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The complete history of the Mighty Magpies

James Clement

James Clement

2001-2007
8

146 CFC Games Played

13 CFC Goals

Date of Birth
4 September 1976
Recruited From
Fremantle
Collingwood Debut
Round 3, 2001
Height:
190cm
Weight:
94kg

Biography

In a post-season meeting in September 2000, coach Mick Malthouse and recruiting manager Noel Judkins were discussing the characteristics required of the defender Collingwood so desperately required. Judkins offered: “We really need a bloke that’s six foot three, and can run and do the disciplined things, and is good overhead.”

Judkins suggested someone he thought  fitted the bill, a Fremantle backman looking for a fresh start after five seasons. “”We like James Clement,” Judkins said to Malthouse.

The coach’s response back was effusive: “Jesus, I love James Clement.”

That set in motion Collingwood’s chase for a player who would quickly become the cornerstone of its defence. In time, he would also become a prototype for future backmen capable of playing on both tall and small forwards.

Malthouse, it turns out, had unsuccessfully tried to recruit Clement as a teenager to West Coast. The coach had watched him as a junior in the mid-1990s, but the Dockers had first dibs as part of their zone selection options, given that he had played with South Fremantle in the WAFL.

He made his name at South as a mobile half-back and winger, but once he joined Freo he spent most of his time in defence, quickly becoming a regular in the seniors. In 1998 he had a brief burst of success as a forward, kicking five goals in consecutive matches against West Coast and Essendon, but mostly he was a defender.

He played all 22 games for the Dockers in 1999 but managed just eight the following year. Malthouse was by now at Collingwood, so when Judkins suggested Clement was frustrated and might be gettable, the coach couldn’t have been keener. He’d actually kept in touch with Clement over the years, and the two were keen to work together.

 

 

At the end of 2000 he was traded to Collingwood in a complex deal that saw him joined in black-and-white by Fremantle small forward Brodie Holland, while Paul Williams headed to Sydney. And as good as Willo was for the Swans, nobody doubted that the Pies ended up with the best of that deal.

Clement was an instant hit at Collingwood, snagging three goals in his first game (only 10 more would come in his Magpie career). He was understated off the field and could not stand hype. On the field, he loved the contest, hated fuss, and preferred a low-key approach. He was tall, strong, good overhead but also quick and agile, capable of playing on both tall and small forwards. An educated man, he was one of those players who was never going to have to rely on his football career to steer him through life, and yet he played the game as though his life depended on it.

He rapidly developed into one of the game’s premier defenders, missing only six games in his first six seasons at the club. His durability amazed some teammates. In a contest against his former side in 2004, he played three quarters with a suspected fracture cheekbone. And in a practice game earlier that year he suffered an eye injury that would not stop bleeding for two days, prompting concern over the health of his eyesight.

Clement’s consistency and his rare ability to win his contests, regardless of the result, saw him become a star in a revamped team that would contest the 2002 and 2003 Grand Finals. He was third in the Copeland Trophy in his second season at the club, and also shared the best finals player award that year. He then won consecutive best-and-fairest awards in 2004 and 2005, and finished second in 2006. He was named in two All-Australian teams (2004-05), though some of his teammates insist he should have been selected in more.

“He was probably the best defender in the competition for two or three years,” Scott Burns maintained. “He was an All-Australian lock. I still can’t believe he didn’t make it (the team) in a few other years.”

Clement took on and eclipsed some of the best forwards of his time, and is widely remembered for one clash in 2006 where he outpointed Essendon’s James Hird so comprehensively – often with perfectly timed subtle nudges under the ball – that the AFL subsequently introduced the “hands in the back” rule. “He absolutely dominated James Hird that day,” recalled Burns, “and Hird sooked and Essendon sooked, and we got the stupid ‘hands in the back rule’ as a result.”

Clement could play on power-marking big men or the fleet of foot, mobile smaller attacking players, which set him apart from other more predictable, one-dimensional defenders.

“Jimmy could play on the smallest of forwards and the tallest of forwards, and he would knock them all over,” Nathan Buckley said. “He was hard, really hard, and he made himself that on and off the field.”

