In his second season at the Club, Jack Gunston showed why he’s going to be a valuable player for the Hawks in the future and why the Club were so keen to secure him from the Crows at the end of last year.
At 22 years of age, Gunston was Hawthorn’s most damaging player in the finals series, kicking 11 goals in the three games including bags of four in the Preliminary and Grand Finals – he was outstanding and was unlucky not to win the Norm Smith Medal.
He is athletic, has good speed, is a good mark, which makes him one of the toughest players to match-up on in the competition.
In fact, Gunston started most matches in the second half of the year on the wing, where he floted through the midfield before heading inside 50 to make himself dangerous as a tall-marking forward.
He played 23 of a possible 25 matches and his output improved week by week as he became more experienced at the level – he has now played 56 AFL matches.
He averaged 15.4 disposals, 5.6 marks, 2.5 tackles and 2.0 goals a game – he was ranked third at the Club for goals kicked and fourth for marks taken inside 50.
After kicking just two goals in the opening five matches of the season, Gunston soon found his groove.
His impressive form started against his old club, the Crows in Round 6 where he was one of the best afield with three goals. That performance was backed up with another three-goal performance against the Swans in Round 7 and again in Round 8 against Greater Western Sydney.
Another three-goal performance against Carlton came in Round 12 before he was dominant against the Eagles in Round 13 with 17 disposals, four marks and five goals.
Three weeks later, he bagged another five goals against Port Adelaide in Round 16 and with Jarryd Roughead who also booted five, formed a dynamic partnership with a great understanding of how each other play.
He kicked multiple goals in Rounds 18, 20, 21 and 23, which set up his brilliant performances in the finals series.
Playing as the side’s third tall, Gunston showed why he’s going to be a dangerous forward for many years to come given he’s already playing with maturity beyond his years.
He is not a one dimension forward became he can move up the ground and even push into half back but he too, can apply pressure just as effectively as teammates Cyril Rioli, Paul Puopolo and Luke Breust, that is the value of Gunston.
While the finish to his season was outstanding, the challenge now sits with the youngster who will become Hawthorn’s second tall forward following the departure of Lance Franklin.
He will now most likely, stand the opposition’s second-best defender and there lies the challenge to perform just as he did this year and even improve on that output.
What Chris Fagan said: “He was the player of the finals series, what an honour and deservedly so – he kicked 11 goals in three high pressure finals, which is a special result.
“Jack developed some diversity in his game this year, not just as a forward but also when he spent time on the wing where he could use his great ability to run.
“He was a really valuable player for us either in the midfield or up forward and has the uncanny knack to find a goal when you need one. He’s a difficult player to match-up on.”
Gunston in the news in 2013
- Gunston steps up
Videos featuring Gunston in 2013
