Kurt Heatherley (born 1 January 1995) is a professional rugby union player for Jersey Reds. He previously played rugby union for Auckland and played

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by k ...

for the Hawthorn Football Club in the

Australian Football League The Australian Football League (AFL) is the only fully professional competition of Australian rules football. Through the AFL Commission, the AFL also serves as the sport's governing body and is responsible for controlling the laws of the gam ...

(AFL). A key defender originally from Tauranga in New Zealand, Hawthorn recruited him as a sixteen year old in 2011.

Early life

Heatherley was born in Hamilton, New Zealand and attended St Paul's Collegiate School. He was scouted by the Hawthorn Football club recruiter Graham Wright while playing for New Zealand at the FIBA Oceania Under-16 Championship in Tasmania. Heatherley, still at school as a 16 year old, had been a competent basketball and rugby union player he was chosen for his athletic qualities, particularly his pace, jump and height. He also represented Australian rules in for the New Zealand, U16 national team. He was invited by Hawthorn to the 2012

AFL Draft Combine The AFL Draft Combine, formerly known as the AFL Draft Camp, is a gathering of prospective talent, where selected potential draftees display their athletic prowess and relevant Australian rules football skills. Over four days participants are re ...

. After an outstanding performance at the Combine, Hawthorn convinced Heatherley to relocate to Melbourne where he would complete his secondary schooling at Caulfield Grammar. In 2014 he also represented New Zealand national side against the

AFL Academy Australia has named a senior Australian Football team, known as the All-Australian team since 1947. This team, however has never officially played an international Australian rules football match. This is primarily because the sport is played pr ...

Australian Rules Football career

He was formally recruited by Hawthorn as an international recruit with their fifth selection and sixty-first overall in the 2014 rookie draft. This gave him the chance to development his game through school, the TAC cup and the VFL. He was promoted to the main list in 2015 after consistent performances playing for

Box Hill Hawks Box Hill Hawks Football Club is an Australian rules football club playing in the Victorian Football League. It has an alliance with the Hawthorn Football Club, which plays in the Australian Football League. Early Australian rules football in B ...

in the VFL having participated in a Minor premiership in the

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. He made his debut as a late replacement against in round 20, 2016 at the

Melbourne Cricket Ground The Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), also known locally as "The 'G", is an Australian sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, Victoria. Founded and managed by the Melbourne Cricket Club, it is the largest stadiu ...

. Following the 2018 season, Heatherley was delisted. Although he wanted to continue in AFL, he was not offered an opportunity with any other club.

Statistics

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Rugby Union career

In 2019, Heatherley changed sports to rugby union, joining Auckland in New Zealand's Mitre 10 Cup. He joined English Championship side Jersey Reds ahead of the 2020–21 season.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Heatherley, Kurt 1995 births Living people Box Hill Football Club players Hawthorn Football Club players New Zealand emigrants to Australia New Zealand players of Australian rules football People educated at Caulfield Grammar School Rugby union players from Tauranga Sandringham Dragons players