- Shaun Hart
Infobox afl player NEW
playername = Shaun Hart
fullname = Shaun Hart
image capt =
birthdate = Birth date and age|1971|5|17|df=y
birthplace =Ferntree Gully, Victoria
originalteam =Shepparton United Football Club (Goulburn Valley Football League )
draftpick = TBC, 1989
AFL BB
heightweight = 175cm / 75kg
position = Midfielder
dead = alive
deathdate =
deathplace =
years = 1989-1996
1997-2004
clubs = flagicon|Queensland AFL BB
flagicon|Queensland AFL BL
games(goals) = 102 (81)
171 (96)
coach = notcoach
coachingteams = notcoach
statsend = Preliminary final, 2004
careerhighlights =
*Brisbane Bears reserve grade premiership 1991
*Brisbane Lions premiership side 2001, 2002, 2003
*Brisbane Lions Grand Final side 2004
*Norm Smith Medal 2001Shaun Hart (born 17 May 1971) is a three-time
Australian Football League premiership-winningutility player for theBrisbane Lions .He was born in
Ferntree Gully, Victoria and was recruited to theBrisbane Bears fromShepparton United Football Club in the 1989 national AFL draft, playing his first senior game in the first match of the 1990 season.He initially struggled with the demands of professional football and played a great deal of football in reserve grade. Ironically, this allowed him to gain a place in the Bears' only premiership side by being eligible to play in the 1991 reserve grade Grand Final.
At some point around this time Hart became a
born again Christian , an event which he credits with helping provide him with some direction in his life.In 2001 he was awarded his highest individual honour, the Norm Smith Medal, as best on ground in the Lions' first premiership win. He also went on to play important roles in the Lions successful campaigns in 2002 and 2003.
In the 2004 Preliminary Final, with the Lions poised to enter a playoff for a record-equalling fourth consecutive premiership, Hart was unlucky enough to find himself in the path of teammate Daniel Bradshaw on a lead. Bradshaw was unable to avoid a collision and Hart emerged with massive facial injuries. He was immediately taken to hospital, where shocked medical staff commented that his injuries were consistent with being in a car crash at speed without wearing a seat belt. As a consequence of consistent head injuries, for much of his career, he wore a
soft helmet .Unable to take his place in the Lions side for the 2004 Grand Final, he was forced to watch from his hospital bed as his team failed to maintain a halftime lead over Port Adelaide due to injuries to key forwards Jonathan Brown and
Alastair Lynch . He announced his retirement from football not long afterwards.Not long after retiring, Hart supported the newly-formed, Christian-aligned
Family First Party in 2004 Federal election to theAustralian House of Representatives . He currently works as a football commentator for radio and has a personal a group trainer of Bodyfit.In 2007 he stood as a Family First candidate in Queensland for the Senate at the 2007 Australian federal electioncite news | title = Lions star runs for Family First | url = http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,22690768-5006786,00.html | publisher =
The Australian | date =2007-11-02 | accessdate = 2007-11-12 ] , although he was unsuccessful.Shaun Hart becomes senior coach for AFLQ powerhouse, Broadbeach Cats.He is rumoured to become player-coach.
References
External links
* [http://lions.com.au/default.asp?pg=players&spg=playerprofile&personid=13112 Brisbane Lions Shaun Hart information page]
* [http://www.realfooty.theage.com.au/realfooty/articles/2004/09/30/1096527863572.html?from=storyrhs "Christian speaks out as he takes leave of Lions" "Melbourne Age" 1 October 2004, retrieved 15 December 2005]
* [http://www.sydneyanglicans.net/culture/thinking/957b/ "Surviving in the Lions Den" Sydney Anglicans 25/7/2003 retrieved 15 December 2005]###@@@KEY@@@###
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