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James Gwilt

#33 - James Gwilt - St Kilda FC
Personal information
Birth	11 August 1986 (1986-08-11) (age 23)
Recruited from	Noble Park
Height and weight	188cm / 88kg
Playing career¹
Debut	Round 22, 27 August 2005, St Kilda vs. Brisbane Lions, at Docklands, Melbourne
Team(s)	St Kilda Football Club 2005 - 23 games, 5 goals
¹ Statistics to end of Round 22, 2008 season
Career highlights
* St Kilda Minor Premiership Side 2009

James Gwilt (born 11 August 1986) is an Australian rules footballer for the St Kilda Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL).

Early life

Gwilt's mother is from Papua New Guinea^[1] and his father, Jason, is of Welsh descent and immigrated with his parents and siblings from Crowle (Worcestershire) in England to Australia in the late 1950s. Jason Gwilt played Australian rules football in Port Moresby.^[2]

Gwilt began his football in suburban football instead of participating in the TAC Cup, Victoria's premier under-18 competition. He played for Noble Park in the Eastern Football League and was best on ground in the league's grand final in 2004.

AFL career

Gwilt at training prior to the 2009 AFL Grand Final

St Kilda made a surprising pick in the 2004 AFL National Draft by selecting Gwilt in the 4th Round. At debut he was only one of two AFL players (the other being Mal Michael) to have a Papua New Guinean parent.

Gwilt played in the 2005 AFL finals series, impressing with two goals against Adelaide in a qualifying final win at Football Park (AAMI Stadium) in Adelaide.

He spent most of 2006 playing with St Kilda's then VFL affiliate team, the Casey Scorpions.

He returned with a total of eight games in 2007, with his best being a 21 possession game against Carlton at Docklands Stadium. He was nominated for the AFL's Army Award in Round 11 of that year. Gwilt struggled for opportunities early in 2008 but returned to the senior side in Round 11. He enjoyed better form after being played as a forward, including a good performance in St Kilda's 2008 semifinal win against Collingwood.

Gwilt played in 15 of 22 matches in the 2009 season home and away rounds in which St Kilda qualified in first position for the finals, winning the club’s third minor premiership.^[3]

As of the end of the 2009 season, Gwilt had played in five AFL finals games.

References

External links

• St Kilda Saints James Gwilt player profile