Jai Newcombe’s reputation as a big-game player has skyrocketed, with Champion Data’s Daniel Hoyne putting the Hawthorn midfielder’s first three finals alongside the feats of Richmond legend Dustin Martin.
Newcombe was dominant in last weekend’s elimination final win over GWS, his 100th AFL appearance, producing 32 disposals, 12 clearances, 17 contested possessions and a goal in a performance Hoyne labelled “off the charts”.
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‘Sits alongside the greatest’
“Jai Newcombe now sits alongside the greatest finals player in the history of the game as the only ones in the ratings system that have gone three consecutive finals as the highest rated on the ground,” Hoyne told SEN’s Sportsday.
“Dusty did it in 2020, so Dusty did it within a season. Dusty went 1, 1, 1 in Semi-Final, Prelim and Grand Final - extraordinary. Jai has done it over his two finals campaigns.”
Hoyne noted that Newcombe’s first half against the Giants was the second-highest rated by any Hawk in a final since 2010, ahead of names like Hodge, Franklin and Burgoyne. His influence was clear when he quietened in the third term, with GWS surging back through clearance dominance.
The 24-year-old, a mid-season draftee, has already polled 23 votes across three finals in the Gary Ayres Medal count and looms as crucial when Hawthorn travel to Adelaide Oval to face the Crows this Friday night.