#9 - John "Jack" Anthony - 2009

[Kate1985]

· Height: 192
· Weight: 92
· DOB: 19-01-1988
· Debut: R3 ’08 v Richmond @ MCG
· Junior Club: Diamond Creek
· Recruited from: Northern U18 (VIC)
· 2005 AFL Draft 3rd Round selection (Collingwoood) No. 37 overall

Games
· 2008: 12
· Career: 12

Goals
· 2008: 25 (4th overall for Collingwood, averaging 2.08 goals per game)
· Career: 25


2008 season (from CFC website)
Anthony made his AFL debut in round three against Richmond and kicked two goals straight, a sign of what was to come from the 20-year-old. He played his second game of senior football in round 13 and held his spot for the duration of the season. He amazingly kicked at least one goal in every game he played finishing the year with 25 majors and only six behinds. Originally believed to be the replacement for the retired James Clement, Anthony was a dangerous force up forward. His best return of the season was kicking four goals in a losing side against North Melbourne in round 16. Against St Kilda in round 19 he kicked three goals and had five marks in an important game for the club.

Career (from CFC website)
In 2006, Anthony had an excellent year playing for the club’s VFL affiliate Williamstown in his first season at Collingwood. He played a versatile role down in defence and up in the forward line. In 2007, he was dealt a cruel blow in the pre-season when a heavy accidental collision with a teammate at training resulted in a serious neck injury and ended his season before it begun. In 2008 he surprised many playing 12 senior games and kicking 25 goals for the season.


Links
Jack's Profile on Collingwood Website: http://www.collingwoodfc.com.au/foo...bid/8170/default.aspx?playerid=14072&typeid=2
Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Anthony


Articles
Magpies' Anthony Back With Big Boots To Fill (Feb 08): http://www.realfooty.com.au/articles/2008/01/31/1201714152475.html
Dream Debut For Anthony (Apr 08): http://www.collingwoodfc.com.au/NewsFeatures/News/NewsArticle/TabId/5586/default.aspx?newsId=57457
John Anthony Fills The Magpies' R Gap (July 08): http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/1,9191,23978334-19742,00.html

Jack's 2008 Buddy Thread (by Pie Eyed) can be found here

 

[Kate1985]

NAB Cup Round 1: Collingwood v West Coast 7/2/09

Jack continued his 2008 form of being reliable up forward by kicking 2.1 goals in the first round of the NAB Cup.

Stats

Kicks: 5
Handballs: 4
Disposals: 9
Marks: 6
Tackles: 2
Goals: 2
Behinds: 1

Images

 

[Kate1985]

NAB Cup Quarter Final: Collingwood v Richmond 26/2/09

Jack started this match as a sub. He was subbed on towards the end of the 2nd quarter. Despite limited gametime, he still managed to have an impact on the game by kicking 1 goal.

Stats

Kicks: 6
Handballs: 2
Disposals: 8
Marks: 4
Tackles: 2
Goals: 1

 

[Kate1985]

NAB Cup Semi-Final: Collingwood v Essendon 6/3/09

Jack starred in the Semi-Final with 7 goals to help Collingwood secure a spot in the NAB Cup Grand Final. Jack contested superbly in the forward line to provide his biggest goal return in his AFL career so far.

Stats

Kicks: 10
Handballs: 1
Disposals: 11
Marks: 8
Tackles: 1
Goals: 7
Behinds: 2

Images

 

[Kate1985]

Anthony Stars in Pies' Win

COLLINGWOOD is through to the NAB Cup Grand Final after comprehensively beating Essendon by 43 points on Friday night at Docklands.

The Magpies will now play the winner of Saturday night’s Geelong-Carlton clash in the decider.

Collingwood was getting beaten in the midfield clearances but rebounded well from the backline all night to thwart the Essendon attack.

But the star of the night was at the other end of the ground, in the shape of young forward Jack Anthony, who booted seven goals in an eye-catching display.

The highlight of his night was an impressive pack mark that had some radio commentators comparing his efforts to North Melbourne great Wayne Carey at his peak.

The 21-year-old had an impressive debut season last year and with Anthony Rocca in the twilight of his career, Anthony looks destined to take another step up as a tall forward.

To view the rest of the article click here

 

[Kate1985]

Magpies Into the Cup Final

The Magpies were led by an outstanding game from forward John Anthony, who, with each game, looks a seriously capable player. He booted seven goals last night and was a commanding presence at full-forward.

