Considered one of the most accurate kicks for goal in the game, John Anthony, in only his second season of senior footy, won the Gordon Coventry Trophy (leading goal kicker) with 50 goals.
Originally drafted as a defender, Anthony played twice as many games (24) as he did in 2008 and doubled his end of season goal tally.
The 21-year-old got off to a scintillating start in the preseason competition hauling a bag of seven goals in a semi-final win over Essendon under the roof to help book Collingwood’s spot in the preseason grand final.
The forward's start to the home-and-away year was equally impressive kicking six goals from his first two matches and then enjoying a run from rounds five through 13 averaging three goals a game.
Anthony was held goalless in only two matches this season (round 15 and the preliminary final) and kicked four goals in five matches.
While his accuracy dropped off slightly in front of the big sticks (64.1% in 2009, 80.6% in 2008), he averaged 10.8 disposals (8.0 in 2008) and 4.3 contested possessions (2.5 in 2008) per game.
He capped off a superb year by kicking the match winner in the semi final win over Adelaide, a moment which proved this young Magpie can handle September pressure.
2009 highlights
Round 19 v Adelaide: In his fourth encounter against All-Australian defender Ben Rutten, Anthony took a career-high 12 marks while piling on three goals including two crucial ones in the third term to help break open the game to Collingwood’s favour. While not named in the side’s best, Anthony’s ability to recover from a sluggish first half and have an impact on the game was a pleasing sign for the coaching staff.
Round 21 v Sydney: Polling his first career Brownlow vote in the win, Anthony kicked 4.2 (second highest total of the year) and took six marks against Lewis Roberts-Thomson. After being well held by the defender in the round 12 match-up earlier in the year, Anthony enjoyed a dominant performance collecting over 15 disposals for the fourth straight week.
Paul Hudson: Jack is a beautiful kick. The more shots you are going to get, the harder the angle and thus it's only natural for your accuracy to drop. He still ended up kicking at 64% and if can keep that around 65 or 70, which I think he can, he will be known as a really good kick. The challenge to Jack is to play well on a really good full back. He did well on Rutten but was well held against Scarlett and Lake. His aggression in the marking contests is excellent but he is getting caught out by giving away free kicks and not being strong enough.
2009 AFL statistics
| G | K | H | D | M | G | B | T | C |
| 24 | 6.5/63.7% | 4.3/78.4% | 10.8/69.5% | 5.4 | 2.1 | 1.2 | 2.1 | 0.2 |
CTV
