Career : 2007 - 2016
Debut: Round 18, 2007 vs Collingwood, aged 21 years, 53 days
Carlton Player No. 1105
Games : 150
Goals : 2
Last Game : Round 8, 2016 vs Port Adelaide, aged 29 years, 338 days
Guernsey No. 40
Height : 195 cm (6 ft. 4 in.)
Weight : 88 kg (13 stone, 12 lbs.)
DOB : 11 June, 1986
Michael Jamison was recruited by the Blues with the club’s second selection (number 17 overall) in the December 2006 Rookie Draft, on the recommendation of then Carlton assistant coach Gavin Crosisca. A tall, slimly-built defender from North Ballarat, Jamison had spent the previous two seasons in the VFL with the Roosters, after representing the North Ballarat Rebels in the Under-18 TAC Cup in 2004.
At that time, Carlton was languishing at a new low point in the club’s history, having suffered the ignominy of a third wooden spoon in five seasons. In typical fashion, the Blues responded to failure by shaking out the club from top to bottom, and senior coach Denis Pagan was the first casualty. In late July 2006, Pagan was succeeded by his assistant; former club captain Brett Ratten. Richard Pratt was installed as Club President in December, before Greg Swann crossed from Collingwood as CEO.
Jamison meanwhile, was showing consistently good form as a central defender in the VFL with the Northern Bullants. Very good overhead, quick for his size and calm under pressure, he was making strong claims for a place on Carlton’s senior list before club legend Anthony Koutoufides was forced into retirement by a chronic hip injury. ‘Jammo’ stood out as a logical replacement, so he became Carlton’s Nominated Rookie and first in line for a senior call-up.
Wearing the number 40 guernsey previously carried by Adam Bentick, Jamison was thrown in at the deep end when he made his senior debut on a very big stage - against Collingwood at the MCG on a Saturday afternoon in round 18, 2007. The Pies were sixth on the ladder at that time, with Carlton eight places lower. But as usual, that meant nothing in clashes between the games’ fiercest rivals, and this one was no different.
Starting on the bench, Jamison was sent on early to spend much of the game shadowing Magpie small forward Paul Medhurst. Although Collingwood ended up comfortable winners, Jammo kept his man under control and almost celebrated a brilliant goal in the third term with a clever angled snap-shot from 40 metres out on the flank. Half the Carlton team jumped with joy as the ball appeared to sail between the uprights, but the goal umpire - with no sense of theatre - disagreed and signalled one point.
Two weeks later in round 20, Jamison joined the big time proper when he was challenged to play at full-back on Essendon spearhead Matthew Lloyd. The Essendon star kicked six goals in a huge win by the Bombers, but Michael stuck to his task, held his own in the one-on-one contests, and laid five strong tackles. Then in the last game of the season against Melbourne, he racked up 14 effective disposals rebounding out of defence. At this early stage, there was no doubt in anyone's mind at Carlton that if Jamison could maintain his fitness, and pack on some extra beef in the pre-season, the Blues had found a long-term key defender.
Season 2008 started with renewed optimism for Carlton devotees across the country when, in the biggest football story for years, former West Coast Premiership captain Chris Judd returned to his home state to lead the Navy Blues. Jamison enjoyed his first win against Collingwood in round 4, when he resumed his battle with Medhurst, and came out on top again by racking up 16 possessions and 8 marks against Medhurst’s 10 disposals, and one somewhat lucky goal. A month later, in the round 8 match against Brisbane, Michael kept in-form Lions full-forward Daniel Bradshaw to just one kick in the first half, before suffering a shoulder injury that forced him off the ground in the third quarter. For Jamison, it was the first worrying sign of the problems that were to plague him from that point on.
Having commenced the long climb out of the VFL cellar by finishing eleventh in 2008, Carlton rewarded a number of players – including Jamison – with new or extended contracts at the end of that season. Michael was formally promoted to the senior list, and signed a 3-year deal to confirm his standing at the club after less than two seasons of senior football. With a young and promising playing list at the ready, the Blues set their sights on the finals in 2009, and duly qualified by finishing seventh – despite the absence of their emerging full-back, who suffered a groin strain in round 13 and missed the rest of the year. Jamison would certainly have been handy had he been able to play in Carlton’s heart-breaking 7-point loss to Brisbane in the Elimination Final at the Gabba – especially as Bradshaw was a star that night for the Lions, and finished the game with five goals.
In 2010, with a career total of only 34 games, Jamison was elevated to Carlton’s leadership group, captaining the side in Chris Judd’s absence in round 3 against Essendon. For the first time, he got through a season without injury, and in his 23rd game of the year, Michael played in his first AFL final when Carlton met Sydney at ANZ Stadium. In a hard-fought contest, remembered for Judd’s inspirational second half and Carlton’s many squandered scoring opportunities in the last few minutes, the valiant Blues went down by 7 points. Although it was scant consolation, Jamison’s all-round contribution to the club over the year made him a popular winner of the Best Clubman Award.
Committed to going at least one step further in 2011, the Navy Blues were the surprise packet of the early-season rounds. Jammo embraced Carlton’s run and carry style, and was soon regarded as a contender for All Australian honours. That was until late June, when a seemingly minor knock on his left knee during the Blues’ round 14 loss to West Coast tore his meniscus – a small but vital knee ligament. Remedial surgery was performed within 24 hours, and first reports suggested that Michael would be out of action for 4 to 6 weeks. In fact, he was sidelined for seven matches, and was sorely missed.