He has been more notable as an accurate kick rather than a prolific one.
He was good last year for one or two goals a game from few opportunities, primarily because his conversion is efficient.
Last night, playing from the goal square, he blended accuracy with accumulation.

Anthony's mark in the goal square crashing across a pack in the third quarter showed him to be a player of confidence and his goal from the boundary in the last quarter to be one who has not forgotten his correct kicking style.

By the time Bomber recruit Michael Hurley was introduced from the supplementary player bench he was in such hot form it was unfair to the draftee to be placed on him. He had already booted four goals when Hurley was moved onto him and had a further three goals kicked on him.

Anthony's form creates an interesting poser for Collingwood with Anthony Rocca yet to come into the side this pre-season. Doubtless Anthony will find himself playing as a third tall or high half-forward once Rocca returns.

View the rest of the article here.

 

[Kate1985]

John Anthony Stars In Pies' Cakewalk

NEVER mind that Anthony Rocca couldn't be there. Collingwood teammate John Anthony did a brilliant impersonation tonight.

Actually, it's a gross injustice to Anthony suggesting he was a stand-in as the dead-eye Magpie forward has continued to develop into a geniune forward target.

The Magpies cruised into the NAB Cup grand final next Friday night on the back of Anthony's masterly goalkicking performance of 7.2 for a thumping 43 point win - 1.17.5 (116) to 3.6.10 (73)

He snared three in the third quarter to ensure there would be no second half Essendon challenge and trotted to the interchange bench with five to his name before three-quarter time.

And, after stretching the hamstrings on the rubberised mats near the boundary line early in the last quarter, he returned to underline that polished shooting, seizing two more one-grab contested marks to finish with seven goals.

"It wasn't really one out of the box. He played quite well last year at full-forward (26 goals), probably in the last seven or eight games," caretaker coach Blake Caracella said later.

"You wouldn't have thought he played full-back for a major part of his career. He hurt his neck and didn't play for a year (2007) or so. If he can keep doing that all year, he should be in good stead."

While regular Bombers defender Paddy Ryder was on Anthony in the first half, it must be added that the powerful forward booted the last three on Essendon's No.1 draft pick Michael Hurley, making what became a daunting debut in the big league.

View the rest of the article here.

 

[Kate1985]

Anthony Goal Haul 'Not Surprising'

Collingwood youngster John Anthony's brilliant form in attack has given the Magpies some tough decisions to make heading into the AFL premiership season.

Anthony produced an impressive seven-goal haul on Friday night as Collingwood cruised into the final of the pre-season competition with a 1.17.5 (116) to 3.6.10 (73) win over Essendon at Etihad Stadium.
The 21-year-old had been earmarked as a key defender when he arrived at the club.

But, after a serious neck injury deprived him of any football in 2007, he surprised with his form as a makeshift forward in the first 12 games of his career last year.

He kicked 25 goals, at least one in every game he played, to provide a useful option in attack when the Magpies were missing key forwards Anthony Rocca and Sean Rusling, along with young prospect Ben Reid, through injury in the second half of the season.

But Collingwood assistant coach Blake Caracella, the acting head coach on Friday night, said Anthony was unlikely to revert to the backline given his form in attack.

"I think he can do both," Caracella said.

"But the way he played (on Friday night) playing forward, I think he played quite well.

"You'd be pretty silly to put him down back when Nathan Brown's playing down there, (Simon) Prestigiacomo, we've got quite a few talls that can play back, (Nick) Maxwell, Ben Reid plays forward and back as well.
"So we've got a luxury in that department."

Caracella said Anthony's goal-kicking heroics were no surprise given the promising form he showed late last year.

"He played quite well last year at full-forward in the last seven or eight games, you wouldn't have thought he'd played fullback for the major part of his career," he said.

The question for the Magpies will be whether veteran Rocca and injury-prone Rusling, both of whom the club hopes will be ready to play by round one, can also fit into an attack alongside Anthony and fellow tall forward Travis Cloke.

Caracella indicated there would always be a spot for 31-year-old Rocca once he regained full fitness, which suggests Rusling might find it hard to push his way in.

"Anthony Rocca's got something that those players haven't, he's a pretty big unit," he said.

"When he gets down there he's one marking option that really needs a big strong body to play on.

"Then you can throw in Travis Cloke who's probably just as big but can move probably a bit better, then you've got (Anthony) and Reidy and the smaller types."

