AustraliaSon of premiership player Chris Waterman, Jake was always highly-rated as a footy player, playing for WA under 18s and Claremont Football Club before joining the West Coast.
The dynamic half-forward has a goal in him too, scoring an impressive 37 goals in 39 games for the club. After a slow start to his career, not managing to make a debut for the Eagles in his rookie season after suffering a stress fracture in his foot.
Waterman got his chance in round 1 of 2018 after an injured Josh Kennedy was forced to watch the Eagles take on Sydney from the sidelines. Waterman impressed on his debut, proving great endurance and speed to get around the park, and went on to play 16 games, receiving a rising star nomination as he kicked 13 goals in his first season of AFL footy.
Waterman had a stop-start season in 2019 and was dropped mid-way through the year, spending some time in the reserves, kicking a whopping 28 goals in 8 games, earning himself a sport back in the first-team squad.
2020 has been a better year for Waterman and despite missing out on 8 games with a broken hand, Waterman returned in round 16 against the blues, to help the team make a final push to secure a spot in this year’s finals.
Kicking 9 goals in 10 games for the club, with a standout performance coming against Fremantle, notching 2 goals, 15 disposals, and 10 marks, Waterman has impressed this year and will continue to run rampant on defences for the Eagles until 2023 after accepting a 3-year contract extension.
