Australian Football

AustralianFootball.com Celebrating the history of the great Australian game

 

Key Facts

Full name
Jason Heatley

Known as
Jason Heatley

Born
21 February 1972 (age 52)

Age at first & last AFL game
First game: 23y 103d
Last game: 28y 166d

Height and weight
Height: 189 cm
Weight: 92 kg

Senior clubs
West Coast; St. Kilda

Jumper numbers
West Coast: 31
St. Kilda: 24

Recruited from
West Coast (1997)

Jason Heatley

ClubLeagueCareer spanGamesGoalsAvgWin %AKIAHBAMKBV
West CoastAFL1995-1996382.67100%6.002.002.330
St. KildaAFL1997-2000601632.7252%6.832.053.586
AFL1995-2000631712.7154%6.792.053.526
Total1995-2000631712.7154%6.792.053.526

AFL: 10,625th player to appear, 3,677th most games played, 532nd most goals kickedWest Coast: 93rd player to appear, 246th most games played, 157th most goals kickedSt. Kilda: 1,447th player to appear, 259th most games played, 23rd most goals kicked

For an all too brief time Jason Heatley was one of the premier forwards in the game. Although he was not powerfully built, his exceptional pace on the lead made him extremely difficult to contain. He commenced with Subiaco in 1993, when he topped both his club’s and the league’s goal kicking list with a tally of 111 majors. He went on to head Subi’s list in each of the next three seasons, as well as the league’s once more in 1995, when he accrued a career record 123 goals.

Between 1994 and 1996 Heatley had been on West Coast’s list but he struggled to break into the team, and managed just three games and eight goals during that time. The 1997 season found him at St Kilda, where he caught fire, and became an integral part of a legitimate bid for premiership honours. That bid was ultimately ruined on grand final day by Adelaide but Jason Heatley’s total of 73 goals was best for the Saints and third best in the AFL for the year. Thereafter, his form waned somewhat, but he still managed to top his club’s goal kicking list a second time in 1998, and ultimately proved he was an eminently capable top flight footballer. He ended up playing 60 AFL games and kicking 163 goals for the Saints in four seasons.

After spending the 2001 season with his original club North Heidelberg Heatley played for Tassie Devils in the VFL in 2002-3. He later coached several clubs in suburban Melbourne.

Author - John Devaney

Sources

Full Points Publications

Footnotes

* Behinds calculated from the 1965 season on.
+ Score at the end of extra time.