 

He was rarely beaten one-on-one, was an exceptional rebounding defender and in an age where metres gained was not necessarily a focus, his ability to break free from his opponent and roost the ball 60m out of the defensive zone was a huge part of the Magpies’ game plan. He was a beautiful kick of the football and rarely missed his targets.

But more than anything it was class and composure that James Clement brought to the heart of Collingwood’s defence. He was cool, unruffled and seemingly always in control. The whole defence seemed tighter and more assured from the moment he stepped into it.

As understated as he was off the field, Clement proved extraordinary guidance and inspiration on it, and stepped into the captaincy breech whenever Buckley was missing.

It wasn’t until 2007 that injuries began to catch up with him. He managed only 13 of 25 games that year, missing 11 straight with a calf injury. He returned in Round 18, and did not miss a beat as the Magpies won their way through to another finals series.

Fittingly for a player who won the club’s best finals player in 2002 and 2006, Clement was among Collingwood’s best players in the heartbreaking preliminary final loss to Geelong in 2007. Few took much notice when he gave a wave to the crowd as he left the MCG that night. He was 31, and seemed to have so much more left to give, almost certainly as the next captain.

But Clement was ready to move to the next phase of his life, helping to support his wife, Jeanne, who was undergoing a health battle. He quietly gave the game away, with no fanfare, no media conference and no looking back. For a guy who eschewed the limelight for so much of his career, it seemed the perfect way to go out.

James Clement finished his career as one of the AFL’s most respected defenders of the early 2000s, and his legacy was upheld by several of his younger teammates such as Nick Maxwell and Heritier Lumumba, who regularly cited Clement’s influence as a key driver behind the nucleus of the group that was to take out the 2010 premiership.

 

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Statistics

CFC Career Stats

Season played Games Goals Finals Win %
2001-2007 146 13 10 50%

CFC Season by Season Stats

Season GP GL B K H T D Guernsey No.
2001 20 7 8 216 80 32 296 8

2001 Season stats

Hide Season
RD VS Result GL B K H T D Guernsey No. Match Report
Round 3 Western Bulldogs W 3 0 10 3 1 13 8 View match >
Round 4 Richmond L 0 2 8 5 1 13 8 View match >
Round 5 Essendon L 0 1 9 4 0 13 8 View match >
Round 6 Carlton W 0 1 11 1 4 12 8 View match >
Round 7 North Melbourne L 0 0 9 8 2 17 8 View match >
Round 8 Port Adelaide W 0 1 14 6 1 20 8 View match >
Round 9 St Kilda W 1 1 11 5 3 16 8 View match >
Round 10 Sydney L 0 0 12 2 0 14 8 View match >
Round 11 Melbourne W 0 0 12 3 1 15 8 View match >
Round 12 West Coast W 0 0 14 3 1 17 8 View match >
Round 13 Adelaide W 2 0 11 1 0 12 8 View match >
Round 14 Geelong L 0 0 11 4 3 15 8 View match >
Round 15 Brisbane L 0 1 10 4 1 14 8 View match >
Round 16 Hawthorn L 0 0 11 1 1 12 8 View match >
Round 17 Fremantle W 0 0 11 5 3 16 8 View match >
Round 18 Richmond L 0 0 12 5 2 17 8 View match >
Round 19 Western Bulldogs W 0 0 7 4 4 11 8 View match >
Round 20 Essendon L 0 0 8 7 1 15 8 View match >
Round 21 Carlton L 1 0 12 5 3 17 8 View match >
Round 22 North Melbourne W 0 1 13 4 0 17 8 View match >
Legend
  • #Guernsey
  • GLGoals
  • BBehinds
  • KKicks
  • HHandballs
  • DDisposals
  • MMarks
  • TTackles
*Player goal statistics included VFA (Victorian Football Association) results.
2002 25 1 1 267 88 53 355 8

