How Adelaide Crows wingman Chayce Jones overcame self-doubt to make his mark
Self-doubt, draft comparisons and overthinking had plagued Chayce Jones – but psychologist sessions and a career-best year has him feeling like he finally belongs. The young Crow opens up on making his mark.
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Chayce Jones is standing near the 50m arc at the southern end of Adelaide Oval when he turns to a group of Power supporters and cups his left hand around his left ear.
The wingman has just kicked a long-range goal to put the Crows 26 points up in the round 3 Showdown in April.
It is fitting reward because he has started the passage of play by turning the ball over via a diving smother.
After coming on as the substitute, Jones is influential, collecting nine disposals in what becomes a 31-point Adelaide win.
Eight months later, the 23-year-old nominates his performance that night as a key moment in his career-best season.
“Just coming out and having a fair bit of the footy in a quarter, that’s something that gave me a lot of confidence that I can belong,” Jones tells this masthead.
A photo of his goal celebration is one of the first to show if you Google “Chayce Jones”.
“I’m not usually much of a celebrator and I don’t give it too much,” he says.
“Port supporters giving it a bit on the side, it was a bit of fun.
“In the moment, everything’s going on … you get a bit excited.
“Riley Thilthorpe gives it to me all the time.
“He walks around with his hand on his ear.”
Jones’s moment with the Port crowd seemed to reflect the self-belief he discovered in 2023.
Regular chats with a psychologist helped him find the confidence that inspired a personal-best campaign.
Jones made his mindset a focus during the previous off-season, tackling self-doubt and trying to reduce overthinking in training or games.
The Tasmanian credits the sessions with the psychologist from outside the club as a major factor behind finishing eighth in the Malcolm Blight Medal count despite missing five games.
He was not selected for the opening two rounds then got his chance against the Power, the first of 18 matches in succession.
“I’ve always had good running ability, skills, speed, that sort of stuff,” he says.
“Training your brain as well is helping take it to the next level.
“Being able to catch yourself in moments where you might be in self-doubt but having the mental capacity to go ‘that’s not necessarily right, I can back myself in and go do what I need’.
“When a moment arose, you’re able to go for it and make your moment count.
“But also if something happens and it’s small, you’re able to think about the negative and turn it into a positive.
“There’s always going to be another moment and can just move onto the next one.”
Jones believes it is difficult to say if self-doubt affected his football before last season because “you don’t notice it until afterwards and you change the way you think”.
But he concedes being a top-10 pick previously played on his mind.
Taken with the ninth selection in 2018’s so-called ‘Super Draft’, Jones has often been often compared to Port Adelaide’s Zak Butters — chosen three spots later.
Butters was named in the All-Australian squad in his second season.
The likes of Sam Walsh (pick 1), Max (4) and Ben King (6), Connor Rozee (5), Bailey Smith (7) and Tarryn Thomas (8) were others drafted early in 2018 who quickly became AFL regulars.
Jones featured in eight games in his debut season, then 15 of 17 in 2020, before 15 and 20 prior to last campaign.
In 2023, he shifted from halfback to the wing and averaged a career-best 17.4 disposals, up from 12.9 the previous year.
“There’s always going to be the case of different levels — guys that come in and play straight away, guys who take three or four years and guys who take five or six,” Jones says.
“Definitely after my first couple of years I was looking at other guys and the way they were playing, and wanting to play at that level, if not better.
“It takes a bit of a toll sometimes, being able to let go and focus on what you’re doing.”
Jones did that by talking regularly to Crows people who reminded him of his team value.
Former Adelaide welfare boss Emma Barr and SANFL coach Michael Godden were particularly supportive.
“They’d say, ‘Other guys might be having more touches than you but what you’re doing for the team is just as important. Other people might not see that but what you do does help’,” Jones says.
His personal-best finish in the best-and-fairest is one of the rewards — and indicators — of his improvement.
“It was definitely my most consistent season,” he says.
“It comes with a bit of confidence from the group as well.
“Everyone backs you in but you’ve still got to believe in yourself.
“That’s a great part of a group environment, it’s so supportive.”
Feeling at home at the club and in Adelaide led Jones to re-sign in June for three years.
His contract expires at the end of 2026, one season before a Tasmanian side is set to enter the AFL.
Jones and others from the island will keep getting asked questions about their plans and whether they want to be part of the new team.
But, as you expect right now, the Longford and Launceston product makes clear he is concentrating on his football at Adelaide.
“I’m stoked for Tassie, they deserve a team and everyone back home are footy nuffs,” he says.
“It’s going to be a great thing for Tassie footy.
“But I love Adelaide and being here.
“I live 10 minutes from the beach, 10 minutes from the city and it’s a beautiful place.
“I’m loving where the group is going as well.
“I’ll be focusing on that more so, than what’s to come in four years’ time.”
Jones headed back home over Christmas.
He also spent time there during his off-season, which included a campervan holiday around New Zealand with his partner, Nicola.
His favourite spot was Lake Tekapo, in between Christchurch and Queenstown.
“The caravan park is right on the beach part of the lake and then you’ve got 180 degrees of mountain views of snow-capped mountains,” he says.
“It’s beautiful.”
Recovering from foot surgery, which Jones had in August, sidelining him for the last three rounds, meant the trip was an opportunity to unwind and enjoy the sights more than anything.
“The club physios were really good, saying, ‘You’ve done a fair bit of work, if you want to go for a run, if you want to get some gym in’,” he says.
“I told them it would be kind of hard with a campervan for gyms.
“But they were great so I was able to chill out a little bit, relax and take some time off.
“It was nice to just have a mental break.”
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