Jonathon Patton
Jonathon Patton (born 20 May 1993) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played as a key forward in the Australian Football League (AFL).[1][2] Selected as the first overall pick in the 2011 AFL National Draft by the Greater Western Sydney Giants, Patton debuted in 2012 and played seven seasons with the club, appearing in 80 games and serving as their leading goalkicker in 2017.[3][4] Traded to the Hawthorn Football Club ahead of the 2019 season, he added 15 games to his career tally amid persistent injury setbacks, including three anterior cruciate ligament ruptures that limited his consistency and output.[5][6] Patton's AFL tenure ended abruptly in April 2021 when, after being stood down earlier that year over allegations of sending unsolicited explicit images and messages to multiple women via social media, he announced his immediate retirement to prioritize personal health and wellbeing, issuing a public apology for his "completely unacceptable" actions that caused distress.[3][7] These events followed prior mental health struggles, including a January 2021 hospitalization, underscoring challenges that compounded his injury-plagued professional path.[3]Early Life
Family Background and Upbringing
Jonathon Patton was born on 20 May 1993 and raised in Rowville, a suburb in Melbourne's eastern suburbs of Victoria, Australia.[8] [9] As the youngest of three siblings, Patton described himself as "the baby in the family," which contributed to his early experiences.[8] His older brother, Chris, pursued basketball, playing at a junior college in Idaho, while the third sibling's details remain less documented in public sources.[9] Patton's mother, Belinda, was involved in his early dietary adjustments during his time in the AIS-AFL Academy, reflecting family support for his athletic development.[9] During his childhood, Patton was notably large for his age, which set him apart at school, though he characterized himself as a "pretty shy kid who kept to himself a lot."[8] He gradually built confidence as he matured, transitioning from introversion to greater social engagement.[8] An early football memory involved attending a Melbourne Football Club family day and meeting a player referred to as 'Robbo,' underscoring his longstanding support for the Demons club.[8] Patton showed talent in multiple sports, including basketball, but prioritized Australian rules football from a young age, playing juniors with St Simons and Scoresby before advancing to the Eastern Ranges in the TAC Cup.[8] [9] No direct AFL lineage is noted in his family background, with his path shaped more by personal drive and external mentorship, such as from former Essendon captain Matthew Lloyd.[9]Junior Football Development
Patton began his junior football career in Melbourne's eastern suburbs, playing with the St Simons Junior Football Club before progressing to Scoresby Junior Football Club.[8][10] He then advanced to the TAC Cup under-18 competition with the Eastern Ranges, where he developed as a key-position forward standing 197 cm tall.[1] In 2010, at age 17, Patton won the Eastern Ranges' best-and-fairest award, demonstrating strong marking and goal-kicking ability despite his youth.[11] The following year, he excelled in the TAC Cup, performing effectively against defensive tagging and multiple opponents, which highlighted his competitive resilience and aerial strength as noted by Ranges coach Darren Bewick.[12] His 2011 season culminated in selection as the under-18 All-Australian full-forward, underscoring his status as a top draft prospect.[11] These performances led to Patton being selected with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2011 AFL National Draft by the Greater Western Sydney Giants, the highest selection in club history at the time and reflecting his rapid development from suburban juniors to elite potential.[8][13]Professional AFL Career
Draft and Greater Western Sydney Giants Tenure
Jonathon Patton was selected by the Greater Western Sydney Giants with the first overall pick in the 2011 AFL National Draft on November 24, 2011, as a powerful key-position forward from the Eastern Ranges in Victoria.[14][15] After being drafted, Patton relocated to Sydney to begin pre-season training with the expansion club. He made his AFL debut on June 16, 2012, against Richmond at Skoda Stadium, marking the first appearance for the Giants' top draft selection.[16][17] During his tenure with the Giants from 2012 to 2019, Patton played 89 games and kicked 130 goals, establishing himself as a key forward despite recurring injuries.[18] He earned a nomination for the AFL Rising Star award in 2014 following strong performances in the forward line.