Jeff White

Jeffrey Newman "Jeff" White (born 19 February 1977) is an Australian rules footballer who had a distinguished career in the Australian Football League (AFL) spanning 14 years.

White played for the Dandenong Stingrays in the TAC Cup in 1993 and 1994.

He was drafted with the number 1 pick in the 1994 AFL Draft—the first Dandenong player to be drafted with the highest pick.

Travis Johnstone—who was White's team-mate at Melbourne for 10 years—is the only other Dandenong player to be selected with the first pick in an AFL draft.

White was one of six Dandenong players selected to play for Vic Metro at the Teal Cup—the national under 18 championships—in 1994.

Following his performances for Vic Metro, he was named as an All-Australian at Under 18 level.

White was drafted by the Fremantle Dockers as the number 1 pick, which Fremantle were granted by the AFL because 1995 was the club's first season in the competition.

White made his debut in Round 3 of Fremantle's inaugural season in a victory over Fitzroy.

He played six matches in 1995, kicking three goals but averaging less than three hit-outs per game.

Fremantle's performances were largely consistent during White's three seasons with them, as they finished 13th in both 1995 and 1996, and 12th in 1997.

White was handed the number 34 guernsey at Fremantle and he wore the number for the rest of his career.

He credits Percy Johnson with guiding his ruck style in his time with Fremantle.

He played 32 games and kicked 18 goals with the Dockers between 1995 and 1997, before being traded back to his home state of Victoria to play for Melbourne.

The 1996 season saw him play 13 matches and kick 13 goals and greatly improve his average number of disposals.

He was nominated for the AFL Rising Star award in Round 19 in a 24-point win against Collingwood.

He had 22 disposals, 11 marks, kicked a goal and received three Brownlow Medal votes for his stand-out performance for the season.

In his final season at Fremantle, White took on greater responsibility of the ruck-work, and averaged 10 hit-outs per game for the season.

He played the first 12 matches of the season, but was then dropped for nine matches until the final match of the season—and of his Fremantle career.

He played most recently and notably for the Melbourne Football Club, following a move from the Fremantle Dockers at the end of 1997.

He was Melbourne's first-choice ruckman for a decade, relying on his key attributes of athleticism and durability.

Melbourne traded their two highest selections in the 1997 draft (picks 2 and 18) to Fremantle in return for White.

He was a key signing in Melbourne's attempt to rebuild its squad, and in his first season at Melbourne he shared the rucking duties with Jim Stynes, the latter mentoring White in their only season together.

He played in all of Melbourne's 25 matches for the season as they reached the preliminary final, where they lost to.

Salary-cap breaches involved in White's trade caused Melbourne to forfeit their highest selection (pick number 5) in the 1999 draft to Fremantle.

He was an important member of the Melbourne sides which made the 2000 AFL Grand Final and qualified for six finals series from 1998 to 2006.

White's career was punctuated by serious injuries to his shin and face, in 2003 and 2005 respectively.

He cemented his reputation as one of the premier ruckmen in the AFL with consistent displays for Melbourne during his eleven years at the club.

Former team-mate, fellow long-serving Melbourne ruckman, and Melbourne chairman Jim Stynes called White an "ornament to the game and particularly to the Melbourne Football Club."

He was an All-Australian in 2004, and was selected for Victoria several times.

The pair met on the Gold Coast, and married there in October 2005.

On 5 May 2007, Stacy gave birth to the couple's first child, son Kalani Jordan.

White has stated his desire to move to the Gold Coast once his playing career in Melbourne is finished, and has mooted that a role with the proposed Gold Coast AFL team is possible in either a development or coaching capacity.

His contract with Melbourne was not renewed in 2008 and White signed to play in 2009 with the Redland Australian Football Club in the AFL Queensland State League.

White grew up in Victoria and was keen to return to Melbourne after he was drafted to the Fremantle Dockers in Western Australia.

He was married to Stacy, and in Melbourne they lived at Sandringham.

In September 2008, he launched a sports classified website, SponsorThem, which is a specialised networking site for athletes.

White wanted to impart his knowledge of social media to other athletes, which grew into his own business, White Echo, launched in 2009.

White is an avid golfer and is a member of the Huntingdale Golf Club, and also plays regularly at the Royal Melbourne Golf Club.

He plays off of a handicap of 5.

At his final press-conference with Melbourne, he jokingly stated that a card on the seniors' Champions Tour was a potential aim once his football career is finished.