Jimmy Bartel

James Ross Bartel (born 4 December 1983) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Geelong Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). A utility, tall and weighing , Bartel contributed as a midfielder, forward, and defender.

Bartel made his AFL debut in 2002 and has garnered a long list of accolades and achievements. He is a triple premiership player, a Brownlow Medalist, Norm Smith Medalist, and a two-time All-Australian. Bartel is one of only three AFL players, along with Simon Black and Dustin Martin to have won a Brownlow Medal, a Norm Smith Medal and played over 300 AFL games.

Early life Bartel was born to Terry Bartel and Dianne Bennett in Geelong, Victoria. He spent much of his childhood in suburban Herne Hill without his father. When his parents divorced while he was just one year old, Bartel's mother was left to raise him and his two elder sisters, Olivia and Emma, by herself.

After beginning his junior football at the Bell Park Football Club, Bartel attended the renowned Geelong footballing school St. Joseph's College, where his talent for sports became evident. Bartel displayed initial promise as a cricketer, representing "Joeys" in 1st XI cricket as a 16-year-old, and winning the school's batting awards in both 2000 and 2001.

That led to his selection in the state under-17 team, before a switch in focus to football saw Bartel selected to play for the Geelong Falcons the TAC Cup competition. After gathering 21 disposals in round 4, Bartel was awarded an AFL Rising Star nomination.

Despite an impressive debut season, Bartel struggled to maintain his spot within the team during the 2003 AFL season, featuring in only 13 senior games. Averaging just 12 disposals a game, Bartel was unable to help the Cats qualify for the finals series for the third successive season. Bartel's re-introduction to the senior team coincided with Geelong winning ten out of their final twelve games and securing a top four spot ahead of the finals series. Although Geelong were eliminated in the preliminary final by reigning premiers Brisbane, Bartel's averages of 22 disposals and 5 tackles a game over the course of the season had seen him secure his position within the team's midfield rotation. and was also rewarded with his first All-Australian jumper.

Bartel's standout season continued when he was awarded the prestigious Brownlow Medal, winning with 29 votes—the highest number of votes ever by a Geelong medalist, and the third highest ever by any player under the current polling system—in a season that included eight best on ground performances. Despite missing the final two games of the regular season due to a burst appendix, In December 2018, Bartel joined the board of directors of the GWS Giants.

Outside of his playing career, he was honoured for his community work with the Jim Stynes Community Leadership Award, which was given based on his dedication to the Just Think Program, the ‘Face up to DV’ campaign, which he initiated in early 2016 based on his own personal experience, and his role as an ambassador for Cottage by the Sea. The award came with a $20,000 prize to be distributed to a charity of his choice.

Statistics

Led the league for the season only

305 202 130 3966 2990 6956 1678 1316 0.7 0.4 13.0 9.8 22.8 5.5 4.3

Honours Brownlow Medal votes Season Votes 2002 3 2003 0 2004 13 2005 9 2006 2 2007 29 2008 10 2009 13 2010 9 2011 8 Total 96 Key: Green / Bold = Won

Team AFL Premiership (Geelong) : 2007, 2009, 2011 McClelland Trophy (Geelong): 2007, 2008 NAB Cup (Geelong): 2006, 2009 VFL Premiership (Geelong): 2002 Individual Brownlow Medal: 2007 All-Australian: 2007, 2008 Norm Smith Medal: 2011 Victorian Team representative honours in AFL Hall of Fame Tribute Match: 2008 Geelong Advertiser Bendigo Bank Sports Star of the Year Award: 2007 Sports Performer of the Year Award: 2007 TCM AFL Performers of the Year Award: 2007 Other achievements Geelong F.C. Vice-Captain: 2012-13 Inducted into the Geelong Football Club Hall of Fame: 2009 Second in Carji Greeves Medal: 2006, 2007 Third in AFLPA Robert Rose Award for Most Courageous Player: 2007 Most Geelong votes in the Brownlow Medal: 2004, 2007 TAC Cup All Australian U/18 (2000, 2001) TAC Cup Team of the Year (2000, 2001) TAC Cup Premiership (2000) Vic Country Most Valuable Player Award (2000) Vic Country U/18 (2000, 2001) Vic Country U/18 Captain (2001) Geelong Falcons Captain (2001) Geelong Falcons Best & Fairest (2000) Runner-Up Geelong Falcons Best & Fairest (2001)

Personal life Bartel has publicly discussed the domestic violence perpetrated by his father during his early life. Bartel's father kept intermittent contact with Jimmy and his sisters throughout their childhood, but Jimmy severed ties with him after his 21st birthday following a violent incident involving his father, sister, and newborn nephew. Bartel accused his father of being an aggressive and heavy drinker, and was forced to take a stand, severing all contact with his father until his death in 2010. and is now completing a degree in business and law through Open University.

Growing up, Bartel was a supporter of the Richmond Football Club.

Bartel's cousin Josh is a former professional Canadian Football League punter for the Saskatchewan Roughriders and Hamilton Tiger-Cats. Josh previously had a semi-professional career with the Wodonga Bulldogs.

In 2020, he was named in the St Joseph's College team of champions, recognising the best VFL/AFL players to have attended the school.

Bartel began dating Nadia Coppolino in 2008, and he married her on the Bellarine Peninsula in 2014. Nadia runs an online clothing store called The Connection with her sister and is also the creative director of her own brand, Henne. The couple welcomed their first child on 27 November 2015. They welcomed their second son on 17 October 2018. The couple announced their separation in August 2019 after it was revealed that Jimmy was in a long-term relationship with another woman, Lauren Mand. Their divorce was finalised in August 2021. He has been in a relationship with Amelia Shepperd since July 2021. On October 1, 2022, Bartel announced on his Instagram that he and Amelia are expecting a baby girl.

In November 2023, it was reported that Bartel had successfully chased down and subdued an escaping thief who had robbed a liquor store; Bartel returned the stolen merchandise to the shopkeeper.

Domestic violence campaign Bartel grew up being raised by a single parent (his mother) and his two sisters while his father was distant. Bartel's father was also a heavy drinker and physically abused Bartel's mother. In 2016, Bartel grew out his facial hair for a full AFL season in order to raise money for domestic violence. He continued to raise money to support related causes when he shaved the beard in October 2016.