Jade Gresham (born 24 August 1997) is an

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an Australian rules football playing field, oval field, often a modified ...

er playing for the

Essendon Football Club The Essendon Football Club, nicknamed the Bombers or colloquially the Dons, is a professional Australian rules football club that plays in the Australian Football League (AFL), the game's premier competition. The club was formed by the McCrac ...

in the

Australian Football League The Australian Football League (AFL) is the pre-eminent professional sports, professional competition of Australian rules football. It was originally named the Victorian Football League (VFL) and was founded in 1896 as a breakaway competition ...

(AFL). He was initially drafted by the

St Kilda Football Club The St Kilda Football Club, nicknamed the Saints, is a professional Australian rules football club based in Melbourne, Victoria. The club plays in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's premier league. The club's name originates fro ...

with pick 18 in the

2015 AFL draft The 2015 Australian Football League draft consisted of the various periods where the 18 clubs in the Australian Football League (AFL) can trade and recruit players following the completion of the 2015 AFL season. Additions to each club's playi ...

Early life and junior football

Yorta Yorta The Yorta Yorta, also known as Jotijota, are an Aboriginal Australian people who have traditionally inhabited the area surrounding the junction of the Goulburn and Murray Rivers in present-day north-eastern Victoria and southern New South Wale ...

indigenous descent,AFL Players Indigenous Map 2023
/ref> Gresham was raised in the northern suburbs of

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

. He played junior football with South Morang Football Netball Club in the NFNL and the Northern Knights in the

TAC Cup The Talent League (also known as the Coates Talent League under naming rights and previously as the NAB League and TAC Cup) is an under-19 Australian rules football representative competition based in Melbourne and run by the Australian Foot ...

competition. Gresham was recruited by St Kilda to the AFL at pick No. 18 in the 2015 National draft.

AFL career

St Kilda: 2016–2023

He made his debut in round 1 of the

2016 AFL season The 2016 AFL season was the 120th season of the Australian Football League (AFL), the highest level senior Australian rules football competition in Australia, which was known as the Victorian Football League until 1989. The season featured eig ...

against at

Adelaide Oval The Adelaide Oval is a stadium in Adelaide in the state of South Australia. It is located in the Adelaide Parklands, parklands. The venue is predominantly used for cricket and Australian rules football, but has also played host to rugby league, ...

Gresham played 18 games in the 2016 AFL premiership season, finishing with 11 goals and an average of 15 disposals per game. He was nominated for the

2016 AFL Rising Star The AFL Rising Star is an Australian rules football award presented annually to the player adjudged the best young player in the Australian Football League (AFL) for the year. An AFL Rising Star#Eligibility and nominations, eligible player is no ...

for his efforts in the Saints' comeback victory over in Round 14, which included kicking a contender for Goal of the Year late in the match. Prior to the 2017 season, Gresham signed a two-year contract extension with St Kilda, committing to the club until the end of the 2019 season. Gresham played in all 22 games for the Saints in 2017. He kicked 30 goals and averaged 14 disposals. Gresham played in all 22 games for the Saints in 2018 and led the Saints' goalkicking with 35 goals, including a career-high six goals in the Saints' round 10 loss to . In round 13, Gresham earned his third career Goal of the Year nomination as the Saints overcame a 39-point deficit to defeat the . Gresham played 19 of a possible 22 games in 2019 and began to assert himself as one of the Saints' best young players, averaging 22 disposals a game. Gresham signed a four-year contract extension in May 2019, to remain a Saint until at least the end of 2023. The 2020 season was affected by

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

with the quarters reduced to 16 minutes after round one, and the regular season reduced to 17 matches per team. Gresham played the first 11 games of the season and was a key member of the Saints' midfield, but suffered a stress fracture in his back and took no further part in the 2020 campaign. Gresham began the 2021 campaign strongly, playing the opening three rounds of the season, collecting 28 disposals against GWS and 29 disposals and a goal against Melbourne. In round three against Essendon, Gresham ruptured his

Achilles tendon The Achilles tendon or heel cord, also known as the calcaneal tendon, is a tendon at the back of the lower leg, and is the thickest in the human body. It serves to attach the plantaris, gastrocnemius (calf) and soleus muscles to the calcane ...

