From the early days pack marks, to last year’s Anzac Day screamer, Jamie Elliott has taken some incredible grabs in his time – but which one comes out on top?
As one of the most exciting and eye-catching players in the competition, Jamie Elliott’s career has been characterised by some of this century’s greatest grabs.
Bursting onto the scene in 2012 as an exciting young talent, Elliott exploded the following year to take the 2013 Mark of the Year crown.
That was among a string of amazing marks throughout the early years of his career, before injury slowed him down throughout the late 2010s.
But his past half-a-decade has shown Elliott’s spring never left, very-nearly taking home his second Mark of the Year gong – only to be outdone by Bobby Hill – while consistently rising above the pack 9n the 2020s.
But which of the small forward’s grabs ranks above the rest?
Accompanied by some thoughts from the man himself, take a look at his top five ahead of the star’s 200th AFL game.
5 - Round 3, 2015 v St. Kilda
While it’s slightly contentious whether he held it all the way or not, there’s no doubting this is one of Elliott’s all-time leaps. Running laterally towards goal at the city end of the MCG, Elliott jumped without any regard for his own safety onto the back of his St. Kilda opponent, reaching for the ball as he flung backwards. He proceeded to hit the ground with an almighty thud – such was the momentum he had generated to attempt the grab – with the umpire deeming he had held onto it long enough.
What Jamie said:
“I was playing wide and Langers (Tom Langdon) centred it and I just flew for it. I don’t know if I held it long enough, but I’ll definitely claim it. It’s over my old housemate and teammate Corey Gault as well.”
4 - Round 3, 2014 v Geelong
A feature of Elliott’s high-flying capabilities is his ability to do it both in a pack, and when there’s just one defender in his way, with this grab against the Cats a prime example of the latter. Floating in from the side, Elliott jumped early to beat the waiting Jimmy Bartel to the ball, grabbing it at its highest point as he landed on the Brownlow medallist’s shoulders.
What Jamie said:
“that was a weird one, I was running back and I feel like if I’d just tried to mark that normally and go into a contest with (Jimmy) Bartell, I wouldn’t have marked it, so I just had to try and jump and also had to try and find his body as well. I feel like I got pretty lucky with that and luckily held onto it.”
3 - Round 17, 2013 v Gold Coast
Part of a spectacular run of big grabs, the first spot on the podium goes to Elliott’s unbelievable catch on the Coast. Getting a nice run and jump at the ball, Elliott launched beautifully into the back of Suns defender Trent McKenzie, before rising to take a textbook specky, all the while being pressured heavily by the defender trailing him.
What Jamie said:
“That one for me is up there because I had a guy playing pretty tight on me so I didn’t have too much room to move in terms of jumping, but I just ran and jumped and tried to hang onto it. Landed on my back but thankfully I held onto it for long enough.”
2 - Round 14, 2013 v Port Adelaide
The 2013 Mark of the Year winner, this grab against the Power was the perfect memory for the Pies to leave behind at South Australia’s Footy Park (AAMI Stadium), in what was the last ever season at the ground. One of the most graceful marks of all time, Elliott had three Port Adelaide defenders in front of him, so simply decided to jump on top of the entire pack as the high ball came deep into the forward 50. He was duly rewarded with the year’s top mark in what was just his second season at AFL level.
What Jamie said:
“That was kind of the first time I was starting to just jump at the ball and back myself in. I remember back then Bucks didn’t really like me playing too deep, but I used to find myself in that position a fair bit just trying to run and jump at the ball.”
1- Round 7, 2024 v Essendon
One of the most memorable moments in Anzac Day history and not even a year old yet, last year’s screamer by the number five with forever live in folklore. Jordan De Goey’s long ball singled out Elliott and Bombers defender Ben McKay perfectly, allowing the man in the black and white stripes to time his jump right as the ball reached its highest peak. Another textbook specky, the mark was as pure a display of athleticism as the game has seen.
What Jamie said:
“I couldn’t have asked for a better kick to be honest, it felt like I was playing ‘marker’s up’ back at school. You honestly get a better run and jump at it on a single person.”