2002 Season stats

Hide Season
RD VS Result GL B K H T D Guernsey No. Match Report
Round 1 Richmond L 0 0 7 8 0 15 8 View match >
Round 2 West Coast W 0 0 10 3 3 13 8 View match >
Round 3 Carlton L 0 0 3 1 6 4 8 View match >
Round 4 Hawthorn W 1 0 12 2 1 14 8 View match >
Round 5 Essendon W 0 0 16 3 4 19 8 View match >
Round 6 St Kilda W 0 0 13 4 1 17 8 View match >
Round 7 Western Bulldogs W 0 0 11 2 2 13 8 View match >
Round 8 Brisbane W 0 0 15 7 2 22 8 View match >
Round 9 Port Adelaide L 0 0 10 0 3 10 8 View match >
Round 10 Sydney W 0 0 9 5 0 14 8 View match >
Round 11 Melbourne W 0 1 14 8 0 22 8 View match >
Round 12 Fremantle L 0 0 8 2 2 10 8 View match >
Round 13 North Melbourne W 0 0 11 6 1 17 8 View match >
Round 14 Adelaide W 0 0 3 2 0 5 8 View match >
Round 15 Geelong L 0 0 10 3 1 13 8 View match >
Round 16 Richmond W 0 0 12 4 1 16 8 View match >
Round 17 West Coast L 0 0 12 6 4 18 8 View match >
Round 18 Carlton W 0 0 6 4 2 10 8 View match >
Round 19 Hawthorn L 0 0 17 2 1 19 8 View match >
Round 20 Essendon L 0 0 8 2 3 10 8 View match >
Round 21 St Kilda W 0 0 11 5 2 16 8 View match >
Round 22 Western Bulldogs L 0 0 13 0 4 13 8 View match >
Qualifying Final Port Adelaide W 0 0 12 2 2 14 8 View match >
Preliminary Final Adelaide W 0 0 11 2 4 13 8 View match >
Grand Final Brisbane L 0 0 13 5 4 18 8 View match >
Legend
  • #Guernsey
  • GLGoals
  • BBehinds
  • KKicks
  • HHandballs
  • DDisposals
  • MMarks
  • TTackles
*Player goal statistics included VFA (Victorian Football Association) results.
2003 21 0 1 179 81 28 260 8

2003 Season stats

Hide Season
RD VS Result GL B K H T D Guernsey No. Match Report
Round 1 Richmond W 0 0 6 6 0 12 8 View match >
Round 2 Carlton W 0 0 18 6 0 24 8 View match >
Round 3 Geelong W 0 0 12 2 4 14 8 View match >
Round 4 Brisbane L 0 0 6 10 2 16 8 View match >
Round 5 Essendon L 0 0 10 4 1 14 8 View match >
Round 6 Sydney L 0 0 6 5 0 11 8 View match >
Round 7 Adelaide W 0 0 5 2 3 7 8 View match >
Round 8 West Coast L 0 0 8 3 3 11 8 View match >
Round 9 St Kilda W 0 0 11 2 2 13 8 View match >
Round 10 Port Adelaide L 0 0 6 1 0 7 8 View match >
Round 11 Melbourne W 0 0 12 2 3 14 8 View match >
Round 12 Hawthorn L 0 0 9 8 1 17 8 View match >
Round 13 Western Bulldogs W 0 0 10 5 2 15 8 View match >
Round 14 North Melbourne W 0 0 16 3 0 19 8 View match >
Round 19 Brisbane L 0 0 2 2 1 4 8 View match >
Round 20 Adelaide W 0 0 2 4 2 6 8 View match >
Round 21 Sydney W 0 0 8 0 0 8 8 View match >
Round 22 Essendon W 0 0 7 7 3 14 8 View match >
Qualifying Final Brisbane W 0 0 12 4 0 16 8 View match >
Preliminary Final Port Adelaide W 0 1 7 3 0 10 8 View match >
Grand Final Brisbane L 0 0 6 2 1 8 8 View match >
Legend
  • #Guernsey
  • GLGoals
  • BBehinds
  • KKicks
  • HHandballs
  • DDisposals
  • MMarks
  • TTackles
*Player goal statistics included VFA (Victorian Football Association) results.
2004 22 0 0 251 77 33 328 8