Source

 

[Kate1985]

Pies Keen To Grab Their Chances

COLLINGWOOD forward John Anthony believes the club can win the night and day premierships this season.

Fresh from his seven-goal heroics in Friday night's 43-point NAB Cup semi-final win over Essendon, Anthony said it was realistic for the Magpies to believe their list could challenge for this year's flag.

"To be out there is exciting and to be part of a young football side that I reckon can go all the way is really good," Anthony, 21, said.

"We're all very fortunate to have such a good team around us. We all get along, it shows on the scoreboard and shows on the field.

"Hopefully, we can go all the way in the NAB Cup, and in the season. I reckon we've got a pretty good bunch of guys. It's exciting.

"Last year we finished 5th or 6th and to our standard that's not good enough.

"This year we've just got to try to give ourselves a better chance to finish top four, and from there you're a pretty good shot at top spot."

Anthony said he was "super excited" after claiming his best haul at senior level and was more enthused about the new talent that impressed - Dayne Beams, Steele Sidebottom and Jaxson Barham.

Young gun Beams agreed it was "definitely our goal to win" Friday night's grand final.

"We want to win as many games as we can coming into the actual season," he said.

"We're getting as much confidence going into Round 1 as we can and it's a big game."

Beams, 19, played for Southport seniors last season and said he expected competition for a spot in the Pies line-up to be tough this season.

"I've been fortunate enough to play and hopefully I get picked for that one next week," he said.

"We're in a fortunate position we've got so many players to pick from, which is a good thing.

"There's pressure below you to keep your spot. Young guys like Steele and Jacko played tonight and did quite well.

"The midfield is where I want to end up playing, so I've still got to get more experience and learn off the guys.

"I work pretty closely with Swanny, Pendles, Obes, Tarks, those sort of older guys and wise heads. I've learnt a lot so far and I've still got a lot more to learn."

Essendon's young players had less impact on Friday night. It was top draft pick Michael Hurley's task, on debut, to quell Anthony.

View the rest of the article here.

 

[Kate1985]

And Seven For Some Respect

JOHN Anthony is winning his battle for respect. Everyone calls him by his preferred name, Jack, and through on-field deeds he has earned a queue of admirers and a sense of belonging.

But life at Collingwood wasn't always so rosy.

A unique individual with a passionate voice, Anthony, 21, admits he was a fish out of water when he arrived at the club after the 2005 national draft.

"You've got to learn your position and fit in your role," he said.

"I might have said a couple of stupid things when I was younger, but I hope I'm slowly starting to be more accepted.

"I certainly didn't come to the club thinking I was the best thing ever. When you're a new kid you don't understand.

"I have three sisters and a twin (Loni), so I've lived with four girls all my life.

"When I came to the football club, I had never really had boy friends, as in mates. So to be thrust into a football club with 45 blokes and to not really understand what it was like, I'm paying the price at times.

"But the boys get a laugh out of it and I've learned to just accept it. It's really fun. They're certainly not having a crack at me and I hope I'm really starting to get accepted."

Anthony has played only 12 games, but he has a presence about him in attack that defies his experience on paper.

A full-back turned full-forward, he is carving a niche that makes him a certainty to play every week.

"I've got a plan and I've got goals, and my aim is to kick as many goals as I can," Anthony said.

"It's still a very daunting game. Going from VFL to AFL you've got to go up another level. But to play AFL is exciting and to play consistently is something I'm trying to do.

"As a junior, I played in the forward line and really loved it. I relished my position as a backman and it's all about learning. I've got the best guys around me to learn from. It's really exciting.

"I'm saying exciting too much, but it really is."

His reputation as a reliable goalkicker is also growing. He said he had adopted the technique of assistant coach Blake Caracella and would continue to back himself from any position.

"I know kicking seven isn't going to happen every week, but I've got to keep trying and keep my head down," Anthony said.

"It's obviously a lot harder when you've got five or six guys pushing for the same position, but they're there for support. I'm good friends with Trav (Cloke), and Pebs (Anthony Rocca) is a mentor, and to have Sean Rusling and Paul Medhurst, we have a good bunch."

Anthony said he wanted to be known as Jack because his mum's father had always called him that.

"My Pa (Lawrence Healy) is the biggest influence in my life," he said.

"He never had a son and John and Jack were the same name back in the old days, so he started calling me Jack and my mum started calling me Jack, and everyone started calling me Jack, so when I came to the football club I was Jack straight away and that's all I know.

