Jessica Sedunary

Jessica Sedunary (born 10 November 1990) is an Australian rules footballer playing for St Kilda in the AFL Women's (AFLW) competition. She played her first game of football when, after going to a friend's football game to spectate, she was forced to take to the field after an injury to one of the other players having never kicked a football before.[1] She went on to win a premiership with Morphettville Park Football Club and being drafted by Adelaide for the first season of the AFLW.

Jessica Sedunary
Sedunary playing for Adelaide in January 2018
Personal information
Date of birth (1990-11-10) 10 November 1990
Original team(s) Morphettville Park (SAWFL)
Draft No. 119, 2016 AFL Women's draft
Debut Round 1, 2017, Adelaide
vs. Greater Western Sydney, at Thebarton Oval
Height 168 cm (5 ft 6 in)
Position(s) Midfielder
Club information
Current club Adelaide
Number 19
Playing career1
Years Club Games (Goals)
2017–2019 Adelaide 15 (5)
2020 St Kilda 04 (2)
2021– Adelaide 00 (0)
Total 19 (7)
Representative team honours
Years Team Games (Goals)
2017 The Allies 1 (0)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of the 2020 season.
2 State and international statistics correct as of 2017.
Career highlights
Source: AustralianFootball.com

Early life

Sedunary grew up in Minlaton on the Yorke Peninsula. Originally her sport of choice was hockey, which forced her to drives to Adelaide and back every week for games and training. Her family moved to Adelaide when she was in high school, and she switched to cycling within weeks when the South Australian Sports Institute saw her potential.[2] She went on to represent Australia in the 2007 Australian Youth Olympic Festival in cycling.[2][3] After a year of study at university Sedunary was forced to drop her studies and her cycling due to financial constraints.[2]

Sedunary first played football accidentally. She went to a friend's football game to spectate, but when a player was injured she had to replace them on the field, having never kicked a football before.[2] With no professional Australian rules football competition for women existing yet, Sedunary briefly signed with a lingerie gridiron club as it was similar to football. The competition was disbanded before a game had been played and, rather than pursuing gridiron further she quit and returned to football. In 2016 she joined Morphettville Park Football Club and won the South Australian Women's Football League premiership with them.[3]

AFLW career (2017–)

Sedunary was drafted by Adelaide with their fifteenth selection and 119th overall in the 2016 AFL Women's draft.[4] She made her debut in the thirty-six point win against Greater Western Sydney at Thebarton Oval in the opening round of the 2017 season.[5] She was a part of Adelaide's premiership side after the club defeated Brisbane by six points at Metricon Stadium in the AFL Women's Grand Final.[6][7] She played every match in her debut season to finish with eight matches,[8] and she came fourth in Adelaide's Club Champion award.[9]

Adelaide signed Sedunary for the 2018 season during the trade period in May 2017.[10]

In April 2019, Sedunary joined expansion club St Kilda.[11]

References
  1. Jessica, Sedunary (7 March 2018). "Dreaming big on the 3am veggie shift". PlayersVoice. Retrieved 7 March 2018.
  2. Conlon, Matilda (9 November 2016). "Jessica, the accidental footballer". AFC.com.au. Bigpond. Retrieved 5 February 2018.
  3. Abbracciavento, Daniela (19 October 2016). "Adelaide Crows women's recruit one step closer to making a career out of football". Messenger Community News. News Corp Australia. Retrieved 5 February 2018.
  4. Williams, Rebecca (12 October 2016). "Collingwood recruit Nicole Stevens says women's game will get bigger and bigger". Herald Sun. News Corp Australia. Retrieved 24 May 2017.
  5. "AFLW Teams Round 1: Full sides named for inaugural round of AFL Women's competition". Fox Sports. News Corp Australia. 3 February 2017. Retrieved 24 May 2017.
  6. "AFLW: Grand Final teams revealed". AFL.com.au. Bigpond. 23 March 2017. Retrieved 24 May 2017.
  7. David, Greg (25 March 2017). "Adelaide Crows defeat Brisbane Lions by six points in AFLW grand final". The Courier-Mail. News Corp Australia. Retrieved 24 May 2017.
  8. "Australian Football - Jessica Sedunary - Player Bio". AustralianFootball.com. Retrieved 5 February 2018.
  9. "Jessica Sedunary". AFC.com.au. Bigpond. Retrieved 5 February 2018.
  10. "AFLW: All the clubs' full lists after trade period". AFL.com.au. Bigpond. 26 May 2017. Retrieved 26 May 2017.
  11. O'Neill, David (18 April 2019). "Saints AFLW Squad takes shape". St Kilda. Telstra Media.
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