Jake Aarts
Jake Aarts | |
|---|---|
| Born | December 8, 1994 |
| Occupation | Australian rules footballer |
| Known for | Professional player for Richmond Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL) |
Jake Aarts (born 8 December 1994) is a professional Australian rules football player who was part of the Richmond Football Club roster in the Australian Football League (AFL). He transitioned from Richmond’s VFL squad to the AFL list via the 2019 rookie draft and made his AFL debut in round 5 of the 2020 season.
Early life and state-league football
Aarts started his football journey playing both junior and senior levels at the Beaconsfield Football Club, although he was not selected by any junior representative TAC Cup teams. In 2013, he followed former Beaconsfield coach Austinn Jones to the Bendigo Football Club when Jones took over as the VFL head coach. During his two seasons there, Aarts appeared in 32 games, primarily occupying wing and half-forward roles. After Bendigo ceased operations in 2014, he joined Richmond’s VFL reserves team in 2015.
Over three years with Richmond’s VFL side, Aarts played alongside AFL-listed players not selected for senior matches and earned a spot in the leadership group by 2018. That year, he participated in 16 games, averaging 13 disposals, four tackles, and one goal per match, which led to an invitation to the Victorian state draft combine. By the conclusion of 2018, Aarts had amassed 49 appearances for Richmond’s reserves and a total of 81 state-league games.
He completed his secondary education at St. Francis Xavier College, Beaconsfield.
2019 season
Aarts was selected by Richmond with their first pick and 16th overall in the 2019 rookie draft.
He commenced his AFL-listed season by featuring in VFL practice matches with Richmond’s reserves during March 2020, including a final outing where he kicked three goals. Although sidelined for the opening VFL round due to injury, by April reserves coach Craig McRae considered him "ready for an AFL opportunity." In mid-May, after an impressive three-goal performance at VFL level, Aarts was named as a non-playing emergency for round 8 of the AFL. Later that month, he was rested because of soreness and missed a July fixture due to a minor calf strain.
In early August, Aarts produced a strong VFL display with 24 disposals and three goals, earning him emergency selection again for round 22. He remained an emergency in round 23 but did not make his AFL debut before finals commenced. During the VFL finals, he contributed one goal in a qualifying final victory over the reserves. However, Aarts received a four-week suspension following rough conduct against Port Melbourne’s Tom O'Sullivan in the preliminary final.
This suspension meant Aarts was one of six Richmond players who did not feature in either the AFL or VFL premiership teams in 2019. He ended that season without an AFL appearance but played 16 matches and kicked 18 goals with Richmond’s VFL reserves.
2020 season
During the early stages of the 2019/20 pre-season, Aarts experienced groin and hip discomfort that limited his training until he regained full fitness by February 2020. He participated in his first top-tier game during the pre-season series in early March but was subsequently dropped back to reserves after recording just 10 disposals. Following one additional VFL practice match, all remaining pre-season fixtures were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. After one round of AFL competition, the season was suspended for eleven weeks. With no VFL season underway, Aarts returned through reserves practice matches against unselected players and performed well enough to earn his AFL debut in round 5’s victory over at the MCG.
In his debut match, Aarts recorded 15 disposals and was involved in three scoring plays during a shortened game format. He then relocated with Richmond's main squad to the Gold Coast amid a COVID-19 outbreak in Melbourne. By round 7, he had scored his first two career goals and established himself as a consistent goal scorer, accumulating eight goals across four games—including a career-best three goals during round 9's win over . He retained his position in the senior team throughout the remainder of the regular season and was Richmond’s leading goal kicker in a round 18 victory despite sustaining a minor shoulder injury.
Aarts participated in the qualifying final loss to , contributing eight disposals and three tackles but was omitted from subsequent finals matches. He served as a non-playing emergency for Richmond’s last three finals games, including their grand final triumph over . Across his inaugural season, Aarts appeared in 14 of a possible 21 matches and finished tied for 14th place in the club’s best and fairest award tally.
2021 season
Prior to the commencement of the 2021 campaign, Aarts changed his jersey number to 16, a number previously worn by Shaun Hampson in 2017.
Player profile
Aarts primarily plays as a small forward and half-forward, distinguished by his strong tackling ability and defensive pressure applied to opponents during rebounds. He is also notably proficient in securing contested possessions relative to other small forwards. During his junior career and early VFL appearances with Bendigo and Richmond, he was predominantly an inside midfielder, before being shifted to a forward role by Richmond VFL coach Craig McRae.
AFL statistics
Statistics are current as of the conclusion of round 23, 2022.
|-
| 2019 || || 39
| 0 || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || —
|-
| 2020 || || 39
| 14 || 14 || 5 || 71 || 64 || 135 || 31 || 33 || 1.0 || 0.4 || 5.1 || 4.6 || 9.6 || 2.2 || 2.4 || 1
|-
| 2021 || || 16
| 21 || 18 || 12 || 122 || 100 || 222 || 53 || 53 || 0.9 || 0.6 || 5.8 || 4.8 || 10.6 || 2.5 || 2.5 || 0
|-
| 2022 || || 16
| 7 || 2 || 2 || 20 || 29 || 49 || 6 || 14 || 0.3 || 0.3 || 2.9 || 4.1 || 7.0 || 0.9 || 2.0 || 0
|- class="sortbottom"
! colspan=3| Career
! 42
! 34
! 19
! 213
! 193
! 406
! 90
! 100
! 0.8
! 0.5
! 5.1
! 4.6
! 9.7
! 2.1
! 2.4
! 1
|}
Notes
Personal life
Prior to embarking on his professional football journey, Aarts was a licensed carpenter.
In January of 2021, Aarts and his partner Amelia celebrated the birth of their daughter.