Jai Newcombe

Jai Newcombe (born 2 August 2001) is a professional Australian rules footballer with the Hawthorn Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL).

Early career

Newcombe grew up in the small rural town of Poowong in Southern Gippsland, and attended the nearby Drouin Secondary College. He participated in the Auskick program at Poowong and playing junior football for the Poowong Magpies in the Ellinbank & District Football League. Newcombe was unable to secure a place in the Gippsland Power squads at ages 16, 17 and 18. He made the team in 2020 but due to the COVID-19 pandemic was unable to play a game.

Newcombe's AFL career started at the Hawthorn affiliate Box Hill Hawks in the Victorian Football League (VFL). He played a practice match for Box Hill at the start of 2020 and was asked to return in November after Melbourne was released from lockdown. He made the long commute twice a week from Warragul, where he was working, to training at Box Hill.

AFL career

Newcombe was selected with pick two in the 2021 mid-season draft, having caught the eye of recruiters after an impressive campaign with the Box Hill Hawks across the first half of the 2021 VFL season. The following week, Newcombe made his AFL debut against the Swans, setting an AFL record for the most tackles in a debut match, with 14.