Justin Koschitzke

Draft and Debut
St Kilda picked Justin Koschitzke with the No. 2 selection at the 2000 National Draft, he was 196 centimeters tall and weighed 82 kilograms when drafted as an 18 year old. Koschitzke grew up in the New South Wales country town of Brocklesby and was recruited from the Murray Bushrangers Under 18s, he gained All-Australian selection at the 2000 AFL Under 18 Championships. His profile in AFL 2001 said “Koschitzke is a tall, mobile key position player who should waste little time settling into AFL football.”1

Koschitzke was named an emergency for the first two rounds of the 2001 season and made his AFL debut in Round 3 against the West Coast Eagles at Colonial Stadium, he played the remaining 20 games of the season in a variety of roles although mainly at centre half-back. Koschitzke showed great composure, was a terrific mark and had 16 or more possessions in seven games including a season high of 21 possessions comprised of 13 kicks and eight handballs in Round 17 against Geelong, he also took eight marks and received 3 Brownlow Medal votes. Koschitzke finished the season very strongly and took seven or more marks in six of his last eight games. Justin received a Rising Star nomination for his performance in Round 14 against Brisbane.

In 2001 Koschitzke played 20 matches averaging 6.9 kicks, 4.8 handballs and 4.5 marks per game with a disposal efficiency of 87.6%. Koschitzke was ranked fifth at St Kilda for marks and contested marks and finished ninth in St Kilda’s best and fairest. Koschitzke was superb in his debut season and won the 2001 Rising Star award with 31 votes, four ahead of West Coast’s Daniel Kerr.

2002 Season
After playing the first four games of the 2002 season at centre half-back Koschitzke missed the rest of the season with stress fractures in his back. In 2002 the roles were reversed for the top two selections from the 2000 National Draft as Nick Riewoldt after being kept on the sidelines throughout most of 2001 played brilliantly in 2002 to win the Rising Star Award on 34 votes from Chris Judd on 29 and Luke Hodge on 12. In their first two seasons at St Kilda Riewoldt and Koschitzke had played only 10 matches together. In 2002 Koschitzke played 4 matches averaging 4.3 kicks, 2.0 handballs and 4.3 marks per game with a disposal efficiency of 80.0%.

Stewart Loewe played his final match for St Kilda in Round 22 against Melbourne. After the match Loewe presented his number 23 jumper to Koschitzke, in his 24 matches during his first two seasons Kosi had worn number 24. At the time of his retirement Loewe was St Kilda’s games records holder with 321 games. Loewe is a member of St Kilda’s team of the century and is ranked third at St Kilda for career goals with 594, behind only Tony Lockett and Bill Mohr.

2003 Season
n Round 2 2003 Koschitzke returned from his back injury and played his first game for St Kilda in almost a year, playing in the forward line he made the most of his four possessions to kick three goals against Adelaide. In Round 6 he played a key role in St Kilda’s 15 point victory against the Western Bulldogs, having 15 kicks, five handballs, taking 13 marks and kicking three goals. Koschitzke played seven consecutive games before injuring his ankle in Round 8 against the Fremantle Dockers at Subiaco Oval.

In his Round 13 return against Melbourne he kicked three goals, had 12 possessions and took five marks. Justin had bulked up since his debut and started the 2003 season weighing 90 kilograms, an 8 kilogram increase on when he was drafted, with his increased strength he was given stints in the ruck. Seven times during the 2003 season Koschitzke had at least 10 hit-outs including the last three rounds when he had at least 21 hit-outs in each game. In 2003 Koschitzke played 17 matches averaging 6.7 kicks, 4.2 handballs, 4.8 marks and 9.0 hitouts per game with a disposal efficiency of 80.1%.

2004 Season
Koschitzke played 12 of the first 13 games of the 2004 season, only missing Round 7 with suspension. Throughout the 2004 season Kosi was used as a utility, spending time in the ruck, defence and the forward line, when played as a forward opposition sides found it difficult to match-up on three St Kilda tall forwards, Nick Riewoldt, Fraser Gehrig and Koschitzke.

In the 47 point Round 8 victory against Collingwood Koschitzke played as a key forward to great effect kicking four goals, having 13 possessions, taking six marks and receiving 3 Brownlow Medal votes. In Round 12 alternating between the ruck and the forward line Koschitzke had a well rounded game with 13 kicks, four handpasses, 10 marks, 10 hit-outs and two goals.

