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Chris Heffernan

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Australian rules footballer, born 1979

Australian rules footballer
Chris Heffernan
Personal information
Full name Chris Joel Heffernan
Nickname(s) The Heff
Date of birth (1979-01-29) 29 January 1979 (age 45)
Original team(s)
Draft 2nd overall, 1996 AFL draft
Height 186 cm (6 ft 1 in)
Weight 83 kg (183 lb)
Position(s) Midfielder
Playing career
Years Club Games (Goals)
1997–2002 Essendon 97 (38)
2003–2005 Melbourne 47 (10)
2006–2007 Essendon 26 (8)
Total 170 (56)
International team honours
Years Team Games (Goals)
2000 Australia 2 (0)
Playing statistics correct to the end of 2007. State and international statistics correct as of 2000.
Career highlights
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

Chris Joel Heffernan (born 29 January 1979) is a former Australian rules footballer who played in the Australian Football League (AFL).

AFL career

Known affectionately as "Heff", Chris began his career in 1997 with the Essendon Football Club. Heffernan had a brilliant year in 2000 when he played solid consistent football in the midfield and was part of the Bombers side that lost only one game for the entire season, winning the AFL Grand Final and Ansett Cup Final in the process. Heffernan was also rewarded with an appearance in the International rules football series in 2000. Heffernan also played in another AFL Grand Final (albeit a losing one) in 2001.

However, when Essendon ran into salary cap issues at the end of the 2002 season, he was traded to the Melbourne Football Club for a swap of first round draft selections.

His trade to Melbourne only months after signing a three-year contract with Essendon, prompted the AFL Players Association to introduce the Heffernan Clause into the players standard collective bargaining agreement, to prevent players from being traded within 12 months of signing a contract.

Heffernan did not have the same spark at Melbourne. He finished the 2003 with a depressed fracture of his cheekbone and had a solid year in 2004 before getting suspended and missing the finals at the end of the season, but in 2005 his performances were average. At the end of 2005 Melbourne delisted Heffernan, but Essendon picked him up with the last pick in the 2006 AFL preseason draft.

Heffernan played out the rest of his career with the Bombers, before announcing his retirement from AFL football on 2 October 2007 after being told that he was unlikely to play often under new coach Matthew Knights.

In 2020, Heffernan released his Autobiography "Heffernan: More than meets the eye".

Personal life

After retiring from football he worked in New York for Deutsche Bank for three years before returning to Melbourne to work for Ernst and Young. In 2011 he joined the Essendon Football Club board as a non-executive director.

Playing statistics

Legend
  G   Goals   K   Kicks   D   Disposals    T   Tackles
  B   Behinds    H   Handballs    M   Marks
Season Team No. Games Totals Averages (per game)
G B K H D M T G B K H D M T
1997 Essendon 26 3 0 0 11 9 20 4 5 0.0 0.0 3.7 3.0 6.7 1.3 1.7
1998 Essendon 26 12 3 0 71 53 124 12 31 0.3 0.0 5.9 4.4 10.3 1.0 2.6
1999 Essendon 26 22 13 4 226 119 345 60 41 0.6 0.2 10.3 5.4 15.7 2.7 1.9
2000 Essendon 26 21 4 6 194 115 309 54 67 0.2 0.3 9.2 5.5 14.7 2.6 3.2
2001 Essendon 26 16 6 5 110 69 179 36 33 0.4 0.3 6.9 4.3 11.2 2.3 2.1
2002 Essendon 26 23 12 4 195 101 296 58 64 0.5 0.2 8.5 4.4 12.9 2.5 2.8
2003 Melbourne 1 20 7 4 188 115 303 60 61 0.4 0.2 9.4 5.8 15.2 3.0 3.1
2004 Melbourne 1 18 2 4 165 119 284 44 71 0.1 0.2 9.2 6.6 15.8 2.4 3.9
2005 Melbourne 1 9 1 3 45 35 80 20 28 0.1 0.3 5.0 3.9 8.9 2.2 3.1
2006 Essendon 26 19 6 4 154 147 301 66 72 0.3 0.2 8.1 7.7 15.8 3.5 3.8
2007 Essendon 26 7 2 0 42 42 84 16 26 0.3 0.0 6.0 6.0 12.0 2.3 3.7
Career 170 56 34 1401 924 2325 430 499 0.3 0.2 8.2 5.4 13.7 2.5 2.9

References

  1. Niall, Jake (8 June 2003). "Expect to see more big players in the market". The Age. Melbourne.
  2. Quayle, Emma (31 January 2003). "Heffernan slowly being demonised By". The Age. Melbourne. Retrieved 29 October 2012.
  3. Rielly, Stephen (2 July 2003). "Heffernan clause might not last long". The Age. Melbourne. Retrieved 29 October 2012.
  4. Rielly, Stephen (15 August 2003). "Ex-Don a Demon for punishment". The Age. Melbourne. Retrieved 29 October 2012.
  5. Spits, Scott (9 March 2006). "Next Goal inspires Heffernan".
  6. "Heffernan ends Bombers career". Retrieved 29 October 2012.
  7. "Heffernan, Camporeale retire from AFL". The Sydney Morning Herald. 2 October 2007. Archived from the original on 30 December 2012. Retrieved 29 October 2012.
  8. "Directors". Archived from the original on 30 October 2012. Retrieved 29 October 2012.
  9. Chris Heffernan's player profile at AFL Tables

External links

Essendon Football Club 2000 AFL premiers
Essendon 19.21 (135) defeated Melbourne 11.9 (75), at the Melbourne Cricket Ground
Coach: Sheedy
Australian squad – 2000 International Rules Series
Coach: Brereton
1996 AFL national draft
2006 AFL pre-season draft
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