Jack Gunston

Jack Gunston (born 16 October 1991) is an Australian rules footballer who plays for the Hawthorn Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). Gunston plays as a forward and is one of the most accurate kicks for goal from a set shot in the AFL.

Gunston was raised in Melbourne and attended Haileybury College, playing school football alongside three other future AFL players (Tom Scully, Jack Hutchins, and Tom Lynch). His father, Ray Gunston, played VFA football for Brunswick, and later moved into sports administration. Gunston began his junior career with the Beaumaris Football Club. He originally played mainly as a midfielder, but after growing 15 centimetres (5.9 in) in two years he began to play more in key positions. In 2009, the year he became eligible for the AFL Draft, Gunston was selected for the Sandringham Dragons, a TAC Cup team. Early in the season, he dislocated his elbow in a practice game, an injury which took eight weeks to heal. Gunston played for the Dragons in only their last six matches, but was nonetheless a second-round pick in the 2009 AFL National Draft, taken by Adelaide with the 29th pick overall.

Adelaide

Gunston made his AFL debut against the Brisbane Lions in round nine of the 2010 AFL season. In a promising debut Gunston collected seven disposals and kicked a vital goal in the final quarter. He played one more game in round 18 against Richmond collecting nine disposals. He finished the year on the wing with Central District's 2010 premiership side.

In 2011 he played 12 games, kicking five goals against Richmond in round 23.

After two years in Adelaide, Gunston became homesick and sought to return to Victoria. He had been awarded the Mark Bickley Award as the club's best young player, but he was stripped of the title after announcing his intention to leave.

Hawthorn

He was traded to Hawthorn in a deal that saw three draft picks (pick 24, 46 & 64) given to Adelaide and two picks returned (pick 53 and 71).

In his first season at Hawthorn he played 19 games, including the 2012 Grand Final, and followed up in 2013 with 23 games.

Gunston played in the 2013 Grand Final against Fremantle, and was one of the best on ground, kicking 4 goals to be the leading goal scorer in the match and finished second in the Norm Smith Medal count to team mate Brian Lake. Gunston played an important role as key forward in 2014, finishing with a career high 58 goals for the season, and earned his second premiership as part of the Hawthorn team that defeated the Sydney Swans in 2014. In 2015 Gunston won Hawthorn's goalkicking and also played in their 2015 premiership victory. He injured his knee in the Qualifying Final against West Coast Eagles but returned in the Grand Final to kick 4 goals.

Gunston has a reputation for being very accurate in kicking for goal from set shots, being frequently described as a "sharp-shooter". He is said to have a "very balanced, methodical set-shot routine", with a focus on a straight drop-ball. Towards the end of the 2013 season, it was reported that Gunston had the best conversion rate out of the top 50 goal-kickers in the competition, with 82.5 percent of his set shots from the past two seasons resulting in goals.

• Team
  • 3× AFL Premiership: 2013, 2014, 2015
  • 2× McClelland Trophy: 2012, 2013
• Individual
  • 2× Hawthorn leading goalkicker: 2015, 2016
  • Hawthorn best first year player: 2012
  • 22under22 team: 2014