From Round 14 to Round 20 Koschitzke missed seven matches with a dislocated elbow. Justin’s ability to play in a number of different positions offered St Kilda great flexibility and in his Round 21 return match Koschitzke played a great game at centre half-back to hold Brisbane Lions key forward Jonathan Brown to nine possessions and one goal.

During the 2004 season Koschitzke kicked 20 goals, six times kicking two or more goals, he also had 10 hitouts or more in five games. Koschitzke played 17 matches in 2004 averaging 7.4 kicks, 3.8 handballs and 5.4 marks per game with a disposal efficiency of 87.6%. Koschitzke was ranked third at St Kilda for contested marks and sixth for goals.

2005 Season
The profile for Koschitzke in AFL 2005 said “Such is his range of talents, the athletic all-rounder can play in attack, defence or the ruck, each with alarming ease.”2

Throughout the 2005 season Koschitzke rotated between the ruck and the forward line, however hamstring and quad injuries caused him to miss eight of St Kilda’s first 13 matches. In the Round 13 split round St Kilda suffered a shock 15 point loss to Essendon in a Friday night game. The Saints had gone into 2005 as one of the premiership favourites yet after this loss dropped to ninth with six wins and seven losses. At this point most of the football world wrote the Saints off for season 2005.

Upon his return to the St Kilda side in Round 14 Justin Koschitzke had has infamous four week hot streak in which he was the best player in the AFL and played a major role in turning St Kilda’s 2005 season around. Koschitzke was devastating during this four week period as highlighted below:

- Early in the Round 14 match against the Western Bulldogs, 2004 AFL Players Association Most Valuable Player Nick Riewoldt re-injured his collarbone, with increased responsibility Koschitzke inspired his side to an 18 point victory with a brilliant performance in which he had 11 hitouts, 13 kicks, six handballs, 11 marks, kicked three goals and received two Brownlow Medal votes. -         Koschitzke continued his great form in the next three rounds, to be best on ground in each game, in Round 15 he kicked four goals against Carlton, he then followed this up with bags of five goals against Richmond and Collingwood. Koschitzke wasn’t just influencing matches with his goalkicking, he was also very effective in the ruck and around the ground, in his three matches from Round 15 to Round 17 Kosi amassed 52 possessions, 30 marks and 29 hitouts. Up until Round 13 2005 Koschitzke had played 63 matches and received six Brownlow Medal votes. Justin’s versatility up until this stage of his career had been a strength but because he could perform well in several positions it was still unclear what his best position was. From Round 14 to 17 he dominated every game with his athleticism and marking ability making him an extremely difficult match-up, in the process he polled an incredible 11 Brownlow Medal votes to almost triple his career tally. Over the four week period St Kilda had rocketed up the ladder from ninth to fourth.

<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:19.1875px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;">Understandably Koschitzke could not maintain that level of form however from Round 18 to Round 20 he continued to make a valuable contribution averaging 14 possessions and 16.3 hitouts per game. St Kilda had won all seven matches since Justin returned from injury in Round 14 and the side had been further strengthened when Nick Riewoldt returned from injury in Round 18.

<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:19.1875px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;">In Round 21 against Fremantle Koschitzke injured his quad which caused him to miss the rest of the season, St Kilda lost to Fremantle by five point loss. St Kilda finished the home and away season fourth on the ladder and after recording an eight point victory against Adelaide at AMMI Stadium Sydney defeated the Saints in a Preliminary Final by 31 points. Late-season injuries had hit St Kilda hard as they were without half a dozen members of their best side for each final, given his great form in the second half of 2005 and his ability to play in any part of the ground it was the loss of Koschitzke that was felt the hardest.

<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:19.1875px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;">In 2005 Koschitzke played 13 matches averaging 106 minutes, 9.1 kicks, 5.5 handballs and 7.3 marks per game with a disposal efficiency of 75.1%. Justin had easily the best season of his career, setting new career highs for kicks, handballs, marks, disposals, tackles and goals. Despite missing 11 games Koschitzke was ranked third for St Kilda for contested marks and kicked 24 goals to be ranked fourth.

<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:19.1875px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;">Koschitzke “averaged a career-high 14 hitouts in 2005, with an above average hitout-to-advantage percentage of 28%. Around the ground he won more ball with a 29% increase in disposals and a 35% increase in marks.”3 Before getting injured in Round 21 Koschitzke had at least 10 possessions in every game in 2005 and only had less than 10 hitouts once. During the 2005 season Koschitzke looked as though he was about to become one of the elite players in the competition, it appeared as though the only thing that could prevent this from happening was injuries, unfortunately this is exactly what occurred.

