James Tsitas

James Tsitas
Personal information
Full name James Tsitas
Date of birth (1995-03-03) 3 March 1995 (age 29)
Place of birth Geelong, Victoria, Australia
Original team(s) Grovedale Football Club/North Ballarat Football Club/Geelong Football Club (VFL)/Woodville-West Torrens Football Club
Draft Pre-season supplemental selection period, 2021 AFL draft
Height 181 cm (5 ft 11 in)
Weight 83 kg (183 lb)
Position(s) Forward
Playing career1
Years Club Games (Goals)
2022–2024 Gold Coast 5 (4)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 2024.
Career highlights

James Tsitas (born 3 March 1995) is an Australian rules footballer who last played for the Gold Coast Suns in the Australian Football League. He won the Magarey Medal in 2021 playing for Woodville-West Torrens

Early career

Originally from Geelong, Victoria, he played for Grovedale Football Club as a junior, before joining the TAC Cup representative side Geelong Falcons. He would go undrafted in the 2013 AFL draft and would sign with the North Ballarat Football Club in the VFL. He would play two seasons for the Roosters until joining the Geelong Football Club VFL side for the 2016 VFL season, where he would win the club Best and Fairest the following season.

For the 2020 season, he would sign for Williamstown Football Club, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the suspension of the 2020 VFL season, he would instead sign with Woodville-West Torrens in the SANFL for the 2020. This would culminate in Tsitas being awarded the Magarey Medal in 2021, as well as 2 premierships in 2020 and 2021.

On the back of these performances, Tsitas would be selected in the 2021 AFL draft as part of the Pre-season supplemental selection period by the Gold Coast Suns.[1][2][3]

AFL career

After joining the Suns for the 2022 AFL season, Tsitas would spend the majority of the season in the VFL, before being selected to make his AFL debut in the Round 16 match against Collingwood.[4][5]

Tsitas kicked his first career goal in Round 9 of the 2023 AFL season after he was subbed into the game. He ended up kicking 2 goals in a 70 point thrashing against the West Coast. The win was Gold Coast’s biggest win outside of Queensland. This was also Tsitas’ first win in the AFL.[6]

He would only play four games in the 2023 season, all as a substitute. However, he captained the club's VFL side to their first premiership, although he missed the Grand Final due to a one week ban for striking in the preliminary final.[7][8] He was unable to add to his AFL games tally in the 2024 under new coach Damien Hardwick, and was delisted at the end of the season following the VFL team's wildcard round exit to Frankston.[9][10]

Statistics

Statistics are correct to the end of the 2024 season[11]
Legend
  G  
 Goals
  K  
 Kicks
  D  
 Disposals 
  T  
 Tackles
  B  
 Behinds 
  H  
 Handballs 
  M  
 Marks
Season Team No. Games Totals Averages (per game) Votes
G B K H D M T G B K H D M T
2022 Gold Coast 21 1 0 0 3 2 5 3 1 0 0 3 2 5 3 1 0
2023 Gold Coast 21 4 3 0 10 9 19 8 4 0.75 0 2.5 2.25 4.75 2 1 0
2024 Gold Coast 21 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Career 5 0 0 13 11 24 11 5 0.6 0.0 2.6 2.2 4.8 2.2 1.0 0

References

  1. ^ Kelly, Daniel (25 June 2022). "Hard work the Tsitas code to success". afl.com.au.
  2. ^ "James Tsitas | AFL". goldcoastfc.com.au.
  3. ^ "Lowson & Tsitas Cross the Border to Join The Eagles". Woodville-West Torrens Football Club. 3 August 2020.
  4. ^ Keating, Mitch (30 June 2022). "Mature-aged Sun James Tsitas to make AFL debut". Zero Hanger.
  5. ^ "AFL Tables - Gold Coast v Collingwood - Sat, 2-Jul-2022 7:25 PM - Match Stats". afltables.com.
  6. ^ Schmook, Nathan (12 May 2023). "Red-hot Suns coast past depleted Eagles". afl.com.au.
  7. ^ "'Nothing is more important to me': Tsitas' remarkable journey to live out childhood dream". goldcoastfc.com.au. 12 February 2024.
  8. ^ "SUNS to challenge Tsitas suspension". goldcoastfc.com.au. 19 September 2023.
  9. ^ "Gold Coast Suns delist James Tsitas after 2024 season". The Greek Herald. 5 September 2024.
  10. ^ Jeffares, Will (26 August 2024). "Into the eight! Fast-finishing Frankston snatch remarkable win over Suns as son of a gun turns match-winner". frankstonfc.com.au.
  11. ^ "AFL Tables - James Tsitas - Stats - Statistics". afltables.com.