2004 Season stats

Hide Season
RD VS Result GL B K H T D Guernsey No. Match Report
Round 1 Richmond L 0 0 11 6 1 17 8 View match >
Round 2 Western Bulldogs W 0 0 5 7 0 12 8 View match >
Round 3 Brisbane L 0 0 13 1 1 14 8 View match >
Round 4 Fremantle L 0 0 15 4 2 19 8 View match >
Round 5 Essendon L 0 0 15 3 1 18 8 View match >
Round 6 Port Adelaide L 0 0 17 2 2 19 8 View match >
Round 7 Carlton L 0 0 7 2 1 9 8 View match >
Round 8 St Kilda L 0 0 5 2 3 7 8 View match >
Round 9 Adelaide W 0 0 12 3 5 15 8 View match >
Round 10 North Melbourne W 0 0 10 0 1 10 8 View match >
Round 11 West Coast W 0 0 20 3 1 23 8 View match >
Round 12 Melbourne L 0 0 14 1 2 15 8 View match >
Round 13 Sydney L 0 0 9 2 3 11 8 View match >
Round 14 Hawthorn W 0 0 14 4 1 18 8 View match >
Round 15 Geelong L 0 0 16 9 2 25 8 View match >
Round 16 Brisbane L 0 0 15 2 1 17 8 View match >
Round 17 Western Bulldogs W 0 0 8 10 1 18 8 View match >
Round 18 Richmond W 0 0 13 1 2 14 8 View match >
Round 19 Fremantle W 0 0 5 8 1 13 8 View match >
Round 20 Essendon L 0 0 4 0 2 4 8 View match >
Round 21 Port Adelaide L 0 0 10 2 0 12 8 View match >
Round 22 Carlton L 0 0 13 5 0 18 8 View match >
Legend
  • #Guernsey
  • GLGoals
  • BBehinds
  • KKicks
  • HHandballs
  • DDisposals
  • MMarks
  • TTackles
*Player goal statistics included VFA (Victorian Football Association) results.
2005 22 1 3 276 102 57 378 8

2005 Season stats

Hide Season
RD VS Result GL B K H T D Guernsey No. Match Report
Round 1 Western Bulldogs L 0 0 10 8 3 18 8 View match >
Round 2 Adelaide L 0 0 12 6 0 18 8 View match >
Round 3 Carlton W 0 0 18 5 1 23 8 View match >
Round 4 North Melbourne L 0 0 6 4 1 10 8 View match >
Round 5 Essendon L 1 0 16 5 6 21 8 View match >
Round 6 St Kilda L 0 0 9 2 3 11 8 View match >
Round 7 Fremantle L 0 0 13 5 1 18 8 View match >
Round 8 Richmond L 0 1 15 5 2 20 8 View match >
Round 9 West Coast W 0 0 12 4 3 16 8 View match >
Round 10 Hawthorn W 0 0 19 4 4 23 8 View match >
Round 11 Geelong W 0 0 23 6 7 29 8 View match >
Round 12 Melbourne L 0 0 12 6 4 18 8 View match >
Round 13 Sydney L 0 0 7 6 2 13 8 View match >
Round 14 Port Adelaide W 0 0 11 2 5 13 8 View match >
Round 15 Brisbane L 0 0 13 5 2 18 8 View match >
Round 16 Essendon L 0 0 12 2 2 14 8 View match >
Round 17 St Kilda L 0 0 9 5 1 14 8 View match >
Round 18 Fremantle L 0 1 12 4 2 16 8 View match >
Round 19 North Melbourne L 0 0 12 6 4 18 8 View match >
Round 20 Carlton L 0 0 6 4 4 10 8 View match >
Round 21 Adelaide L 0 0 16 7 0 23 8 View match >
Round 22 Western Bulldogs L 0 1 13 1 0 14 8 View match >
Legend
  • #Guernsey
  • GLGoals
  • BBehinds
  • KKicks
  • HHandballs
  • DDisposals
  • MMarks
  • TTackles
*Player goal statistics included VFA (Victorian Football Association) results.
2006 23 2 0 300 88 42 388 8

