Jude Bolton (born 15 March 1980) is a former professional Australian rules football player who played for the Sydney Swans in the Australian Football League (AFL) between 1999 and 2013.[1]

Jude Bolton
Personal information
Full name Jude Bolton
Date of birth (1980-03-15) 15 March 1980 (age 44)
Original team(s) St.Bernards OCFC, Calder Cannons (TAC Cup)
Draft #8, 1998 National Draft, Sydney
Height 182 cm (6 ft 0 in)
Weight 84 kg (185 lb)
Position(s) Midfielder
Playing career1
Years Club Games (Goals)
1999–2013 Sydney 325 (196)
International team honours
Years Team Games (Goals)
2004 Australia 2 (0)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 2013.
Career highlights
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

Early life

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Growing up, he supported the St Kilda Football Club.[2] He was recruited from and played his junior football at St Bernard's Football Club in Essendon.

AFL career

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Bolton played his first senior game for Sydney against Carlton in round 12 of the 1999 season and received a Rising Star Award nomination the following year. By 2001, he was a regular member of the team and went on to represent Australia in the International Rules series in 2004.

On Saturday, 9 April 2011, Bolton laid an AFL-record 19 tackles in a match, playing an integral role in victory over the West Coast Eagles.[3] In the Second Semi-final, he set the new record for the most tackles lain in a VFL/AFL career, surpassing former captain Brett Kirk's tally of 1278 career tackles. His final career total was 1490 tackles, which was the record until surpassed by Lenny Hayes late in 2014.[1]

On 26 August 2013, Bolton announced he would retire at the conclusion of the 2013 season.[4] He played his last game in Sydney's preliminary final loss to Fremantle on 21 September and scored his final goal for the Swans.

After football

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In December 2013, Bolton was a crew member aboard racing supermaxi yacht Perpetual Loyal in the 2013 Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race, with other celebrity crew members, Karl Stefanovic, Larry Emdur, Tom Slingsby, Phil Waugh and Guillaume Brahimi.[5]

He is currently seen as a boundary rider for the Seven Network's coverage of AFL matches played in Sydney.

He appeared as a contestant on the fifteenth season of Dancing with the Stars paired with professional dancer Dianne Buswell.[6][7] Jude's wife, Lynette, competed against Jude.[7] On 16 August 2015, Jude and Dianne were eliminated, coming in seventh place, and Jude was eliminated one week after Lynette.[citation needed]

Personal life

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His wife, Lynette Bolton, starred in WAG Nation, a reality show that documented the lives of five wives and girlfriends of Australian sportsmen. Bolton has two daughters. Jude was inducted into the St.Bernards College Hall of Fame in 2017.[8]

Statistics

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[9]
Legend
  G  
Goals
  K  
Kicks
  D  
Disposals 
  T  
Tackles
  B  
Behinds 
  H  
Handballs 
  M  
Marks
Season Team No. Games Totals Averages (per game)
G B K H D M T G B K H D M T
1999 Sydney 24 9 3 1 64 43 107 17 13 0.3 0.1 7.1 4.8 11.9 1.9 1.4
2000 Sydney 24 16 15 3 126 73 199 36 27 0.9 0.2 7.9 4.6 12.4 2.3 1.7
2001 Sydney 24 23 14 7 199 122 321 72 46 0.6 0.3 8.7 5.3 14.0 3.1 2.0
2002 Sydney 24 19 9 9 139 124 263 58 67 0.5 0.5 7.3 6.5 13.8 3.1 3.5
2003 Sydney 24 24 13 6 266 212 478 104 76 0.5 0.3 11.1 8.8 19.9 4.3 3.2
2004 Sydney 24 24 12 7 280 211 491 83 102 0.5 0.3 11.7 8.8 20.5 3.5 4.3
2005 Sydney 24 24 3 5 270 182 452 80 122 0.1 0.2 11.3 7.6 18.8 3.3 5.1
2006 Sydney 24 25 12 7 308 160 468 77 134 0.5 0.3 12.3 6.4 18.7 3.1 5.4
2007 Sydney 24 23 6 10 214 198 412 66 105 0.3 0.4 9.3 8.6 17.9 2.9 4.6
2008 Sydney 24 24 11 5 244 231 475 84 143 0.5 0.2 10.2 9.6 19.8 3.5 6.0
2009 Sydney 24 22 12 8 228 243 471 69 155 0.5 0.4 10.4 11.0 21.4 3.1 7.0
2010 Sydney 24 24 15 7 196 303 499 67 138 0.6 0.3 8.2 12.6 20.8 2.8 5.8
2011 Sydney 24 22 19 12 230 199 429 53 154 0.9 0.5 10.5 9.0 19.5 2.4 7.0
2012 Sydney 24 22 23 10 183 253 436 70 117 1.0 0.5 8.3 11.5 19.8 3.2 5.3
2013 Sydney 24 24 29 17 166 164 330 69 91 1.2 0.7 6.9 6.8 13.8 2.9 3.8
Career 325 196 114 3113 2718 5831 1005 1490 0.6 0.4 9.6 8.4 17.9 3.1 4.6

References

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  1. ^ a b "Player Totals". AFL Tables. Retrieved 19 September 2014.
  2. ^ "Sydney Swans legend Jude Bolton announces he will retire at end of 2013 AFL season". ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation). 26 August 2013. Retrieved 22 April 2020.
  3. ^ AFL clubs send tackle counts skyward
  4. ^ Jude Bolton announces retirement
  5. ^ "Sydney to Hobart 2013". Perpetual. 2 December 2013. Archived from the original on 10 December 2013. Retrieved 2 December 2013.
  6. ^ Brennan, Bella (19 June 2015). "The full cast of Dancing with the Stars has been revealed!". Woman's Day. Retrieved 19 June 2015.
  7. ^ a b Cronin, Seanna (5 July 2015). "2015 Dancing with the Stars cast confirmed". News Mail. Retrieved 7 September 2015.
  8. ^ Beveridge, Riley. "Your AFL club's most famous supporters, from Barack Obama to Cam Newton". Fox Sports. Retrieved 29 January 2016.
  9. ^ Jude Bolton's player profile at AFL Tables
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