Jay Schulz

Jay Schulz grew up in the tiny Yorke Peninsula town of Sandilands and played hockey before turning to football and joining the Central Yorke Cougars junior colts team. Jay’s mother was a brilliant hockey player and his father Paul played 8 games for North Adelaide in the early 1970s. Paul was a stalwart for the Port Victoria Football Club for many years.

Jay progressed to senior colts where he would play in his one and only premiership. Besides being his only flag, it was made all the more special to share it with his brother Adam as a teammate and father Paul as coach. Forever destined to play football at an elite level, Jay always strove to get the best out of himself and raise his game to the next level. Jay was the outstanding player at the state under 15 carnival and caught the eye of AFL talent scouts at the national under 16 championships in 2001.

After playing junior football with the Central Yorke Cougars, Jay moved to Adelaide to study at Concordia College and began playing for the Woodville West Torrens junior sides. As a member of the AIS/AFL Academy in 2001-2002, Jay was selected to play in the Australian under 17 team that toured Ireland in 2002. Jay followed in the footsteps of fellow Central Yorke Cougar product Hayden Skipworth when he traveled to Ireland and play for Australia. From watching Hayden, Jay knew it was possible for a kid from the Yorke Peninsula to achieve such rewards through hard work. Jay’s strong performances in Ireland saw him awarded the Ron Barassi Medal as Australia’s best player during the series.

Jay was drafted by the Richmond Football Club with pick 12 in the 2002 National Draft. He played 71 games for the Tigers from 2003 to 2009 and kicked 58 goals. Jay received a rising star nominee in 2004. He was traded to Port Adelaide in 2010 and played 122 games for the Power before being delisted following the 2016 season. Jay topped Port Adelaide’s goalkicking in 2010, 2012, 2013 and 2014 and kicked 272 goals for them for a career tally of 330 goals from 193 games.

Jay played suburban football in Melbourne in 2017 after signing with St Kevin’s Old Boys in the Victorian Amateur Football Association. At St Kevin’s, Jay teamed up with another former South Australian country player in Port Pirie’s Mark Jamar. St Kevin’s narrowly won the premiership giving Jay his first senior flag.