[19] In 2017, Patton led the Giants' goalkicking tally, highlighting his potential as a dominant tall target, including a career-best equal six goals against Port Adelaide in April.[20][21] He also booted six goals in a 92-point victory over Fremantle earlier in his career, demonstrating his marking and finishing ability.[22] Patton's progress was significantly hampered by knee injuries, undergoing three anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstructions. The third occurred on July 4, 2018, during an innocuous training drill, with scans confirming the rupture the following day and sidelining him for the remainder of the season.[23][24] These setbacks limited his consistency, though he contributed to the Giants' competitive finals campaigns in years like 2016 and 2017 prior to the latest injury.[25] By the end of his time at GWS, Patton's resilience in overcoming multiple surgeries underscored the physical toll of his role, paving the way for his trade request after the 2019 season.[26]Trade to Hawthorn and Performance Challenges
Following a challenging period at Greater Western Sydney marked by knee injuries that limited him to just four games in 2019, Patton requested a trade to Hawthorn at the end of the season, citing a desire for increased opportunity in a forward line transitioning after Jarryd Roughead's impending retirement.[27] The Giants agreed to the move on 15 October 2019, trading the 26-year-old key forward to the Hawks in exchange for a future fourth-round draft pick tied to Melbourne.[28][29] Patton signed a four-year contract, arriving with expectations to bolster Hawthorn's tall forward structure alongside Jack Gunston and Tom Mitchell's contested marking ability, leveraging his prior career-high 45-goal haul from 2017.[30] In the 2020 AFL season, shortened to 17 rounds due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Patton debuted for Hawthorn in Round 1 but managed only six senior appearances, primarily as a backup ruck-forward.[5] His output was modest, averaging 4.8 disposals, 1.8 marks, and 0.5 goals per game while contributing 3 goals total, reflecting struggles to secure a consistent role amid competition from established forwards and his own adaptation to the Hawks' game plan.[31][32] Patton later reflected on the frustration of limited game time, which hampered his ability to build form and confidence after extended injury layoffs at his previous club.[5] Despite occasional glimpses of his marking prowess, his underwhelming statistics fell short of pre-trade projections for a former No. 1 draft pick, contributing to perceptions of stalled development in a rebuilding Hawthorn side.[33]Injuries and Statistical Overview
Patton's professional career was significantly hampered by recurrent injuries, most notably three anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) ruptures requiring surgical reconstruction.[34] His first occurred in round 3 of the 2013 season against St Kilda, tearing the right ACL and sidelining him for the remainder of the year after just three games.[35] [36] A second right ACL tear followed late in the 2014 season, causing him to miss most of 2015.[37] The third came during a training session in July 2018, rupturing the ligament (later identified as the left ACL) and ending his season, with recovery extending into missing all of 2019.[23] [24] At Hawthorn in 2020, injuries continued to disrupt his tenure: a foot issue caused him to miss the first two games, followed by a right hamstring tear in round 6 that sidelined him for six matches and left him visibly emotional on the bench.[5] [38] A subsequent suspected Achilles injury in late August against Essendon further limited his play, alongside a pre-season delay from a severe infection stemming from a cooking-related burn.[39] [40] These setbacks contributed to his abrupt retirement in April 2021, where he described the "constant battle to overcome injuries" over a decade as "relentless and overwhelming."[41] Statistically, Patton appeared in 95 AFL games, scoring 133 goals at an average of 1.4 per match, with 89 games and 130 goals for Greater Western Sydney (2012–2019) and 6 games with 3 goals for Hawthorn (2020).[18] [31] His peak came in 2017, leading GWS goalkickers with 41 goals in 22 games despite injury interruptions in other seasons reducing his output.[42]| Season | Club | Games | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | GWS | 4 | 4 |
| 2013 | GWS | 3 | 3 |
| 2014 | GWS | 20 | 31 |
| 2015 | GWS | 4 | 5 |
| 2016 | GWS | 23 | 27 |
| 2017 | GWS | 22 | 41 |
| 2018 | GWS | 12 | 19 |
| 2019 | GWS | 0 | 0 |
| 2020 | Haw | 6 | 3 |
| Total | 95 | 133 |