AFL games: 3
Disposals per game: 11.3
Intercept marks: 2.7
Spoils: 3

Season summary:

Jeka overcame a significant injury hurdle to earn a spot in the senior side in the run home of season 2022.

After tearing his hamstring badly in May, the 20-year-old got back onto the park six weeks later and cemented himself as one of Box Hill’s most dominant players at VFL level in the second half of the year.

Despite playing predominantly forward in the VFL, the 198-cm tall slotted into the Hawks defence, utilising his speed and strong intercept ability to shut down key forwards.

Being a key position player, Jeka’s development will continue to progress, as he strives to become a regular at the top level.

Best AFL game:

Jeka put in his strongest performance in defence against the Gold Coast Suns in Round 21. He collected a career-high 16 disposals and seven marks in Hawthorn’s 7-point win.

How the coaches saw him:

“Jeka played a majority of the year as a forward in VFL then towards the end of the season made the transition to play as a key defender playing three AFL games. He has a great ability to read the game and intercept and a good ball user on both sides of his body. He had some experience playing on some quality key forwards and will no doubt learn a lot from his time playing in defence.” – Chris Newman