2006 Season
<p style="line-height:19.1875px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;">In Round 4 Koschitzke played his first game of the 2006 season after missed the first three matches with a knee injury, he then missed Round 5 with a quad injury. In only his second game for the season in Round 6 against the Western Bulldogs Koschitzke was knocked out by Daniel Giansiracusa with a hip and shoulder and was later diagnosed with a fractured skull. Whilst he was still sidelined due to his injury Koschitzke fainted on June 18th when he was interviewed by ex-Melbourne player David Schwarz on Channel Seven program Sportsworld.

<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:19.1875px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;">After missing seven matches Koschitzke returned through the VFL, he suffered another setback in his second game back when he injured himself in a collision with an umpire which also resulted in him being suspended for a week. After the one week suspension Koschitzke didn’t play football at any level for the next two weeks.

<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:19.1875px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;">In Round 19 against Geelong Koschitzke made his return to AFL level, he had seven possessions, took six marks and kicked two goals. Justin played the next four matches and kicked a goal in each game, he only played seven games in 2006 and never regained his confidence after the sickening collision with Giansiracusa. In 2006 Koschitzke averaged 79 minutes, 4.6 kicks, 2.6 handballs, 4.6 marks and 3.0 hitouts per game with a disposal efficiency of 64.0%.

2007 Season
<p style="line-height:19.1875px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;">Throughout the 2007 season Koschitzke had a much better run with injury and only missed three matches, Round 13 with a hamstring injury, Round 17 with suspension and he was a late withdrawal in Round 20 with general soreness. In the first five rounds Justin mainly played in the forward line, from Round 6 onwards he is given more time in the ruck and he started to grow in confidence.

<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:19.1875px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;">In the 23 point Round 12 victory against West Coast at Etihad Stadium Koschitzke was very impressive, kicking four goals, having 16 possessions and taking 10 marks, no other player on the ground kicked more than two goals. Koschitzke had 10 or more hitouts in nine games and finished the season very strongly with three goals against West Coast in Round 21 and four goals against Carlton in Round 22.

<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:19.1875px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;">In 2007 Koschitzke played 19 matches averaging 95 minutes, 8.3 kicks, 4.7 handballs, 6.1 marks and 8.2 hitouts per game with a disposal efficiency of 73.3%. Koschitzke was ranked fourth at St Kilda for marks, third for contested marks and fourth for goals with 26, behind Gehrig, Riewoldt and small forward Stephen Milne.

2008 Season
<p style="line-height:19.1875px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;">During the 2008 NAB Cup Koschitzke played three games and was captain of St Kilda’s 2008 NAB Cup premiership against Adelaide at AAMI Stadium. It was the second time in his career that he had played in a pre-season premiership, the first one being in 2004 when St Kilda defeated Geelong in the Grand Final at the Telstra Dome.

<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:19.1875px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;">In playing the first 11 games of the 2008 season Koschitzke brought his number of consecutive games to 13, a great result given his injury problems in 2005 and 2006. Justin kicked two or more goals seven times in the first 11 rounds with his best result being four goals in Round 9 against Brisbane. Koschitzke was a late withdrawal from Round 12 due to a knee injury, he also missed Round 13 due to this injury. Justin missed only one more match for the season, Round 17 due to suspension. In the 15 point Round victory 14 against North Melbourne Koschitzke had 11 kicks, eight handballs, eight marks, 10 hitouts, kicked two goals and received three Brownlow Medal votes.

<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:19.1875px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;">St Kilda full-forward Fraser Gehrig had a short lived retirement between the 2007 and 2008 seasons only to make a comeback without having missed a single game. Gehrig struggled during 2008 only playing five games and retiring at the end of the season, this resulted in Koschitzke playing the majority of the season as a key forward.

<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:19.1875px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;">In 2008 Koschitzke played 22 matches averaging 103 minutes, 7.6 kicks, 4.4 handballs, 6.6 marks and 5.9 hitouts per game with a disposal efficiency of 73.0%. Koschitzke kicked a new career-high 30 goals to be ranked third at St Kilda behind Riewoldt and Milne. Koschitzke kicked multiple goals ten times including three goals three times and four goals once. Justin was ranked fourth at St Kilda for marks and second for contested marks.

