James McDonald (footballer)
| James McDonald | |||
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McDonald in August 2009
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| Personal information | |||
| Full name | James McDonald | ||
| Date of birth | 5 October 1976 | ||
| Original team(s) | North Ballarat Rebels / Old Xaverians | ||
| Height | 180 cm (5 ft 11 in) | ||
| Weight | 75 kg (165 lb) | ||
| Position(s) | Midfielder | ||
| Playing career1 | |||
| Years | Club | Games (Goals) | |
| 1997–2010 | Melbourne | 251 (56) | |
| 2012 | Greater Western Sydney | 13 (4) | |
| Total | 264 (60) | ||
| International team honours | |||
| Years | Team | Games (Goals) | |
| 2006 | Australia | 1 (0) | |
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1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 2012.
2 State and international statistics correct as of 2006.
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| Career highlights | |||
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| Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com | |||
James McDonald (born 5 October 1976) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Melbourne Football Club and Greater Western Sydney Giants in the Australian Football League (AFL).
Nicknamed "Junior", James is the brother of former AFL players Anthony McDonald and Alex McDonald. He is noted as a hard working in and under midfielder. In addition to this, he is also used as a tagger.
In 1995, McDonald suffered from chronic fatigue syndrome with his VAFA side Old Xaverians. He debuted in the AFL in 1997 with the Melbourne Football Club after being promoted off the Rookie list.
McDonald had one of his most consistent years in 2006, being named on the interchange bench in the All Australian side and the only Demons player to make this list in that year. He laid a league high and record high 143 tackles during season 2006, breaking the previous record held by Tony Liberatore (although Brett Kirk would break McDonald's record the following season), and capped off the season with a win in Melbourne's Best and Fairest.
McDonald also played in the International Rules Series in 2006.
McDonald won the Melbourne best and fairest in 2007 for the second time.
McDonald played his 200th game in a devastating loss to the Western Bulldogs in round 2, 2008. He was part of the Demons' Leadership Group, along with Cameron Bruce, Russell Robertson, Adem Yze and Brad Miller and was named co captain alongside Bruce in the absence of skipper David Neitz. However, after Neitz announced his retirement, no captain has been selected yet. After the 2008 Home & Away Season, James signed a one-year deal to continue playing with Melbourne.
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