"The boys, when they're trying to get 'up my skin', call me John, or John Anthony, but I just say, 'No, just call me Jack'.

"Pa's 82 and still plays off 10 handicap in golf. He lives in Stawell, got 250 acres up there.

"I'm really enjoying every facet of my life at the moment and hope it continues."

Source

 

[Kate1985]

Kick Straight Like Jack

Collingwood forward John Anthony hosts the first episode of ‘Training Time’ exclusively on CTV. Anthony teaches supporters how to kick a set-shot for goal, a skill he has mastered early on in his career.

The forward goes through what he thinks once he has marked the ball.

How many steps does he take? Where does he look when he lines up to the goals? How does he drop it?

These questions and more are answered by the accurate forward on this week’s CTV episode of ‘Training Time’.

http://www.collingwoodfc.com.au/newsfeatures/news/newsarticle/tabid/5586/newsid/74214/default.aspx

http://bigpondvideo.com/AFL/118094

I'll update this thread later this week with a Round 1 report with some stats and pics. If there's anything you want to add to it or you want to discuss how Jack is travelling in 2009, please feel free.

 

[Kate1985]

Thanks to DTM, here's the YouTube video of the "Training Time" vid

[youtube]y6sjCXn8Jio&feature=channel_page[/youtube]

 

[Kate1985]

Round 1 Collingwood v Adelaide 28/3/09

A disappointing start to the season saw Collingwood lose to Adelaide by 4 points. Jack continued to be a reliable target up forward by slotting 2.1 goals through.

Stats

Kicks: 7
Handballs: 2
Disposals: 9
Marks: 7
Tackles: 2
Goals: 2
Behinds: 1

Images

 

[Kate1985]

Round 2 Collingwood v Melbourne 4/4/09

Jack was prominent up forward during the Pies' 53 point win over Melbourne. He equalled his best return by kicking 4 goals, including a fantastic snap while being tackled by Melbourne's Stefan Martin. He also equalled his career-high 13 disposals for the match.

Stats

Kicks: 10
Handballs: 3
Disposals: 13
Marks: 5
Tackles:1
Goals: 4
Behinds: 3

Images

 

[Kate1985]

John Anthony: Hair Today, Salesman Tomorrow

BE on the lookout for a "yeah, yeah" celebration from Collingwood forward Jack Anthony the next time he snags a goal.

The 21-year-old is receiving laser therapy from Advanced Hair treatment and is in the process of negotiating a deal to join the likes of goalkicking great Tony Lockett, Shane Warne, Greg Matthews and Graham Gooch.

Advanced Hair managing director Carl Howell confirmed the star was receiving treatment.

"Jack's having laser therapy treatment," Howell said.

"He's been having treatment for two months and we're seeing results already."

Asked if it was likely Anthony would become a spokesman for the company, Howell said: "Absolutely."

Source

 

[Colin D'Cops]

This guy is a much improved player. Very strong hands and for the most part kicks truly. Is fierce at the contest but one negative criticism is that like most KP players, they let their direct opponents run off them far too easily. Other than that, I reckon he is one of the most improved players in the AFL.

 

[Pie eyed]

Jack outside the box

Jay Clark | June 20, 2009 12:00am

• JOHN Anthony was destined to become a Collingwood cult figure.

