James Blanck

James Blanck (born 20 November 2000) is a professional Australian rules footballer with the Hawthorn Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL).

Early career
Blanck had spent three seasons at Box Hill, the first year (2020) was wiped out because of Covid restrictions, in 2021 he was coached by now Hawthorn coach Sam Mitchell who helped him develop into a dour defender who uses his athleticism to team advantage. list management team kept a close eye on him, where he emerged as one of the best backmen in the VFL.

AFL career
Blanck was the sixteenth player picked in the 2022 mid-season draft, having made an impression playing for Box Hill Hawks in the Victorian Football League. Blanck made his AFL debut in round 15 2022 against at Marvel Stadium. The young defender was immediately tasked with the toughest jobs of shutting down some of the competition’s best forwards. He managed to play in the last nine games of the season.

Blanck's 2024 season was derailed in an intraclub practice match on February 15, 2024, when he ruptured his ACL, leaving him ruled out for the entire season.

Statistics
Updated to the end of 2023.

! colspan=3| Career ! 24 !! 0 !! 0 !! 92 !! 64 !! 156 !! 44 !! 37 !! 0.0 !! 0.0 !! 3.8 !! 2.7 !! 6.5 !! 1.8 !! 1.5 !! 0
 * 2022 || || 36
 * 9 || 0 || 0 || 42 || 25 || 67 || 15 || 14 || 0.0 || 0.0 || 4.7 || 2.8 || 7.4 || 1.7 || 1.6 || 0
 * 2023 || || 36
 * 15 || 0 || 0 || 50 || 39 || 89 || 29 || 23 || 0.0 || 0.0 || 3.3 || 2.6 || 5.9 || 1.9 || 1.5 || 0
 * 2024 || || 36
 * 0 || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || 0
 * - class="sortbottom"
 * 2024 || || 36
 * 0 || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || 0
 * - class="sortbottom"
 * }