Jimmy Bartel

In helping the Cats defeat Port Melbourne by 22 points, Bartel saw the club secure its first major piece of silverware since 1982.

James Ross Bartel (born 4 December 1983) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Geelong Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL).

A utility, 1.87m tall and weighing 89 kg, Bartel contributed as a midfielder, forward, and defender.

Bartel displayed initial promise as a cricketer, representing the 'Joeys' in 1st XI cricket as a 16-year-old, and winning the school's batting awards in both 2000 and 2001.

This led to selection in the state under-17 team, before a switch in focus toward football instead saw Bartel selected to play for the Geelong Falcons team in the TAC Cup competition.

Although his age made him ineligible for the 2000 AFL Draft, Bartel garnered an impressive array of accolades and honours as a bottom-aged player.

Bartel won mid-year State honours for Victoria Country in the AFL Under 18 Championships, with his performances in the championship games earning him end-of-year All-Australian honours and the Most Valuable Player award for Victoria Country.

In addition, he was named in the TAC Cup Team of the Year, won a TAC Cup premiership medallion with the Geelong Falcons, and also claimed the best and fairest award while still only 16 years of age.

Entering his second year with the Falcons, Bartel was rewarded with the team captaincy for the season.

Bartel again won mid-year state honours for Victoria Country and was additionally awarded the state captaincy.

Although failing to repeat his previous success as national champion with Victoria Country, Bartel's individual performances saw him earn All-Australian honours and gain selection in the TAC Cup Team of the Year for the second consecutive season.

The Geelong Football Club drafted Bartel with their first selection and the eighth overall draft pick in the 2001 AFL Draft.

Bartel made his AFL debut in 2002 and has garnered a long list of accolades and achievements.

He is a triple premiership player, a Brownlow Medalist, Norm Smith Medalist, and a two-time All-Australian.

Bartel is one of only two AFL players, along with Simon Black, to have won a Brownlow Medal, a Norm Smith Medal and played over 300 AFL games.

Bartel was born to Terry Bartel and Dianne Bennett in Geelong, Victoria.

He spent much of his childhood in Herne Hill without his father.

When his parents divorced while he was just one year old, Bartel's mother was left to raise him and his two elder sisters, Olivia and Emma, by herself.

After beginning his junior football at Bell Park, Bartel went on to attend renowned footballing school St. Joseph's College, where his talent for sports became evident early.

After making his debut in the opening round of the 2002 AFL premiership season, which was a heavy defeat to Essendon, Bartel went on to play in 11 out of a possible 22 senior games over the year.

After gathering 21 disposals in round 4, Bartel was awarded an AFL Rising Star nomination.

Having been dropped back to the club's VFL team to play out the second half of the season, Bartel played a key part in helping a young Geelong reserves side capture the 2002 VFL Premiership.

Despite an impressive debut season, Bartel struggled to maintain his spot within the team during the 2003 AFL season, featuring in only 13 senior games.

Averaging just 12 disposals a game, Bartel was unable to help the Cats qualify for the finals series for the third successive season.

After just two senior appearances to begin the 2004 AFL season, Bartel was again dropped back to the VFL and instructed by coaching staff to work on particular aspects of his game.

Despite compiling a series of impressive games in the VFL, Bartel was deliberately made to work hard over a two-month period before earning a round 10 recall into the senior side.

Bartel's re-introduction to the senior team coincided with Geelong winning ten out of their final twelve games and securing a top four spot ahead of the finals series.

Although Geelong were eliminated in the preliminary final by reigning premiers Brisbane, Bartel's averages of 22 disposals and 5 tackles a game over the course of the season had seen him secure his position within the team's midfield rotation.

His performances during the second half of the season, during which he averaged 29 disposals and 5 tackles a game, also saw him recognised as the highest-polling Geelong player—with 13 votes in total—during the 2004 Brownlow Medal count.

Bartel continued to build on his reputation as a tough, courageous midfielder during the 2005 AFL season, earning his first nomination for the AFLPA Robert Rose Award for Most Courageous Player in the league.

Averaging 19.6 disposals a game, Bartel again helped Geelong qualify for the season-ending finals series, where they met Sydney in the semi-finals.

After developing a slim lead for much of the game, Geelong struggled to maintain their advantage during the final minutes of the match.

Bartel was restricted to just 9 disposals as the Swans eventually won through to the preliminary finals, defeating Geelong by 3 points.

During the 2007 season, Bartel established himself as one of the premier ball-winning midfielders in the competition, averaging over 27 disposals per game—the second-highest possession average in the league—and finishing amongst the top 10 within the league for total disposals (632), total handballs (291), total tackles (122), and tackles per game (5.3).

After helping the Cats claim the McClelland Trophy, he was again nominated for the AFLPA Robert Rose Award as the game's most courageous player, and was also rewarded with his first All-Australian jumper.

Bartel's standout season continued when he was awarded the prestigious Brownlow Medal, winning with 29 votes—the highest number of votes ever by a Geelong medalist, and the third highest ever by any player under the current polling system—in a season that included eight best on ground performances.

Despite missing the final two games of the regular season due to a burst appendix, Bartel also set an AFL record alongside teammate Gary Ablett, Jr., for polling the most combined votes ever by two players of the same club.

In addition, the pair combined with teammate Joel Corey to set another AFL record for most votes ever polled by three players of the same club, at 61 votes.

He capped off a fine season by winning his first premiership medallion when he helped Geelong claim the 2007 AFL Premiership.

Bartel's 28 disposals, 5 marks, 5 tackles, and 2 goals in the 2007 AFL Grand Final helped the Cats claim an AFL-record 119-point victory over Port Adelaide.