Jess Fitzgerald
Jess Fitzgerald is an Australian rules footballer playing for in the AFL Women's. She was drafted with the second selection in the 2020 [AFL Women's draft] by the.
Early football
Growing up in Bundoora, Victoria, Fitzgerald played with the St Mary's Greensborough Kookaburras in the Yarra [Junior Football League] for four years from 2015 to 2018, amassing a total of 55 games with the team. She won the league best and fairest in the Under 15 Girls division in 2017. Fitzgerald attended school at Maribyrnong College, a specialist sports school. She began playing for the Northern Knights in 2018, as part of a development pathway from the YJFL to senior football. She played 11 games for the Knights in 2019, kicking 3 goals and averaging 14.1 disposals a game. Fitzgerald was awarded the best on ground award for the Grand Final, after she collected 16 disposals, four marks, five tackles and a behind. After the team's win, she stated "I'm not too much about the individual achievements, more about the team, I'll take it I guess, but really happy with the win." She also played for Vic Metro in the 2019 AFL Women's [Under 18 Championships], playing two games, kicking a goal and averaging 14 disposals. She also played for the Northern Knights in 2020 but their season was cut short due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite the short season, she played 3 games and kicked 2 goals, both coming in the same match against the Dandenong Stingrays, while also averaging 18.7 disposals. She was named the co-captain of the team alongside future No.1 pick Ellie McKenzie.AFLW career
Fitzgerald debuted for the in the 1st round of the 2021 AFL Women's season, in the team's 9 point loss to. On her debut, she collected 10 disposals, 1 mark and 3 tackles. The very next game in Round 2, in the team's thrilling one-goal win over, she was one of the Bulldogs' best on ground. In that game, she kicked her first goal, a running goal from 20 metres out, and also tallied up 15 disposals, 4 marks and a tackle. She won a rising star nomination for her performance in that game, alongside player Tyla Hanks. Her very next game saw her pick up arguably the best goal of the ' round 3 15 point win over, where she booted a 50m long bomb goal. A 2 goal performance in the ' upset win over saw her named as one of the team's best, also collecting 12 disposals, a game-high 7 tackles and a behind. After having a relatively quiet end to the season, Fitzgerald won team's the Best Young Player Award. It was revealed that Fitzgerald had signed a contract extension with the club on 16 June 2021, after playing every game possible for the club that season.Statistics
! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | 2021! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | 2022 (S6)
! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | 2022 (S7)
! colspan=3| Career
! 36
! 8
! 10
! 253
! 201
! 454
! 60
! 144
! 0.2
! 0.3
! 7.0
! 5.6
! 12.6
! 1.7
! 4.0
! 2