James Gwilt

Background

Gwilt"s mother is from Papua New Guinea and his father, Jason, is of Welsh descent and immigrated with his parents and siblings from Crowle (Worcestershire) in England to Australia in the late 1950s.

Career

Jason Gwilt played Australian rules football in Portuguese Moresby. Gwilt began his football in suburban football instead of participating in the TAC Cup, Victoria"s premier under-18 competition. He played for Noble Park in the Eastern Football League and was best on ground in the league"s grand final in 2004.

He was also a talented junior cricketer, and played for the South Melbourne Cricket Club first XI in premier cricket during the 2003-2004 season.

Street Kilda made a surprising pick in the 2004 American Federation of Labor-Congress National Draft by selecting Gwilt in the 4th Round, the first player selected from a suburban league for five years. At debut he was only one of two American Federation of Labor-Congress players (the other being Mal Michael) to have a Papua New Guinean parent.

Gwilt spent most of 2006 playing with Street Kilda"s then VFL affiliate team, the Casey Scorpions. He returned with a total of eight games in 2007, with his best being a 21 possession game against Carlton at Docklands Stadium.

He was nominated for the American Federation of Labor-Congress"s Army Award in Round 11 of that year.

Gwilt struggled for opportunities early in 2008 but returned to the senior side in Round 11. Gwilt played in 15 of 22 matches in the 2009 season home and away rounds in which Street Kilda qualified in first position for the finals, winning the club’s third minor premiership. Gwilt played 26 games in 2010, including four final matches, and finished 8th in Street Kilda"s best & fairest award (Trevor Barker Medal).

This was the year that Gwilt entrenched himself inside Street Kilda"s best 22, as shown by his high finish in Street Kilda"s best & fairest award.

Prior to 2010 he was considered a fringe player. Gwilt played as a cog in Street Kilda"s defense until the end of 2014, where, despite a 10th-place finish in the club"s best and fairest, he was delisted as part of the club"s youth policy.

He was then picked up by Essendon as a free agent.

Achievements

• Gwilt played in the 2005 American Federation of Labor-Congress finals series, impressing with two goals against Adelaide in a qualifying final win at Football Park (AAMI Stadium) in Adelaide. He enjoyed better form after being played as a forward, including a good performance in Street Kilda"s 2008 semifinal win against Collingwood.