Greg Harding (born 17 September 1976) is an
Australian rules football
Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by k ...
er. He played for both the
Fremantle Football Club
The Fremantle Football Club, nicknamed the Dockers, is a professional Australian rules football club competing in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's elite competition. The team was founded in 1994 to represent the port city of ...
and the
West Coast Eagles
The West Coast Eagles are a professional Australian rules football club based in Perth, Western Australia. The club was founded in 1986 as one of two expansion teams in the Australian Football League (AFL), then known as the Victorian Football ...
in the
Australian Football League
The Australian Football League (AFL) is the only fully professional competition of Australian rules football. Through the AFL Commission, the AFL also serves as the sport's governing body and is responsible for controlling the laws of the gam ...
(AFL). He was drafted by Fremantle from
Claremont in the
West Australian Football League
The West Australian Football League (WAFL) is an Australian rules football league based in Perth, Western Australia. The league currently consists of ten teams, which play each other in a 20-round season usually lasting from March to September, ...
(WAFL) as a zone selection in the
1995 AFL Draft and played mainly as a defender.
He made his AFL debut in the opening round
Western Derby
The Western Derby () is the name given to the Australian rules football match between the West Coast Eagles and the Fremantle Dockers, who both participate in the Australian Football League (AFL). As both teams are based in Perth, the capit ...
in 1996. In round 4 of that year, he was awarded the weekly nomination for the
AFL Rising Star
The AFL Rising Star is an Australian rules football award presented annually to the player adjudged the best young player in the Australian Football League (AFL) for the year. It was first presented in the 1993 season, and was won by Nathan Buc ...
award.
In 1997 he had his best season for Fremantle, playing in 18 games and coming fifth in the club's
best and fairest
In Australian sport, the best and fairest award recognises the player(s) adjudged to have had the best performance in a game or over a season for a given sporting club or competition. The awards are sometimes dependent on not receiving a suspensi ...
award.
Injuries and poor form hampered his career after 1997, and he played only a further 33 games in the next three seasons for Fremantle before being traded to the
West Coast Eagles
The West Coast Eagles are a professional Australian rules football club based in Perth, Western Australia. The club was founded in 1986 as one of two expansion teams in the Australian Football League (AFL), then known as the Victorian Football ...
in return for
Daniel Metropolis and a draft selection that would be used to draft
Dion Woods
Dion Woods (born 25 January 1982) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Fremantle in the Australian Football League (AFL) between 2001 and 2005.
Woods was drafted from Perth in the West Australian Football ...
.
His career at West Coast was brief, with only 9 games in 2001 before he again succumbed to injury. In total he underwent 12 operations during his time in the AFL.
[High degree of injury for graduate half back flank](_blank)
/ref> After being delisted by West Coast at the end of the 2002 season, Harding continued to play for Claremont, being appointed their vice-captain in 2003 and 2004 and winning their best and fairest award in 2003.
/ref>
Greg Harding was the Swan Districts Football Club
The Swan Districts Football Club, nicknamed the Swans, is an Australian rules football club playing in the West Australian Football League (WAFL) and WAFL Women's (WAFLW). The club is based at Bassendean Oval, in Bassendean, an eastern suburb ...
colts' coach. He took the colts to a premiership in 2008, and consecutive finals in 2009 and 2010. On 27 October 2010, Harding was appointed the head coach of the league side for Swan Districts Football Club.
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Harding, Greg
1976 births
Fremantle Football Club players
Claremont Football Club players
West Coast Eagles players
Living people
Australian rules footballers from Western Australia
Swan Districts Football Club coaches