Hawthorn defender Changkuoth Jiath reflects on his journey, injury struggles and work with South Sudanese community ahead of game 50
A sellout crowd will head to the MCG for Dustin Martin’s 300th match, but a Hawk’s journey to 50 games is still worth celebrating. CJ tells DAN BATTEN his story, and what’s next.
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Changkuoth Jiath knows his 50th game may be lost among the widespread celebration for Dustin Martin’s 300th when Hawthorn faces Richmond on Saturday.
But the man known as ‘CJ’ feels privileged just to be taking the field, let alone with his boyhood idol in ‘Dusty’.
Turning 25 on Thursday, Jiath’s journey to 50 AFL games has been longer than most – and the odds have been stacked against him.
The South Sudanese talent’s backstory has been well told. Born in an Ethiopian refugee camp, Jiath and his family migrated to Australia in 2007.
Since rising up through the ranks and becoming an AFL player, as few South Sudanese people had done to that point, Jiath has been cruelled by a wretched injury run.
The luckless Hawk has managed 26 games in three seasons since bursting onto the scene in 2021, kept on the sidelines by a posterior cruciate ligament blow and numerous soft tissue niggles.
That included a hamstring setback in the pre-season just a month after he was flown to Qatar to help fix his injury issues, and a quad strain in April.
Those injuries will make game 50 even sweeter.
“It is my first milestone so it means a lot, especially because I have had a lot of injuries as well, it just means that much more because I have had a lot of setbacks,” Jiath told the Herald Sun.
“I don’t want to drown Dusty’s 300, but game 50 I am looking forward to it. I know it is going to be a massive game, there is going to be a lot of fans coming for Dusty, he was definitely one of my idols growing up.
“It is annoying because all you want to do is play footy, you want to do what you want the most. But it is definitely challenging because you feel like I would be getting the ball rolling, I would be playing a lot of good games and then I’d have a few injuries.”
Given where he has come from, Jiath has a sense of perspective and gratitude beyond his years which has helped him through these tough times.
“When something bad happens, I’ve had a lot of injuries over the last two years, and I start to think about how fortunate I am to still have this lovely life that I have, the family and friends that I’ve got in my life,” Jiath said.
“At the end of the day there is a lot more stuff going on in the world and I’m really, really grateful that I’ve got family and my friends around me. I have got unbelievable circle that I’ve got here and got food and medicine as well, I’ve got everything that I could be happy with.
“My family here, clean water, food, medicine and you start to think about what was happening in the refugee camp. Obviously there was not much food and not much medicine as well so you start to appreciate life a lot.
“You think about in a refugee camp, there is not much and it’s pretty sad – there’s kids stuck in refugee camps.
“You do appreciate how healthy you are and if you look at life in a bigger perspective, footy is just a small little dot in your life. You’ve got to give energy to the big things in life such as family, friends, because they are the things that drive you.”
QATAR TRIP
Jiath’s trip to Doha will likely go down as his second most significant flight across the globe.
Further investigation was needed to get to the bottom of the playmaker’s injury issues, and the call was made to head to the world-leading Aspetar facility.
The Morwell product was put through a week of rigorous testing which determined that weaknesses in parts of his body were causing other muscles to overcompensate.
“For example I have leaned a lot from my back because I am not strong enough in my hips and obliques,” he said.
“So my back would seize up and then hence my groins would tighten up as well. We found that I had really weak hips and obliques so what we did was we strengthened it, we did a lot of testing throughout the whole week and I haven’t had any groin soreness or groin issues since Qatar.
“I think Qatar was a massive tick and I am just really fortunate that the club allowed me to explore that avenue.
“Looking back on it, all the injuries I have had have made me grow enormously so I feel like it is a blessing in disguise because I have learnt a lot about myself and how to deal with things as well.”
CONTRACT CALL
Hawthorn’s last-gasp win over Greater Western Sydney last Saturday was the best of Jiath’s career.
You could see how much it meant to Jiath after the siren, running to fellow defender Jack Scrimshaw and giving him a big hug.
It is clear to see how much Jiath enjoys playing with the Hawks and his enthusiasm is infectious: from his handshake with Jack Ginnivan that channelled NBA superstar LeBron James, to his pose after a goal against GWS which had shades of French football sensation Kylian Mbappe.
Jiath is out of contract at the end of the year and talks were put on hold as he worked his way from injury.
But he sees his future at the Hawks, who he has had a strong connection with since he was junior as a graduate of their Next Generation Academy.
“I just wanted to get back and focus on getting back, my rehab, trying to get my body right before I can start chatting about anything,” Jiath said.
“I feel like I want to spend all my time at Hawthorn. I feel like I just want to play some really good footy at the moment and just get back.
“There was a photo that showed the passion that I had being able to play footy again and also just the passion that I have for the club as well.
“Really fortunate that the club is going in the right direction right now and I have formed a lot of good friendships since I have been at the club, so I think we are heading towards the right direction and we just need to keep improving every week.”
GIVING BACK
A delayed flight out of Tasmania meant Jiath arrived back to Melbourne much later than planned.
But not long after stepping foot on the tarmac at Tullamarine, he was out at Werribee on Sunday with his fellow countryman at the South Sudanese combine, a joint initiative between NextGen Unite and the AFL.
Jiath’s cousin, Mamuch Chuol, is the chief executive of NextGen Unite, which aims to empower the South Sudanese community.
Chuol has been thrilled with what Jiath has done for their programs.
“He’s done quite a significant role as an advocate,” Chuol said.
“He really does talk about our issues, talks about our problems, doesn’t shy away from those things. He also comes in to events like this (the combine).”
Making a difference and inspiring the next generation of South Sudanese footballers is incredibly important to Jiath.
“I feel like I am in a space now where I can settle in, my profile and my platform I want to use this to shine a light on how important community is and how much of an impact it can have on people and as a society as well,” Jiath said.
“I just love to give back and it meant a lot when I was coming through as well, so I want to give these kids the same feeling.”
DJ CJ?
Music is a big part of Jiath’s life and culture – he grew up with his father playing reggae icon Bob Marley through his stereo.
The apple clearly doesn’t fall too far from the tree given Jiath is regularly sighted – and heard – pumping tunes on a speaker around the club.
In February he posted a remix of Doja Cat and The Weeknd’s song ‘You Right’ to his 32,000 TikTok followers.
“It is something that I try to do in my spare time when I am not doing much when I’m bored, and it’s just a little hobby as well. Music has the ability to soothe or hype you up, whatever you need and I use it to my advantage a lot of the time,” Jiath said.
Could we see DJ CJ hitting venues in the future?
“I wouldn’t go with DJ CJ, I reckon that’s been taken,” he chuckled.
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Originally published as Hawthorn defender Changkuoth Jiath reflects on his journey, injury struggles and work with South Sudanese community ahead of game 50
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