Australian Football

Hailing from the renowned football nursery of Assumption College Kevin Heath was seemingly blessed with considerable ability but it is at least arguable that he never wholly fulfilled his potential. Nevertheless, there were highlights. After commencing his VFL career with Hawthorn in 1968 he soon established himself in the seniors as a dynamic, hard running half back flanker and occasional ruck-rover. In 1971 he was one of the Hawks' stars in their grand final victory over St Kilda. Earlier that same year he had represented Victoria, whilst the 1970 season had seen him finish as runner-up in the club's best and fairest count. After these highly promising beginnings, however, he seemed to mark time, and when Hawthorn next made the grand final in 1975 he had fallen out of favour and was not selected. After 140 VFL games for the Hawks it was time to move on.

The 1976 season saw Kevin Heath embarking on a new phase of his career with Carlton, a move which appears to have given him fresh impetus. Most of his games with the Blues saw him lining up in a back pocket and he helped provide his team with arguably the most miserly defence in the game. Unfortunately, by the time the Blues emerged as the strongest team in the VFL in 1979 Heath had fallen down the pecking order and he did not feature in either that year's triumphant grand final or any matches the following year's finals campaign whereupon, having added 78 games to his overall career tally, he opted to retire.

Author - John Devaney