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Heather Ballinger

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Heather Ballinger
Personal information
Born (1982-07-29) 29 July 1982 (age 42)
Longreach, Queensland, Australia
Height175 cm (5 ft 9 in)
Weight83 kg (13 st 1 lb)
Playing information
PositionProp
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2018 Brisbane Broncos 4 1 0 0 4
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2009–19 Queensland 11 0 0 0 0
2011–17 Australia 12 1 0 0 4
2011–16 Women's All Stars 6 0 0 0 0
Source: RLP
As of 6 October 2020

Heather Jayne Ballinger (born 29 July 1982) is an Australian former rugby league footballer played for the Brisbane Broncos in the NRL Women's Premiership.

Primarily a prop, she represented Australia and Queensland and won a premiership with the Broncos in 2018.

Background

Ballinger attended Scots PGC College in Warwick, Queensland, where she represented Queensland in shot put.[1][2] Outside of sports, she works as a police officer.[3]

Playing career

In 2007, Ballinger began playing rugby league for Ivanhoes in Cairns, winning the CDRL Women's League. In 2010, she was named the CDRL Women's Player of the Year.[4]

In 2011, she made her debut for Australia in their 42–14 win over Samoa in Apia.[5]

In 2013, she was a member of Australia's 2013 Women's Rugby League World Cup-winning squad.[6]

In October 2017, she was named in Australia's 2017 Women's Rugby League World Cup squad.[7] On 2 December, she started at prop in the Jillaroos 23-16 final win over the New Zealand.

In June 2018, Ballinger, along with Ali Brigginshaw, Brittany Breayley, Teuila Fotu-Moala and Caitlyn Moran, were named as the five marquee players for the Brisbane Broncos women's team which commenced playing in the NRL Women's Premiership in September.[8] On 29 September 2018, she started at prop and scored a try in the Broncos' 34–12 Grand Final win over the Sydney Roosters.[9]

On 13 October 2018, she played her final game for Australia, winning Player of the Match in a 26–24 win over New Zealand at Mt Smart Stadium.[10]

In May 2019, she represented Queensland Country at the NRL Women's National Championships. In August 2019, she returned to the Broncos NRLW squad, but did not play a game for the side.[11][12]

On 11 February 2020, she announced her retirement from State of Origin, after 11 years of representing Queensland.[13] In March 2020, she joined the Tweed Heads Seagulls in the newly established QRL Women's Premiership.[14]

Achievements and accolades

Individual

  • QRL Representative Player of the Year: 2015

Team

References

  1. ^ Walsh, Gerard. "Local girls are all stars". Gladstoneobserver.com.au. Retrieved 15 December 2017.
  2. ^ "Sisters in arms set for final stand". Qrl.com. 17 July 2017. Retrieved 15 December 2017.
  3. ^ Cripps, Sally (28 June 2018). "Ballinger is a Bronco". Queensland Country Life. Retrieved 13 March 2022.
  4. ^ "About Us - Ivanhoe Football & Recreation Club Inc - SportsTG". SportsTG. Retrieved 15 December 2017.
  5. ^ "Tallis presents Jillaroos jerseys - Australian Womens Rugby League - SportsTG". SportsTG. Retrieved 15 December 2017.
  6. ^ "Jillaroos Squad set to take on the World!!! - Australian Womens Rugby League - SportsTG". SportsTG. Retrieved 15 December 2017.
  7. ^ "Jillaroos named". Rugby League World Cup. 8 October 2017. Retrieved 4 December 2017.
  8. ^ "Broncos' World-Class Signings For NRLW". Brisbane Broncos official website. 7 June 2018. Retrieved 7 June 2018.
  9. ^ "NRLW grand final: Broncos down Roosters 34-12 in historic clash". The Daily Telegraph. 30 September 2018.
  10. ^ "Jillaroos farewell Ballinger with win". The Women's Game. 13 October 2018.
  11. ^ "Line-ups named for Women's National Championships". NRL. 22 May 2019.
  12. ^ "Broncos NRLW season by the numbers". NRL. 9 December 2019.
  13. ^ "Ballinger calls time on her Queensland career". QRL. 11 February 2020.
  14. ^ "QRLW 2020: A look at the big stars and the up-and-comers of the inaugural women's premiership". The Courier Mail. 10 March 2020.
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