Changkuoth Jiath

Changkuoth Jiath
Personal information
Full name Changkuoth Jiath
Nickname(s) CJ
Date of birth (1999-06-13) 13 June 1999 (age 25)
Place of birth Mekelle, Ethiopia
Original team(s) Gippsland Power (NAB League)/Xavier College (APS)/Morwell Tigers (GL)
Debut Round 21, 2019, Hawthorn vs. Greater Western Sydney, at UNSW Canberra Oval
Height 185 cm (6 ft 1 in)
Weight 78 kg (172 lb)
Position(s) Winger/Defender
Club information
Current club Hawthorn
Number 9
Playing career1
Years Club Games (Goals)
2018– Hawthorn 56 (5)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 2024.
Career highlights
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

Changkuoth Jiath (/ˈtʃæŋkwɒθ dʒiːˈæθ/ CHANG-kwoth jee-ATH;[1] born 13 June 1999) is an Australian rules footballer who plays for the Hawthorn Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL).

Early life

Born in Ethiopia to South Sudanese parents, Jiath moved to Australia when he was six years old.[2] Living in the town of Morwell he played his junior football at the Morwell Youth Club. Changkuoth then went on to play senior football at the Morwell Tigers Football Club. Due to his name being quite hard for others to pronounce Jiath adopted the nickname "CJ" to make it easier for people to address him. He completed high school while boarding at Xavier College in Melbourne.[3] During his time at Xavier, he forged close friendships with future AFL players Laitham Vandermeer and Bailey Smith.[4]

AFL Career

Known as CJ, Jiath was selected as a 2017 category B rookie. He had a delayed start to the 2018 season when he suffered a groin injury during the pre-season. Jiath made his debut for Box Hill mid year he showed good signs on the half back line. Jiath made his debut for Hawthorn in the snow for their round 21, 2019 game against Greater Western Sydney.[5] He ended up playing 2 games during the 2019 season. In the middle of the 2020 season, Jiath was upgraded to the senior list following changes to the rookie promotion rules.[6]

The 2021 season ended up being a breakout year for Jiath as he grew with skill and confidence. Nearly averaging 20+ disposals for all 16 games he played in. Jiath's season was cut short due to a PCL injury which ruled him out for the remainder of the season.

His younger brother Tew Jiath debuted for Collingwood in 2024.

Statistics

Updated to the end of 2024.[7]

Legend
  G  
 Goals
  K  
 Kicks
  D  
 Disposals 
  T  
 Tackles
  B  
 Behinds 
  H  
 Handballs 
  M  
 Marks
Season Team No. Games Totals Averages (per game) Votes
G B K H D M T G B K H D M T
2018 Hawthorn 43 0 — — — — — — — — — — — — — — 0
2019 Hawthorn 29 2 0 0 10 19 29 7 5 0.0 0.0 5.0 9.5 14.5 3.5 2.5 0
2020[a] Hawthorn 29 5 0 0 27 21 48 13 8 0.0 0.0 5.4 4.2 9.6 2.6 1.6 0
2021 Hawthorn 29 16 0 2 172 152 324 93 26 0.0 0.1 10.8 9.5 20.3 5.8 1.6 2
2022 Hawthorn 9 15 1 2 141 113 254 63 29 0.1 0.1 10.1 8.1 18.1 4.5 2.1 6
2023 Hawthorn 9 8 1 0 77 59 136 28 10 0.1 0.0 9.6 7.4 17.0 3.5 1.3 0
2024 Hawthorn 9 11 3 4 76 55 131 33 22 0.3 0.4 6.9 5.0 11.9 3.0 2.0 0
Career 56 5 8 503 419 922 237 100 0.1 0.1 9.0 7.5 16.5 4.2 1.8 8

Notes

  1. ^ The 2020 season was played with 17 home-and-away matches per team (down from 22) and 16-minute quarters with time on (down from 20-minute quarters with time on) due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Honours and achievements

Hawthorn

Box Hill

Individual

References

  1. ^ "How to say the AFL's trickiest names". Australian Football League. 30 March 2022. Retrieved 30 September 2022.
  2. ^ "Hawks debutant 'rattled' after getting call-up". The West Australian. 8 August 2019. Retrieved 12 August 2019.
  3. ^ "Hawk rookie lauds Xavier care". 23 January 2018.
  4. ^ "From refugee camp to Hawks' nest: Gun defender's remarkable journey". afl.com.au. 10 June 2022. Retrieved 5 September 2023.
  5. ^ McGowan, Marc (8 August 2019). "Hawks to unleash Category B rookie for Friday night debut". Australian Football League. Retrieved 31 July 2020.
  6. ^ "Exciting news for CJ". Hawthorn Football Club. 29 July 2020. Retrieved 31 July 2020.
  7. ^ "Changkuoth Jiath's player profile". AFL Tables.