response to coronavirus, with AFLW season cancelled — but NRL plays on for now". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 23 March 2020. Retrieved 6 July 2020.
  42. ^ "AFL 2020 season will restart on June 11 following coronavirus shutdown". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 15 May 2020. Retrieved 6 July 2020.
  43. ^ Cleary, Mitch (10 June 2020). "Will your club play a scratch match this weekend?". AFL Media. Telstra Media. Retrieved 6 July 2020.
  44. ^ "Scratch match player summary". Richmond FC. Telstra Media. 12 June 2020. Retrieved 6 July 2020.
  45. ^ "Scratch match player summary v Hawks". Richmond FC. Telstra Media. 19 June 2020. Retrieved 6 July 2020.
  46. ^ "Scratch match player summary v Saints". Richmond FC. Telstra Media. 28 June 2020. Retrieved 6 July 2020.
  47. ^ Greenberg, Tony (6 July 2020). "Worth the wait for Aarts". Richmond FC. Telstra Media. Retrieved 6 July 2020.
  48. ^ David Mark and James Coventry (14 March 2020). "AFL looking at cramming matches in case coronavirus outbreak postpones 2020 season". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 7 July 2020.
  49. ^ "Coronavirus crisis and footy: The state of play". AFL Media. Telstra Media. 20 March 2020. Retrieved 7 July 2020.
  50. ^ Jake Niall, Peter Ryan and Toby Crockford (15 July 2020). "AFL to move all Victorian clubs to Queensland to save season". The Age. Nine Entertainment Co. Retrieved 20 October 2020.
  51. ^ "Richmond wins over North Melbourne by 54 points, Brisbane beats GWS by 20, Gold Coast defeats Sydney by 32". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. AAP. 18 July 2020. Retrieved 20 October 2020.
  52. ^ Greenberg, Tony (19 July 2020). "Trademark persistence pays dividends for Aarts". Richmond FC. Telstra Media. Retrieved 20 October 2020.
  53. ^ Twomey, Callum (29 July 2020). "Tigers dominate as red-hot Dust blows Dogs away". AFL Media. Telstra Media. Retrieved 20 October 2020.
  54. ^ Greenberg, Tony (31 July 2020). "Dimma an Aarts admirer". Richmond FC. Telstra Media. Retrieved 20 October 2020.
  55. ^ Greenberg, Tony (10 August 2020). "The 'goalden' age of Aarts". Richmond FC. Telstra Media. Retrieved 20 October 2020.
  56. ^ "Injury Report: Qualifying Final". Richmond FC. Telstra Media. 27 September 2020. Retrieved 20 October 2020.
  57. ^ Greenberg, Tony (20 September 2020). "Fine work of Aarts". Richmond FC. Telstra Media. Retrieved 20 October 2020.
  58. ^ Zita, David (2 October 2020). "Tigers Player Ratings: Dusty starts strongly but fades fast, teammates follow suit". Fox Sports. News Corp Australia. Retrieved 13 January 2021.
  59. ^ Spiteri, Tate (8 October 2020). "Two changes for semi-final clash". Richmond FC. Telstra Media. Retrieved 13 January 2021.
  60. ^ Spiteri, Tate (15 October 2020). "No change for preliminary final". Richmond FC. Telstra Media. Retrieved 13 January 2021.
  61. ^ Spiteri, Tate (23 October 2020). "No change to Richmond's Grand Final team". Richmond FC. Telstra Media. Retrieved 13 January 2021.
  62. ^ Cherny, Daniel (26 October 2020). "Short upstages Richmond stars to claim best and fairest". The Age. Nine Entertainment Co. Retrieved 13 January 2021.
  63. ^ Greenberg, Tony (28 December 2020). "2021 Richmond guernsey numbers". Richmond FC. Telstra Media. Retrieved 13 January 2021.
  64. ^ Guthrie, Ben (12 November 2018). "Who are the best mature-age prospects?". Richmond FC. Telstra Media. AFL Media. Retrieved 5 July 2020.
  65. ^ Olle, Sarah (13 November 2018). "AFL draft 2018: Mature-age VFL stars AFL clubs should consider at national and rookie draft". Fox Sports. News Corp Australia. Retrieved 6 July 2020.
  66. ^ Cleary, Mitch (24 July 2020). "The Richmond replacements: Cutting footy trip short, 6am sand dunes, hub walks". AFL Media. Telstra Media. Retrieved 20 October 2020.
  67. ^ Richmond FC [@Richmond_FC] (12 January 2021). "Two new additions to our Tiger family" (Tweet). Retrieved 13 January 2021 – via Twitter.
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