AHEAD of the 2018 Port Adelaide Football Club Best and Fairest event on October 5, we thought we would profile some of the players who could be in contention to win the coveted John Cahill Medal.
Tom Jonas has become a key ingredient in the league’s fourth-stingiest defence, playing 18 games in 2018.
The 27-year-old is a member of the club’s leadership group and has proved a reliable and versatile backman with his ability to play on both smalls and talls.
A success story for the rookie list, Jonas had a number of impressive performances that saw him included in the All-Australian squad of 40 for the second year in a row.
Key Stats
Jonas ranked ninth in the competition for marks after pulling down 141 of them, averaging 7.8 per game - that’s up from his career average of 4.5 per game.
The 189-centimetre defender also ranked ninth in the competition for one-percenters - those spoils and smothers that often go unnoticed - with 144 of them in 2018 at an average of 8 per game.
Jonas also bested his career average for kicks (11.9 per game up from 7.7) and disposals (16.7 up from 13.7) while averaging 4.8 handballs and 1.9 tackles.
One thing that may go against Jonas is the fact he missed four games throughout the season with a knee injury.
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Key Games
In the heartbreaking after the siren loss to West Coast in Round 21, Jonas had a career-high 30 disposals - made up of 11 handballs and a career-high 19 kicks. He also pulled down 13 marks that day.
Jonas had a career-high 15 marks to go with 21 touches against Geelong in the Anzac Round game in Round 5.
He was also a brick wall in the back line against Melbourne in Round 14, finishing with 20 disposals and 11 marks.
Jonas is a chance to poll regular votes early in the season, especially in the Round 2 win over Sydney, while the Round 8 Showdown win over Adelaide saw him have 21 disposals and 10 marks.
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