(277th Eagles player)
Melbourne (AFL) 2005
Highly-rated Victorian midfielder was West Coast's first pick in the 2022 mid-season draft, but suffered a knee injury in his second season.
West Coast career[]
Overlooked in the 2021 national draft, Culley returned to Dandenong as a top-ager and dominated, turning himself into a certain mid-season selection. The Eagles, finding themselves at the bottom of the ladder in 2022, were able to create spots by making Oscar Allen and Luke Edwards inactive and pounce, bringing in the big-bodied midfielder with the first pick. He quickly worked his way into the senior side, playing four games at the back-end of the season.
Culley started brightly in 2023, earning a Rising Star nomination for a four-goal haul against Port Adelaide, before suffering an ACL injury two weeks later and being placed on the inactive list while he underwent a knee reconstruction. He returned early in 2024 but spent most of the season in the reserves, adding just three senior games, and was not offered a contract for 2025.
Melbourne career[]
Culley returned to Victoria after being delisted, originally signing with Melbourne's VFL affiliate, Casey Demons, for the 2025 season,[1] before receiving a late call-up as a supplementary signing for Melbourne.
Stats[]
| AFL | Gm | G | B | K | M | H | D | T | Cl | WAFL | Gm | G | B | K | M | H | D | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 28 | 8 | 25 | 53 | 30 | 14 | WCE | 6 | 0 | 4 | 50 | 15 | 41 | 91 | 26 | |
| 2023 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 14 | 8 | 28 | 42 | 15 | 3 | 0 | |||||||||
| 2024 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 18 | 5 | 10 | 28 | 7 | 4 | 14 | 11 | 10 | 114 | 51 | 142 | 256 | 72 | ||
| Tot | 12 | 7 | 4 | 60 | 21 | 63 | 123 | 52 | 21 | ||||||||||
| Avg | 0.6 | 5.0 | 1.8 | 5.2 | 10.2 | 4.3 | 1.8 |
Tribunal record[]
| Year | Rd | Charge | Outcome | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 20 | Striking N.Anderson (GC) | Accepted 2-week ban | |||
| 2022 | 20 (WAFL) | Striking B.Elliott (Cla) | Accepted reprimand |
References[]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jai_Culley
https://afltables.com/afl/stats/players/J/Jai_Culley.html
https://wafl.com.au/player/jai-culley
- ↑ melbournefc.com.au (10 December 2024), "VFL: New names at Casey Fields in 2025": https://www.melbournefc.com.au/news/1703651/new-names-at-casey-fields-in-2025