HEFFERNAN, Chris

Essendon drafted Chris Heffernan in the 1996 National Draft with its compensatory priority selection 2 together with pick 25 as compensation for losing Gavin Wanganeen to new club, Port Adelaide.

He came from Terang in Victoria's Western District and joined Windy Hill with a big reputation from the Geelong Falcons.

Heffernan debuted for Essendon in Round 19, 1997, against Geelong at the MCG and played in three of the last four games to end the season off on a good note. He was a level-headed youngster who showed good skills and was one of the fittest players at the club. He was considered to be one of the hottest young players around showing poise and the confidence to take on opponents.

In 1999 he won the Most Improved Player award.

Heffernan was a key member of the 2000 premiership team in which he shut down reigning Brownlow Medallist, Shane Woewodin. He also represented Australia in the International Rules side in 2000.

A dislocated knee kept him out of the team until Round 10 but he played every game for the rest of the year, including the losing Grand Final.

He played all but one game in 2002 but Essendon's salary cap problems forced the Club to delist him. It was a controversial move because he had signed a three year contract extension only three months earlier. It led to the AFL Players Association introducing a rule preventing players from being traded within 12 months of signing a new deal.

In the end, he was traded to Melbourne along with pick 15 in exchange for pick 10, which Essendon used to select Jason Laycock.

He had a consistent first season with Melbourne until the end of the year when he suffered a broken cheekbone and then an ankle injury. He never re-captured his Essendon form and was delisted at the end of the 2005 season.

Essendon picked him up again in the 2005 Pre-season draft with pick 10.

He played 19 games for Essendon in 2006, being utilised in a number of positions around the ground, but only managed seven games in 2007 and retired at the end of the 2007 season. He acted as runner for Essendon in 2008 before spending the next three years working for Deutsche Bank in New York.

He returned home in 2011 and joined Essendon as a director, replacing Ray Horsburgh on the Board.