Jude Bolton (born 15 March 1980) is a former professional Australian rules football player who played for the Sydney Swans in the Australian Football League (AFL) between 1999 and 2013.^[1]

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Jude Bolton
Personal information
Full name	Jude Bolton
Date of birth	(1980-03-15) 15 March 1980 (age 44)
Original team(s)	St.Bernards OCFC, Calder Cannons (TAC Cup)
Draft	#8, 1998 National Draft, Sydney
Height	182 cm (6 ft 0 in)
Weight	84 kg (185 lb)
Position(s)	Midfielder
Playing career1
Years	Club	Games (Goals)
1999–2013	Sydney	325 (196)
International team honours
Years	Team	Games (Goals)
2004	Australia	2 (0)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 2013.
Career highlights
2x AFL premiership player: 2005, 2012 Madden Medal 2013
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

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Growing up, he supported the St Kilda Football Club.^[2] He was recruited from and played his junior football at St Bernard's Football Club in Essendon.

Bolton played his first senior game for Sydney against Carlton in round 12 of the 1999 season and received a Rising Star Award nomination the following year. By 2001, he was a regular member of the team and went on to represent Australia in the International Rules series in 2004.

On Saturday, 9 April 2011, Bolton laid an AFL-record 19 tackles in a match, playing an integral role in victory over the West Coast Eagles.^[3] In the Second Semi-final, he set the new record for the most tackles lain in a VFL/AFL career, surpassing former captain Brett Kirk's tally of 1278 career tackles. His final career total was 1490 tackles, which was the record until surpassed by Lenny Hayes late in 2014.^[1]

On 26 August 2013, Bolton announced he would retire at the conclusion of the 2013 season.^[4] He played his last game in Sydney's preliminary final loss to Fremantle on 21 September and scored his final goal for the Swans.

In December 2013, Bolton was a crew member aboard racing supermaxi yacht Perpetual Loyal in the 2013 Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race, with other celebrity crew members, Karl Stefanovic, Larry Emdur, Tom Slingsby, Phil Waugh and Guillaume Brahimi.^[5]

He is currently seen as a boundary rider for the Seven Network's coverage of AFL matches played in Sydney.

He appeared as a contestant on the fifteenth season of Dancing with the Stars paired with professional dancer Dianne Buswell.^[6][7] Jude's wife, Lynette, competed against Jude.^[7] On 16 August 2015, Jude and Dianne were eliminated, coming in seventh place, and Jude was eliminated one week after Lynette.^{[citation needed]}

His wife, Lynette Bolton, starred in WAG Nation, a reality show that documented the lives of five wives and girlfriends of Australian sportsmen. Bolton has two daughters. Jude was inducted into the St.Bernards College Hall of Fame in 2017.^[8]

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