From the day he arrived at Lexus Centre as a powerfully-built 17-year-old it was clear to all that the key-position player was not like most draftees.
There was no shyness, no hesitancy, only brash confidence that when the AFL spotlight turned on him, he would deliver.
"A lot of players go to water on the big stage but Jack loves it, he absolutely thrives on it," Simon Lloyd, Collingwood's high performance manager and psychologist, said this week.
"Particularly having a shot on goal; he has a great ability psychologically to just narrow his focus and, even if he is just playing pool or something, put out any distractions."
Eleven rounds into the season, the man fondly dubbed "Jack Attack" has seemingly come from nowhere to make the focal point of the Collingwood forward line his own.
Indeed, Anthony's success this season, kicking 27.12 in 10 games at a slick 70 per cent conversion rate, could prevent veteran club favourite Anthony Rocca from playing another AFL game.
But it has been anything but a seamless transition for a man whose gung-ho attitude put more teammates off than he endeared early on.
Not forgetting the year-long neck injury that could have taken Anthony's life, let alone end his football career, in 2007.
At least one Victorian club put a line though the then 17-year-old's name in 2005, telling an official at Diamond Creek he would be too hard to handle, and too much of a gamble to draft.
"We didn't pick him because we thought he was uncoachable, in other words, too much of an individual," was one Victorian club's post-draft assessment.
Harsh, maybe, but Anthony has always had that bit of arrogance about him.
A streak of showmanship, or selfishness, perhaps, that Collingwood has since massaged into a more mature team ethos with ongoing, intensive guidance.
Former Diamond Creek junior coach Gary Marchant, who has watched Anthony more than most, says the transformation has been profound.
"In the under-15s he was the type of player who did the team things, just not as often as you would have liked," Marchant said.
"He was a showman kicking his goals. He was always a bit of an individual, and he reminded me of Allen Jakovich.
"But there has been a big change, he has matured at Collingwood, he is a team man and he doesn't look as arrogant."
Collingwood captain Nick Maxwell, assistant coach Mark Neeld, psychologist Lloyd, and most notably coach Mick Malthouse have maintained Anthony's focus, meeting with him, mostly, on a daily basis.
Those close to Malthouse insist that of the 285 players he has coached over 26 years, Anthony has the potential to become one of his greatest triumphs.
The coach knows exactly when to come down hard on the gloved one, and when to give him space.
"Truth is if he was at one of the other clubs, he probably would have been cut by now," a club source said.
No doubt, Anthony, the only boy in a family of four girls, struggled to fit into the club dynamic at first. But Maxwell, and his club program mentor Neeld, took him under their wing.
The skipper said while the full-forward was "different' and his personality "unique", he insisted Anthony was one of the most popular players at the club.
"He is just so honest and forthcoming and opinionated on everything and the fact is that people can take that the wrong way," Maxwell said.
"He doesn't mean to be negative or derogatory in any way, he just will say what he thinks and I think that honesty is a quality that is very important to have at a football club."
Lloyd added: "The Lexus Centre would be a dull place without Jack Anthony".
Collingwood drafted the 192cm game-turner as a backman from Northern Under-18s with pick 37 in the 2005 national draft, in the hope he could replace Shane Wakelin in defence.
But his course in life changed dramatically when, by chance, the then full-back kicked a couple of goals in a quarter of the VFL last year, and stamped his card forever by piling on seven majors in the NAB Cup semi-final against Essendon this year.
A soaring pack mark in the goalsquare was testament to his aerial power.
But you won't hear Anthony talk about any of this any time soon. Collingwood has a media ban on the full-forward, hopeful his footy can do the talking for him.
In March, after his breakthrough seven-goal NAB Cup haul, Anthony said he felt he was winning his battle for respect, at the club he supported all his life.
"I might have said a couple of stupid things when I was younger, but I hope I'm slowly starting to be more accepted," Anthony said.
"When I came to the football club, I had never really had boy friends, as in mates. So to be thrust into a football club with 45 blokes and to not really understand what it was like, I'm paying the price at times."
In a forward line that has often malfunctioned this season, the dead-eye has been something of a saviour.
When Anthony has a set shot - completed in meticulous fashion with the same 14-step routine -- Maxwell said the backline naturally began to set up for a centre bounce.
"We feel confident as a backline that whenever we give him the ball he is going to kick a goal, and the team will be rewarded," Maxwell said.
"That is a massive feather in his cap, and an outstanding attribute to have at his age."
As Anthony has proclaimed, the bigger the stage, the better he can perform.
Again, it's that confidence. That attribute among elite sportsmen and women that can separate the good from the great.
Neil Connell first met Anthony when he walked up and offered his under-18 coach a handshake, in a room full of nervous-looking teenagers who hadn't said a thing.
Connell, now the welfare officer at the Kangaroos, identified back then Anthony was a big game hunter.
He said if ever the Magpies needed to win a match, or dare we say it a Grand Final with a kick after the siren, they better hope the ball was in Anthony's hands.
"It wouldn't bother him if he was playing for Diamond Creek or in front of 100,000 screaming fans at the MCG, he would think, 'I know I am a good kick, I can kick this', and just go back and slot it," Connell said.
"You might wonder whether it is over-confidence or arrogance, but in coaching terms it is easier to knock a bloke down a peg than to have to continually prop them up all the time.
"He has the confidence, you just have to keep control of it."

 

[colldogz]

this guys plaing much better furfther footy then at the strat if the year. his kicking go's in the way that he marks, quicker in the latter parts. his stats are real pressive! all goals, no points..