. The injury ruled him out of the remainder of the season as the tendon required surgery and nine months of recovery.

Essendon: 2024–

Jade was signed by Essendon on a three-year contract on 13/10/2023 as a free agent with St Kilda, receiving Pick 21 (compensation).

Personal life

Gresham is of

Aboriginal Australian Aboriginal Australians are the various indigenous peoples of the Australian mainland and many of its islands, excluding the ethnically distinct people of the Torres Strait Islands. Humans first migrated to Australia 50,000 to 65,000 year ...

descent, hailing from the

people. He and his mother, Michelle, played a key role in designing St Kilda's 2017 AFL Indigenous Round guernsey. Gresham's father, Jamie, played u18s football with

North Melbourne Football Club The North Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed the Kangaroos or colloquially the Roos, is a professional Australian rules football club. The men's team competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), and the women's team in the AFL Women's (AF ...

legend

Brent Harvey Brent Harvey (born 14 May 1978), often known by his nickname "Boomer", is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the North Melbourne Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He holds the record for most matches played ...

. Gresham cited Harvey as a big influence on how he developed as a player before being drafted.

Career statistics

''Updated to the end of 2024''. , - ,

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

, , , , 22 , 18 , , 11 , , 6 , , 146 , , 129 , , 275 , , 48 , , 54 , , 0.6 , , 0.3 , , 8.1 , , 7.2 , , 15.3 , , 2.7 , , 3.0 , , 0 , - ,

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

, , , , 4 , 22 , , 30 , , 30 , , 196 , , 119 , , 315 , , 74 , , 55 , , 1.4 , , 1.4 , , 8.9 , , 5.4 , , 14.3 , , 3.4 , , 2.5 , , 0 , - ,

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

, , , , 4 , 22 , , 35 , , 20 , , 220 , , 167 , , 387 , , 72 , , 55 , , 1.6 , , 0.9 , , 10.0 , , 7.6 , , 17.8 , , 3.3 , , 2.5 , , 5 , - ,

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

, , , , 4 , 19 , , 15 , , 13 , , 257 , , 173 , , 430 , , 71 , , 55 , , 0.8 , , 0.7 , , 13.5 , , 9.1 , , 22.6 , , 3.7 , , 2.9 , , 1 , - ,

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

, , , , 4 , 11 , , 7 , , 6 , , 111 , , 83 , , 194 , , 25 , , 21 , , 0.6 , , 0.5 , , 10.1 , , 7.5 , , 17.6 , , 2.3 , , 1.9 , , 5 , - ,

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

, , , , 4 , 3 , , 1 , , 0 , , 42 , , 21 , , 63 , , 12 , , 6 , , 0.3 , , 0.0 , , 14.0 , , 7.0 , , 21.0 , , 4.0 , , 2.0 , , 1 , - ,

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

, , , , 4 , 18 , , 16 , , 18 , , 224 , , 195 , , 419 , , 50 , , 57 , , 0.9 , , 1.0 , , 12.4 , , 10.8 , , 23.3 , , 2.8 , , 3.2 , , 5 , - ,

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

, , , , 4 , 23 , , 21 , , 16 , , 229 , , 175 , , 404 , , 87 , , 74 , , 0.9 , , 0.7 , , 10.0 , , 7.6 , , 17.6 , , 3.8 , , 3.2 , , , - ,

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

, , , , 11 , 22 , , 19 , , 12 , , 158 , , 149 , , 307 , , 56 , , 47 , , 0.9 , , 0.6 , , 7.2 , , 6.8 , , 14.0 , , 2.6 , , 2.1 , , , - class="sortbottom" ! colspan=3, Career ! 158 !! 155 !! 121 !! 1583 !! 1211 !! 2794 !! 495 !! 424 !! 1.0 !! 0.8 !! 10.0 !! 7.7 !! 17.7 !! 3.1 !! 2.7 !! 17 Notes

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gresham, Jade 1997 births Living people St Kilda Football Club players Essendon Football Club players Northern Knights players Australian rules footballers from Victoria (state) Indigenous Australian players of Australian rules football 21st-century Indigenous Australian people Sandringham Football Club players 21st-century Australian sportsmen People educated at Parade College