Eventually, Jammo returned to the side in round 22, playing up forward in short bursts during Carlton’s disappointing loss to Hawthorn on a Friday night at Docklands. Late in the third quarter, Michael hauled down a fine mark, then kicked truly to register his first career goal. A few weeks later, the Navy Blues finished the season in fifth place on the ladder, and Jamison returned to defence when he and his team crushed Essendon in a triumphant Elimination Final. The valiant Blues then lost to West Coast by three points in a cracking Semi Final the following week at Subiaco, to end a season that, given better luck with injuries, might have gone on a week or two longer.
Prior to Carlton’s 2012 campaign, the widely-held view was that the Blues’ backline lacked composure (as well as height) when Jamison wasn’t in the side, and that theory was tested early when Michael’s cursed run of injuries flared again during pre-season training. Stress-related nerve damage in his back prevented him from playing in any of Carlton’s NAB Cup matches, and kept him out of the first two senior games.
Yet despite his absence, the Blues blasted out of the blocks with huge victories over Richmond and Brisbane in rounds one and two. Michael was welcomed back into the side for the eagerly-awaited clash against Collingwood in round 3, and did his part in another emphatic victory that lifted Carlton to early flag favouritism. From that point on however, the season crashed in ruins as a number of Carlton’s key players went down with injuries, and the team as a whole lost its way.
By round 14 the Blues had slipped to ninth place on the ladder, desperately needing an upset victory over ladder-leaders Hawthorn to keep their finals dream alive. Instead, the match finished with Carlton on the end of another 50-point hiding, and with Jamison once more on the injured list with a damaged right shoulder. Although he soldiered on throughout the following five weeks, Michael was clearly under difficulties – to the extent that sometimes he seemed barely able to lift his arm above his head. On top of that, he strained a hamstring during Carlton’s loss to Sydney in round 19, so sanity prevailed when the club’s medicos decided that he would not play the last three matches and instead, make an early start to getting himself right for 2013.
In November, Carlton’s abysmal year culminated in the dismissal of coach Ratten, and the appointment of former West Coast and Collingwood Premiership coach Michael Malthouse as his successor. That announcement overshadowed the welcome news that Jamison’s troublesome shoulder had responded to treatment better than expected, and that he would not require any follow-up surgery. Blues supporters were further reassured about Jamison’s fitness after round 2 of 2013, even though Carlton remained winless after losing to bitter rivals Collingwood at the MCG. Jammo had kept the Magpies’ monster full-forward Travis Cloke to zero on the score-sheet, and seemed set for a landmark year.
However, as the season wore on, worrying signs that Michael’s chronic shoulder problems had re-appeared became all too obvious. Still, week after week, he took his place on the last line of defence to inspire his team-mates with old-fashioned guts and determination, and played his 100th match for the Navy Blues against Sydney at the SCG in round 14. In September he took part in the third finals campaign of his career, and later underlined his value by finishing sixth in voting for the John Nicholls Medal. Having played in every game of Carlton’s season, he had confirmed the widely-held view that Carlton’s player group at that time could not put its best line-up on the field without him.
Heading into 2014, the Navy Blues looked forward to celebrating the club’s 150th year of competition - only to lose the first four matches in succession, and struggle from then on to finish 13th. In a year bereft of highlights for just about everyone at Princes Park, Jamison missed only two matches, due in part to the welcome emergence of another central defender in Sam Rowe, and by the end of the season, this pair had formed an effective combination. In September, Jammo’s esteem within the club lifted another notch, when he finished among the top ten in voting for the John Nicholls Medal for the second year in succession.
However, just when Jamison might have been entitled to believe that he had endured his worst days at Princes Park, the 2015 season unfolded with three heavy defeats and snowballed into a full-blown crisis. As the punch-drunk Blues staggered from belting to belting, the playing list was shattered by injury, and in late May – after one win in eight games – Malthouse was sacked and replaced by his assistant John Barker in a caretaker role.
Meanwhile, Jamison’s name was back on the casualty list. In Carlton’s first win of the season, over St Kilda in Wellington, NZ in round 4, he had limped off with a serious calf strain that cost him eight matches. By the time he made it back, Carlton had won twice more, but the Blues were sliding inexorably toward yet another wooden spoon. Over the last eight weeks of the season, Carlton’s defence was under constant siege, and the final siren on the last weekend of that wretched season was a blessed relief.
After that, a bout of illness and a lapse in form with the Northern Blues kept Michael out of the senior team until early August, when he announced his immediate retirement in an open letter to Carlton members. Part of that message read; “In recent times, I have found it increasingly hard to prepare, both physically and mentally, for the rigours of the sport. Being a representative of our football club demands an individual give nothing short of 100 per cent, and I’ve come to the realisation that I can no longer sustain the intensity required to play AFL.”
Although he spent his career at Carlton in an era of little success for the club, “Jammo” will be fondly remembered for his whole-hearted contribution in difficult times. In his ten years with the Navy Blues, he was part of the leadership group for four seasons, won a Best Clubman award, and finished among the top ten in the Best and Fairest on three occasions.
Prior to the June 30 clearance deadline Jamison signed to play the remainder of the 2017 season with Ballarat Football League East Point.
Jamison holds the club record for most career one percenters with a total of 871.
Milestones
50 Games: Round 16, 2010 vs Sydney Swans100 Games: Round 14, 2013 vs Sydney Swans
150 Games: Round 8, 2016 vs Port Adelaide
Career Highlights
2008 - Player Ambassador of the Year2010 - Best Clubman
2010 - Leadership Group
2011 - Leadership Group
2011 - 9th Best and Fairest
2012 - Leadership Group
2013 - 6th Best and Fairest
2014 - Leadership Group
2014 - 6th Best and Fairest
2015 - Leadership Group