Jace Bode (born 14 September 1987) is an

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by k ...

er who played for

Australian Football League The Australian Football League (AFL) is the only fully professional competition of Australian rules football. Through the AFL Commission, the AFL also serves as the sport's governing body and is responsible for controlling the laws of the gam ...

(AFL) club

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

in 2007 and 2008 and now plays for the

Port Adelaide Football Club Port Adelaide Football Club is a professional Australian rules football club based in Alberton, South Australia, Alberton, South Australia. The club's senior men's team plays in the Australian Football League (AFL), where they are nicknamed ...

in the

South Australian National Football League The South Australian National Football League, or SANFL ( or ''S-A-N-F-L''), is an Australian rules football league based in the Australian state of South Australia. It is also the state's governing body for the sport. Originally formed as the ...

(SANFL). Bode grew up in

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

and attended

Pulteney Grammar School Pulteney Grammar School is an independent, Anglican, co-educational, private day school. Founded in 1847 by members of the Anglican Church, it is the second oldest independent school in South Australia. Its campuses are located on South Terrace ...

, before changing to Pembroke for his final three years of high school, where he finished in 2005. He excelled at many sports at junior level as well as football, particularly

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

athletics Athletics may refer to: Sports * Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking ** Track and field, a sub-category of the above sport * Athletics (physical culture), competiti ...

and

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

. As a fast bowler, he played at various representative levels until his focus turned to football. His background in athletics (particularly the 100 m, 200 m and 400 m sprints) saw him perform very well at the AFL Draft Camp. He is a natural left-footer and played senior football for Sturt in 2005 before being selected in the Under-18 All-Australian side, on the wing. He was taken at No. 9 in the 2006 AFL Rookie Draft, and made his debut in Round 19 of the 2007 season.Melbourne FC.com.au - Optimistic for the future - Riley
/ref> Bode broke into the

Sandringham Zebras The Sandringham Football Club, nicknamed The Zebras, is an Australian rules football club based in Melbourne which was formed in 1929 and plays in the Victorian Football League (VFL) which was formerly called the Victorian Football Association ...

(Melbourne's

VFL-affiliation The Australian Football League stages the highest-level senior Australian rules football competition in the country. However, there has not been a league-wide Reserves competition since 1987, when the then-Victorian Football League expanded int ...

side) first-team towards the end of 2006, playing five games. He suffered from a serious back injury in the early parts of 2007 but regained full fitness and was elevated from the

rookie list The rookie list is a means for Australian Football League (AFL) clubs to maintain additional players outside the 38-man primary or senior list. Rookie listed players are not eligible to play in AFL home-and-away or finals matches unless they are e ...

before his debut in a resounding victory against the

Western Bulldogs The Western Bulldogs are a professional Australian rules football team that competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's premier competition. Founded in 1877 as the Footscray Football Club, and based in West Footscray in the o ...

. Bode played in the last four matches of the 2007 season, kicking two goals in the final match of the season against

Carlton Carlton may refer to: People * Carlton (name), a list of those with the given name or surname * Carlton (singer), English soul singer Carlton McCarthy * Carlton, a pen name used by Joseph Caldwell (1773–1835), American educator, Presbyterian ...

. He was retained on the Melbourne list for 2008, and played in the Round 2 thrashing at the hands of the Bulldogs, and was dropped the following week. He did manage to break back into the starting side for the round 11, Queen's Birthday clash against Collingwood, where he played in front of a crowd of 60,000. He was delisted by Melbourne at the end of the 2008 season. Bode came back to Adelaide where he was put on the Sturt list for the 2009 season. Bode played for Norwood in the

SANFL The South Australian National Football League, or SANFL ( or ''S-A-N-F-L''), is an Australian rules football league based in the Australian state of South Australia. It is also the state's governing body for the sport. Originally formed as the ...

. He is now a triple premiership player at the Redlegs after playing in the 2012, 2013 and 2014 grand finals with Norwood defeating West Adelaide, North Adelaide and Port Adelaide respectively. Named sole captain of the Norwood Football Club in 2017. Bode is the best 'short kick' in South Australia. Bode and close mate Callum 'the weapon' Bartlett are known as the basher brothers within the SANFL ranks. Since 2020 Bode is now a senior player coach at Payneham Norwood Union Football Club a Division 1 side in the

Adelaide Footy League The Adelaide Footy League, formerly known as the South Australian Amateur Football League (SAAFL), is a semi-professional Australian rules football competition based in Adelaide, South Australia. Comprising sixty-seven member clubs playing ov ...

. He joins former senior coach and Norwood legend

Garry McIntosh Garry McIntosh (born 16 March 1964) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Norwood Football Club in the South Australian Football League (SANFL). A dual Magarey Medallist, McIntosh is considered one of the greatest footba ...

. In 2021 he signed with

as a top up player in their SANFL side. In November 2014 Bode married

Natalie von Bertouch Natalie von Bertouch ( ; born 16 December 1982), also known as Natalie Bode, is a former Australia netball international. Between 2004 and 2012 she made 76 senior appearances for Australia. Bertouch was a member of the Australia teams that won ...

, a former Australia netball international. They have two daughters.

References

External links

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DemonWiki profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bode, Jace 1987 births Living people Australian rules footballers from South Australia Melbourne Football Club players Sandringham Football Club players Sturt Football Club players Norwood Football Club players People educated at Pembroke School, Adelaide