Jesse White became the Gold Coast’s 27th AFL player in AFL Round 6 …and it wasn’t your everyday debut.
The former Southport ruckman/forward joined a small group of AFL players to debut in a draw as his first game for the Sydney Swans against North Melbourne Kangaroos finished level.
He found himself in the thick of a final quarter controversy when the Swans were momentarily caught with 19 players on the field.
And he was the player who ran onto the ground ahead of a teammate Darren Jolly leaving the ground via the interchange area.
It was nothing more than youthful exuberance and had no bearing on the tight finish because White didn’t touch the ball in the time he was the 19th man on the ground but it was nevertheless did spark an AFL investigation.
The League later fined the Swans $50,000, half of which was suspended for two years, after taking what football operations boss Adrian Anderson described as “a very dim view” but accepting it was an accident.
It was the only blemish on an otherwise competent debut in which the 196cm 20-year-old had seven possessions, including three marks, and seven ruck hit-outs.
“He was quite good and he certainly didn’t look out of place,” said Andrew Ireland, Swans GM – Football Operations.
“He took a couple of nice marks and kicked the ball well – all of his possessions were effective which was good,” he said. “And while we recognize he’s not big enough to be a front-line ruckman he did all that was asked of him in the ruck contests.”
White, a, outstanding athlete, also caught the eye of Channel 7 commentator Tim Watson when he found himself playing on Roos defender Shannon Watt.
“He must be pretty quick the big fella (White) because he just left Watt in his wake on a lead and that’s no mean feat,” said Watson.
A member of the 2005-06 Australia Post Queensland U18 Scorpions, White was chosen by the Swans at No.79 in the 2006 AFL National Draft after he was narrowly overlooked by the same club 12 months earlier.
He was the ninth member of that group of 11 draftees and seven rookies to play AFL football behind David Armitage, Shaun Hampson, Albert Proud, Brad Howard, Ricky Petterd, Kurt Tippett, Jarrow Harbrow and Daniel Dzufer, and has slipped in ahead of draftees Gavin Urquhart, Brent Renouf, Ben Warren and Paul O’Shea, and rookies Scott Clouston, Gavin Grose, Haydn Kiel, Chris Smith and Joel Tippett.
White’s AFL debut came after he played in the Sydney Swans reserves side that won the ACTAFL premiership undefeated last year and had a taste of senior football in the NAB Cup this year.
He’d also played well in the reserves early this season, impressing coach Paul Roos with his athleticism and ability to fill a variety of roles.
A one-time junior basketball standout from John Paul College, White joins an illustrious group of Gold Coasters to play in the AFL.
He’s the 12th Gold Coaster to play at the elite level this year behind Nick Riewoldt, David Hale, Daniel Merrett, Kurt Tippett, Ben Hudson, Sam Gilbert, Andrew Raines, Wayde Mills, Ricky Petterd, Michael Osborne and Luke McGuane.
Brad Moran, yet to play this year due to a badly broken finger, is also in this group, together with ex-AFL players Marcus Ashcroft, Corey Bell, Darren Carlson, Brent Green, Steve Handley, Dean Howard, Aaron Keating, Clark Keating, Matthew Kennedy, Trent Knobel, Steven Lawrence, Steve McLuckie, Leigh Ryswyk and Marc Woolnough.
