Career
Jakovich was recruited from South Fremantle in the West Australian Football League (WAFL), where he became a regular senior player at centre half-forward at sixteen and played his fiftieth match at eighteen. In 1990, he played a total of 46 matches for his school, Hamilton Senior High School, South Fremantle, and the Western Australian state side at three levels. Under 19s in the Teal Cup, and the Western Australia State of Origin team
He debuted for the Eagles in 1991 and played for the club in the centre half-back position and the number 27 guernsey.
He was selected in that position in the All-Australian team of 1994 and 1995. Carey was considered to be one of the best of all time, and the contests between these two were highly anticipated events on the football calendar.
After undergoing a knee reconstruction in 1996 he was unable to recapture his superlative form of the previous three years. During their career, the two brothers lined up against each other on more than one occasion.
Another brother, Gary, had played with South Fremantle during the early 1980s.
In 2003, Jakovich was selected as the Australia international rules football team"s goalkeeper for the 2003 International Rules Series in Australia. Jakovich was the Eagle"s games played record holder from 2003, when he overtook Guy McKenna"s 267 games, until Dean Cox surpassed him in 2014. Jakovich was an expert commentator on Fox Sports and 882 6PR, but now broadcasts from Western Australia for 1116 SEN Melbourne.
In 2008 he was inducted into the Australian Football Hall of Fame and the West Australian Football Hall of Fame.
He was an inaugural inductee in the West Coast Eagle"s Hall of Fame in 2011. Jakovich is married to Emily and they have three children.
He is a second generation Australian of Croatian heritage.