2006 Season stats

Hide Season
RD VS Result GL B K H T D Guernsey No. Match Report
Round 1 Adelaide L 0 0 10 2 0 12 8 View match >
Round 2 Hawthorn W 0 0 7 2 4 9 8 View match >
Round 3 North Melbourne W 0 0 8 6 2 14 8 View match >
Round 4 Essendon W 1 0 9 5 3 14 8 View match >
Round 5 Port Adelaide W 0 0 16 3 0 19 8 View match >
Round 6 Carlton W 0 0 10 4 0 14 8 View match >
Round 7 West Coast L 0 0 16 3 1 19 8 View match >
Round 8 Geelong W 0 0 16 8 3 24 8 View match >
Round 9 Western Bulldogs W 0 0 13 3 1 16 8 View match >
Round 10 Brisbane W 0 0 9 2 2 11 8 View match >
Round 11 Melbourne L 0 0 12 5 1 17 8 View match >
Round 12 Sydney W 0 0 15 5 0 20 8 View match >
Round 13 Richmond L 0 0 13 6 2 19 8 View match >
Round 14 St Kilda L 1 0 12 3 3 15 8 View match >
Round 15 Fremantle L 0 0 10 1 1 11 8 View match >
Round 16 West Coast W 0 0 12 2 2 14 8 View match >
Round 17 Hawthorn W 0 0 20 3 4 23 8 View match >
Round 18 Adelaide L 0 0 18 8 0 26 8 View match >
Round 19 Essendon L 0 0 17 6 2 23 8 View match >
Round 20 Port Adelaide W 0 0 8 6 1 14 8 View match >
Round 21 Carlton W 0 0 14 2 2 16 8 View match >
Round 22 North Melbourne W 0 0 18 1 3 19 8 View match >
Elimination Final Western Bulldogs L 0 0 17 2 5 19 8 View match >
Legend
  • #Guernsey
  • GLGoals
  • BBehinds
  • KKicks
  • HHandballs
  • DDisposals
  • MMarks
  • TTackles
*Player goal statistics included VFA (Victorian Football Association) results.
2007 13 2 0 172 41 33 213 8

2007 Season stats

Hide Season
RD VS Result GL B K H T D Guernsey No. Match Report
Round 1 North Melbourne W 1 0 17 6 2 23 8 View match >
Round 2 West Coast L 0 0 10 5 3 15 8 View match >
Round 4 Port Adelaide L 0 0 5 4 2 9 8 View match >
Round 5 Essendon W 0 0 13 2 2 15 8 View match >
Round 6 Adelaide W 0 0 11 4 1 15 8 View match >
Round 18 Carlton W 0 0 18 4 5 22 8 View match >
Round 19 Richmond L 0 0 8 5 3 13 8 View match >
Round 20 Melbourne W 0 0 11 2 2 13 8 View match >
Round 21 Sydney W 1 0 13 0 1 13 8 View match >
Round 22 Adelaide L 0 0 20 3 2 23 8 View match >
Elimination Final Sydney W 0 0 6 0 2 6 8 View match >
Semi Final West Coast W 0 0 20 5 1 25 8 View match >
Preliminary Final Geelong L 0 0 20 1 7 21 8 View match >
Legend
  • #Guernsey
  • GLGoals
  • BBehinds
  • KKicks
  • HHandballs
  • DDisposals
  • MMarks
  • TTackles
*Player goal statistics included VFA (Victorian Football Association) results.
Totals 146 13 13 1661 557 278 2218
Avg/Game   0.09 0.09 11.38 3.82 1.90 15.19
Legend
  • GPGames Played
  • GLGoals
  • BBehinds
  • KKicks
  • HHandballs
  • TTackles
  • DDisposals

Key Facts

CFC Debut Number

1023

Total AFL Games
230
Total AFL Goals
51
CFC Debut
Round 3, 2001
CFC Last Game
Preliminary Final, 2007
Recruited From
Fremantle
Full Name
James Clement

Awards

  • x2
    All Australian
    2004, 2005
  • Life Members
    2011
  • x2
    Best Finals Player (Bob Rose Award)
    2002, 2006
  • CFC Hall of Fame
    2010
  • x2
    E.W. Copeland Trophy (Best and Fairest)
    2004, 2005
  • Runner up Best and Fairest (R.T. Rush Trophy)
    2006
  • Third Best and Fairest (J.J. Joyce Trophy)
    2002
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