Jeff White (Australian footballer)

Jeffrey Newman "Jeff" White (born 19 February 1977) is an Australian rules footballer who had a distinguished career in the Australian Football League (AFL) spanning 14 years. He played most recently and notably for the Melbourne Football Club, following a move from the Fremantle Dockers at the end of 1997. He was Melbourne's first-choice ruckman for a decade, relying on his key attributes of athleticism and durability. He was an All-Australian in 2004, and was selected for Victoria several times. He was an important member of the Melbourne sides which made the 2000 AFL Grand Final and qualified for six finals series from 1998 to 2006.

White's career was punctuated by serious injuries to his shin and face, in 2003 and 2005 respectively. He cemented his reputation as one of the premier ruckmen in the AFL with consistent displays for Melbourne during his eleven years at the club. Former team-mate, fellow long-serving Melbourne ruckman, and Melbourne chairman Jim Stynes called White an "ornament to the game and particularly to the Melbourne Football Club." His contract with Melbourne was not renewed in 2008 and White signed to play in 2009 with the Redland Australian Football Club in the AFL Queensland State League.

Personal life

White grew up in Victoria and was keen to return to Melbourne after he was drafted to the Fremantle Dockers in Western Australia. On 5 May 2007, Stacy gave birth to the couple's first child, son Kalani Jordan. White has stated his desire to move to the Gold Coast once his playing career in Melbourne is finished, and mooted that a role with the proposed Gold Coast AFL team is possible in either a development or coaching capacity. White wanted to impart his knowledge of social media to other athletes, which grew into his own business, White Echo, launched in 2009. White is an avid golfer and is a member of the Huntingdale Golf Club, and also plays regularly at the Royal Melbourne Golf Club. He plays off of a handicap of 5. At his final press-conference with Melbourne, he jokingly stated that a card on the seniors' Champions Tour was a potential aim once his football career is finished.

Playing career

White played for the Dandenong Stingrays in the TAC Cup in 1993 and 1994. He was drafted with the number 1 pick in the 1994 AFL draft—the first Dandenong player to be drafted with the highest pick. Travis Johnstone—who was White's team-mate at Melbourne for 10 years—is the only other Dandenong player to be selected with the first pick in an AFL draft. White was one of six Dandenong players selected to play for Vic Metro at the Teal Cup—the national under 18 championships—in 1994. Following his performances for Vic Metro, he was named as an All-Australian at Under 18 level. He played six matches in 1995, kicking three goals but averaging less than three hit-outs per game. The 1996 season saw him play 13 matches and kick 13 goals and greatly improve his average number of disposals. He was nominated for the AFL Rising Star award in Round 19 in a 24-point win against Collingwood. He had 22 disposals, 11 marks, kicked a goal and received three Brownlow Medal votes for his stand-out performance for the season. In his final season at Fremantle, White took on greater responsibility of the ruck-work, and averaged 10 hit-outs per game for the season. Fremantle's performances were largely consistent during White's three seasons with them, as they finished 13th in both 1995 and 1996, and 12th in 1997.

White was handed the number 34 guernsey at Fremantle and he wore the number for the rest of his career. He credits Percy Johnson with guiding his ruck style in his time with Fremantle. He played 32 games and kicked 18 goals with the Dockers between 1995 and 1997, before being traded back to his home state of Victoria to play for Melbourne. He played in all of Melbourne's 25 matches for the season as they reached the preliminary final, where they lost to . He received 11 votes in the Brownlow Medal for the season. After a promising start to his career in Melbourne, 1999 was less successful. White's disposals and scoring statistics dropped significantly, and he tellingly failed to record any votes in the Brownlow Medal. In 2000, he was a key member of the Melbourne side that reached the Grand Final, with many pundits seeing White as the best Melbourne player on the ground in the loss to Essendon, He kicked 16 goals and averaged 21 hit-outs per game for the season, and as in 1998, he recorded 11 Brownlow Medal votes. then-Fremantle coach Ben Allan responded to a suggestion that White may leave Melbourne at the end of the season by saying "we'll have him back". White recorded the most hit-outs in the league in 2002, with 561, playing in all of Melbourne's matches in a run that saw them narrowly lose to Adelaide by two goals in a semi-final. The 2003 season was disappointing for both Melbourne, and White personally. His average number of hit-outs dropped by more than six per game, he averaged fewer than eight kicks per match, and did not receive any Brownlow Medal votes. with dominant performances against North Melbourne and Fremantle among them. His most productive period came between Rounds 9 and 16, where he recorded three best-on-ground displays, averaged 25 hit-outs and received 13 Brownlow Medal votes. His Round 6 performance against Carlton is also noted as one of his career-best performances, with Melbourne winning by more than 100 points, as White recorded 26 disposals, took eight marks, kicked one goal, and received the three Brownlow votes for his influential display. but in the final month of the season, the team lost its last five matches, finishing fifth after Round 22, and losing to Essendon in the Elimination Final. The 2005 season was less successful for both White and Melbourne, with the club struggling to cement a place in the top eight during the year, although they managed to finish seventh after a strong finish to the minor round, and qualify for the club's second consecutive finals series—the first time it had competed in consecutive finals series since 1991. Melbourne again lost in the Elimination Final, this time to Geelong. It was during this match that White sustained his career-threatening facial injury.

Following the 2005 season, he signed a three-year deal with Melbourne—his last contract with the club—worth A$1.4m. He played all of Melbourne's matches that season, as he did for four seasons from 2004 White brought up his milestone 250th AFL-game in Round 19 with a win over the Western Bulldogs. His last season with Melbourne was 2008, in which he was dropped for the first time in his Melbourne career, despite returning to some of his best form. Dean Bailey spoke highly of White's leadership at Melbourne, saying that White will leave a lasting legacy at the club. St Kilda was also suggested as a possible destination for White to continue his playing career, Ultimately White signed to play in 2009 with the Redland Australian Football Club in the AFL Queensland State League.

Victoria

thumb|upright|White (right) contesting an overhead mark against former understudy [[Darren Jolly]]

During 1998—his first year living back in Melbourne—he was selected to play for Victoria. He was selected in the squad of 25 for Victoria in 1999 but did not make the final 22 for the match against South Australia. This was the last State-of-Origin match, although a Victoria team was selected to play against a Dream Team in the AFL Hall of Fame Tribute Match in 2008—White was selected in the initial 40-man squad for Victoria, but once again did not make the final 22. He was Melbourne's only representative in the squad. Playing for Victoria in 1998 was his only representative appearance.

Playing style

White's kicking accuracy was of particular note for a ruckman—his goal-kicking accuracy finished at slightly less than 60%. His ball-skills and work around the ground remained one of his greatest strengths throughout his career. Testament to his durability and consistency, he was ranked in the top five in the AFL in total number of hit-outs for nine consecutive seasons from 1999. Following the departure of Jim Stynes from Melbourne, White later worked on his game with former ruckman Sam Newman. Percy Johnson, Stynes and finally Newman guided and influenced White's ruck-work during his career. During a match in 2003, he was kicked in the shin, causing his shin-pad to crack and split the skin, leaving a laceration about the size of a tablespoon. Once the wound had healed, White's surgeon told him that if it split open again, he would have to stop playing. White has said that this "reality check" helped to strengthen his focus and helped him deal with injuries more effectively.