Heath Hocking
Australian rules footballer
Heath Hocking | ||
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Personal information | ||
Full name | Heath Hocking | |
Date of birth | ( 1987-12-27 ) 27 December 1987 (age 35) | |
Original team(s) | Eastern Ranges ( TAC Cup ) | |
Draft | No. 20, 2006 rookie draft | |
Height | 186 cm (6 ft 1 in) | |
Weight | 90 kg (198 lb) | |
Position(s) | Midfielder | |
Playing career 1 | ||
Years | Club | Games (Goals) |
2007 – 2017 | Essendon | 126 (45) |
1
Playing statistics correct to the end of 2017.
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Sources: AFL Tables , AustralianFootball.com |
Heath Hocking (born 27 December 1987) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL).
Originally from Mooroolbark , he was drafted by Essendon with the 20th selection in the 2006 rookie draft from Eastern Ranges in TAC Cup . He was elevated to the main list in 2007, playing one game late in the 2007 season.
Hocking is a solid and hard-at-it midfielder, who primarily plays a defensive tagging role on opposition midfielders. [1] He finished second in the Essendon's best and fairest award, the Crichton Medal , in 2010 and fifth in 2011. [2]
His father, Graham Hocking played one game for South Melbourne in 1971 and his older brother Evan has played in the Victorian Football League for Port Melbourne Football Club . [1]
Hocking, along with 33 other Essendon players, was found guilty of using a banned performance-enhancing substance, thymosin beta-4 , as part of Essendon's sports supplements program during the 2012 season. He and his teammates were initially found not guilty in March 2015 by the AFL Anti-Doping Tribunal, [3] but a guilty verdict was returned in January 2016 after an appeal by the World Anti-Doping Agency . He was suspended for two years which, with backdating, ended in November 2016; as a result, he served approximately fourteen months of his suspension and missed the entire 2016 AFL season . [4]
With the retirements of Jobe Watson and Brent Stanton at the end of the 2017 AFL season , Hocking was the last player remaining on the Essendon playing list to be coached by Kevin Sheedy until he was delisted in September 2017. [5]
I n 2022, Hocking was enticed back to his former junior club where his Mooroolbark team was defeated in the Division One Eastern FNL Grand Final.
Hocking has also taken to ultra-running and finished second in the 12 hour run section of the 2023 Coburg 24 Hour Carnival .
References
- 1 2 Gullan, Scott (7 June 2013). "Essendon gun Heath Hocking carves out career the hard way" . Herald Sun .
- ↑ "Club Best and Fairest Awards" . Archived from the original on 4 March 2016 . Retrieved 11 January 2020 .
- ↑ Twomey, Callum (31 March 2015). "Thirty-four present and former Bombers cleared of all drug charges" . AFL.com.au . Retrieved 31 March 2015 .
- ↑ Travis King (12 January 2016). "Guilty: court bans the Essendon 34 for 2016" . Australian Football League . Retrieved 12 January 2016 .
- ↑ "Essendon Veteran Delisted" . Triple M . 15 September 2017 . Retrieved 15 September 2017 .
External links
- Heath Hocking's profile on the official website of the Essendon Football Club
- Heath Hocking's playing statistics from AFL Tables
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