2009 Season
<p style="line-height:19.1875px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;">During the 2009 season Koschitzke played a career best 23 games, only missing Round 5 with a hamstring injury and Round 17 due to suspension. Koschitzke spent the vast majority of the time playing as a key forward and was only used sparingly in the ruck, he had a flying start to the season polling two Brownlow Medal votes in each of the first two rounds and one vote in Round 3. In Round 1 against Sydney Justin had 15 disposals, 11 marks and kicked two goals, he kicked four goals in each of his next two matches.

<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:19.1875px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;">Koschitzke polled votes in four other games during the season to poll a total of 11 Brownlow Medal votes. Before the 2009 season Koschitzke had polled Brownlow votes in seven games and was best on ground in six of them. In 2009 Justin polled votes in seven games but didn’t get any ‘best on grounds’.

<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:19.1875px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;">During the 2009 season Kosi kicked multiple goals in 12 games including six goals against North Melbourne in Round 11, five goals against Richmond in Round 13 and four goals on four occasions. Koschitzke finished the season on 48 goals ranked second at St Kilda behind Riewoldt with 78.

<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:19.1875px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;">In 2009 Koschitzke played 22 matches averaging 105 minutes, 8.0 kicks, 2.6 handballs and 6.7 marks per game with a disposal efficiency of 66.8%. Koschitzke was ranked fifth at St Kilda for marks and fifth in the AFL for contested marks.

2010 Season
<p style="line-height:19.1875px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;">In Round 1 of the 2010 season Koschitzke started in the ruck, within a minute of the game starting he laid a heavy bump on Nick Malceski which resulted in him being suspended for three matches. Justin played aggressive football in the opening round, kicking two goals, having nine disposals and seven hit-outs.

<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:19.1875px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;">Whilst Koschitzke was suspended St Kilda captain Nick Riewoldt seriously injured his hamstring in the Round 3 victory against Collingwood. Koschitzke returned in Round 5 against Port Adelaide and has only missed two more games for the season, Round 14 and 15 with an ankle injury.

<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:19.1875px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;">The focus on Justin Koschitzke has been immense throughout the 2010 season, with many people suggesting that the key forward should have been dropped to the VFL during the season. St Kilda acknowledged that Kosi’s form had not been great during periods of the 2010 season however the Saints kept their faith in 28 year old Koschitzke and stated that he was playing and training with the desired effort, sticking to instructions and performing the team acts to supporthis teammates.

<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:19.1875px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;">St Kilda coach Ross Lyon has remained adamant throughout the 2010 season that Koschitzke has performed his role for the team and commented “when he’s not there, it puts more pressure on Nick (Riewoldt). When they are together, they’re a handful for anyone.”4

<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:19.1875px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;">In nine games without Riewoldt in the side during 2010 Koschitzke has averaged one goal per game whereas in 10 games with his captain Koshitzke has averaged 1.9 goals per game. Koschitzke’s form has improved as the 2010 season has progressed and he has definitely benefitted from Riewoldt’s return, in his first 10 games of the 2010 season Koschitzke took six or more marks in a game only twice, in his next nine games he has taken six or more marks six times.

<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:19.1875px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;">Throughout the 2010 season Koschitzke has again been used predominantly as a key forward however he has also had some stints in the ruck including a game altering spell late in the Round 6 match against the Western Bulldogs at Etihad Stadium. With the Saints trailing late in the match Koschitzke was thrown into the ruck for the final 10 minutes of the match. St Kilda started to win the centre clearances and finished full of running to kick the final few goals and defeat the Western Bulldogs by three points. With Ben McEvoy having been dropped for tomorrows Grand Final Koschitzke could quite well find himself spending significantly more time in the ruck than he usually does.

<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:19.1875px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;">Koschitzke played his best game for the season in Round 21 against Richmond imposing himself on the contest to take seven marks and kick a season best five goals. In other matches during the 2010 season he has performed crucial cameo roles including Round 17 against Hawthorn when he had a blistering start kicking three goals in the first 17 minutes and in the Qualifying Final against Geelong he was one of the best players on the ground in the first quarter, taking five marks and kicking a goal.

<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:19.1875px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;">In 2010 Koschitzke has played 19 matches averaging 85% game time, 5.7 kicks, 4.2 handballs and 4.9 marks per game with a disposal efficiency of 71.1%. Justin has kicked 28 goals to be ranked fourth at St Kilda behind Milne, Adam Schneider and Riewoldt, he is ranked third at St Kilda for contested marks. =Statistics=