Jordan "Noof" Russell (born 6 November 1986) is an Australian rules footballer in the Australian Football League.

He was recruited as the number 9 draft pick in the 2004 AFL Draft from West Adelaide He made his AFL debut for the Carlton Football Club in Round 15, 2005 against St. Kilda.

Russell struggled to make a big impact at AFL level in 2005, playing only one game, spending the season developing in the Northern Bullants. In 2006, he broke into the senior team, playing ten games, mostly off the bench.

He expressed his desire to move back to South Australia for the 2007 season, with Port Adelaide seeking to trade for him. No trade deal was made between the two clubs during trade week, and Russell re-signed with Carlton on 16 October 2006 to a two year deal.

In 2007 Russell played 18 games, but had not yet stamped himself as a definite future player. Under Denis Pagan, he struggled for game time, and usually played completely defensive tagging roles with reasonable success. Following Pagan's replacement by Brett Ratten, he has seen more time in the midfield and half-forward line. He played 21 of 22 games in 2008, and earned a two-year contract.

In 2009, Russell played 20 of 23 games, but was dropped briefly at midseason on form. This turned out to be a major turning point in Russell's career, as his form upon return to the seniors was outstanding. He continued his midfield/half-forward role for much of the year, but was forced into the back-line for the final month of the season after several injuries to team-mates, where he was equally effective. Due to his strong form in the second half of the season, Russell finished sixth in the 2009 Carlton Best and Fairest, polling 281 votes; in fact, only Brendan Fevola polled more votes than Russell after Round 14.

[edit] External links

• Jordan Russell's statistics from AFL Tables
• Jordan Russell's Blueseum page
• Talking Carlton Forum - Jordan Russell Sponsor