Jordan Dawson

Jordan Dawson (born 9 April 1997) is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the Adelaide Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He previously played for the Sydney Swans from 2016 to 2021. Dawson was named in the 2023 All-Australian team and won the Malcolm Blight Medal in 2023, and is a dual Showdown Medallist. He has served as Adelaide captain since 2023.

Early life
Dawson was born in Kingston South East, south-east of Adelaide in South Australia. He moved to Adelaide in his youth and attended Scotch College during his teenage years.

Sydney (2016–2021)
He was drafted by Sydney with their third selection and fifty-sixth overall in the 2015 national draft. He made his debut in the one point loss against at the Sydney Cricket Ground in Round 3 of the 2017 season. After spending long periods of time playing in the NEAFL for Sydney, Dawson began to find form in 2020 at a time when the Swans were struggling.

Adelaide (2022–present)
At the end of the 2021 AFL season, Dawson requested a trade to, in his home state of South Australia, despite speculation that the Swan might end up playing for cross-town rivals Port Adelaide. He was traded on 13 October during the 2021 trade period.

Round 3 of the 2022 AFL season saw Dawson win the Showdown Medal during Adelaide's 4 point victory over Port Adelaide, in which he kicked a goal after the siren to win the match. In his first season as a Crow, he finished second in the club's best and fairest award, behind the three-time winner and fellow Scotch College alumn Rory Laird. Dawson was made captain of the Adelaide Crows after Rory Sloane stepped down on 10 February 2023, following Sloane's 4th year in the role. Dawson won his second Showdown Medal in Round 3 of 2023 in his first win as captain. Dawson would go on to greatly succeed in the role, finding career-best form and winning the Malcolm Blight Medal in just his second season at the club.

2024 began with scrutiny directed at Jordan Dawson, with Adelaide 0-4 winning record "epitomised" by Dawson's poor form. Dawson responded with back-to-back best-on-ground performances against and, the latter of which saw Dawson awarded with the ANZAC Spirit medal, given to the player adjudicated best-on-ground during the AFL's ANZAC Appeal Round.

Statistics
Updated to the end of round 18, 2024.

! colspan=3 | Career ! 126 !! 58 !! 44 !! 1926 !! 860 !! 2786 !! 667 !! 497 !! 0.5 !! 0.4 !! 15.3 !! 6.8 !! 22.1 !! 5.3 !! 3.9 !! 35
 * 2016 || || 34
 * 0 || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || 0
 * 2017 || || 34
 * 1 || 0 || 1 || 6 || 4 || 10 || 3 || 3 || 0.0 || 1.0 || 6.0 || 4.0 || 10.0 || 3.0 || 3.0 || 0
 * 2018 || || 34
 * 4 || 4 || 3 || 33 || 16 || 49 || 22 || 12 || 1.0 || 0.8 || 8.3 || 4.0 || 12.3 || 5.5 || 3.0 || 0
 * 2019 || || 34
 * 20 || 15 || 1 || 249 || 127 || 376 || 109 || 60 || 0.8 || 0.1 || 12.5 || 6.4 || 18.8 || 5.5 || 3.0 || 1
 * 2020 || || 34
 * 16 || 6 || 7 || 183 || 77 || 260 || 59 || 38 || 0.4 || 0.4 || 11.4 || 4.8 || 16.3 || 3.7 || 2.4 || 0
 * 2021 || || 34
 * 23 || 9 || 7 || 354 || 159 || 513 || 126 || 68 || 0.4 || 0.3 || 15.4 || 6.9 || 22.3 || 5.5 || 3.0 || 6
 * 2022 || || 12
 * 22 || 10 || 6 || 408 || 133 || 541 || 146 || 65 || 0.5 || 0.3 || 18.5 || 6.0 || 24.6 || 6.6 || 3.0 || 8
 * 2023 || || 12
 * 23 || 6 || 15 || 401 || 222 || 623 || 114 || 153 || 0.3 || 0.7 || 17.4 || 9.7 || 27.1 || 5.0 || 6.7 || 20
 * 2024 || || 12
 * 17 || 8 || 4 || 292 || 122 || 414 || 88 || 98 || 0.5 || 0.3 || 17.2 || 7.2 || 24.4 || 5.2 || 5.8 ||
 * - class=sortbottom
 * 2022 || || 12
 * 22 || 10 || 6 || 408 || 133 || 541 || 146 || 65 || 0.5 || 0.3 || 18.5 || 6.0 || 24.6 || 6.6 || 3.0 || 8
 * 2023 || || 12
 * 23 || 6 || 15 || 401 || 222 || 623 || 114 || 153 || 0.3 || 0.7 || 17.4 || 9.7 || 27.1 || 5.0 || 6.7 || 20
 * 2024 || || 12
 * 17 || 8 || 4 || 292 || 122 || 414 || 88 || 98 || 0.5 || 0.3 || 17.2 || 7.2 || 24.4 || 5.2 || 5.8 ||
 * - class=sortbottom
 * 17 || 8 || 4 || 292 || 122 || 414 || 88 || 98 || 0.5 || 0.3 || 17.2 || 7.2 || 24.4 || 5.2 || 5.8 ||
 * - class=sortbottom
 * }

Notes

Honours and achievements

 * Adelaide captain: 2023–present
 * All-Australian team: 2023
 * Malcolm Blight Medal: 2023
 * 2× Showdown Medal: 2022 (game 1), 2023 (game 1)

Personal life
Dawson married long-term partner Milly Dutton on 3 January 2024.