Bio

Jacob van Rooyen was born on 16th April in 2003. He played his junior football with Wembley Downs in Perth, before joining WAFL team Claremont. He played with Claremont from 2019 to 2021, for a total of 5 League games and 24 Colts games. Jacob also made the WA U19 State team in 2021. He was taken by the (then premiers) Melbourne Football Club with our first pick (19) in the 2021 National Draft.

Jacob is a very exciting aerialist as well as a stong competitor at every contest whether that's crashing packs to take a huge contested mark, or on the ground. He's a very accurate kick for goal. Apart from his forward line talent, he can also ruck - often giving up some height to full-time rucking oppponents, but more than making up for that with his fierce attack at every contest.

JvR played the 2022 season in the VFL with the Casey Demons, winning the premiership. His AFL debut came on April 3rd 2023 at the MCG against Sydney. He lived up to the hype with a fantastic (and franky, under-appreciated!) 2023 debut AFL season. He played 20 games in 2023, including his first AFL final. Over 2024 he continued to develop his game, playing every game he was fit for in the seniors, and cementing his position in our best 22.

Nicknames: JvR, Roo. No, we're not boo-ing him, he's exciting enough and loved enough to get the "Rooooo" chant going from the Demon faithful everytime the ball goes near him. His surname is pronounced "van Roy-en".