Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Born | 29 July 1982 Longreach, Queensland, Australia | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 175 cm (5 ft 9 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 83 kg (13 st 1 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Playing information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Prop | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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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.
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]
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]