Heather Jayne Ballinger (born 29 July 1982) is an Australian former

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 11 ...

footballer played for the

Brisbane Broncos The Brisbane Broncos Rugby League Football Club Ltd., commonly referred to as the Broncos, is an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Brisbane, Queensland. Founded in April 1987, the Broncos play in Australia's elite c ...

in the

NRL Women's Premiership The Telstra NRL Women's Premiership (NRLW) is Australia's national rugby league competition for female players. The first season of the league began in September 2018 with four teams. The league is run by the National Rugby League (NRL) and is ...

. Primarily a , she represented Australia and

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , establishe ...

and won a premiership with the Broncos in 2018.

Background

Ballinger attended

Scots PGC College The Scots PGC College is an independent, co-educational, Uniting Church, day and boarding school, located in Warwick, Queensland, Australia. The College currently caters for approximately 450 international and Australian students from Prep to ...

Warwick, Queensland Warwick ( ) is a town and locality in southeast Queensland, Australia, lying south-west of Brisbane. It is the administrative centre of the Southern Downs Region local government area. The surrounding Darling Downs have fostered a strong agr ...

, where she represented Queensland in shot put. Outside of sports, she works as a police officer.

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. In 2011, she made her debut for Australia in their 42–14 win over

Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa; sm, Sāmoa, and until 1997 known as Western Samoa, is a Polynesian island country consisting of two main islands ( Savai'i and Upolu); two smaller, inhabited islands ( Manono and Apolima); ...

Apia Apia () is the capital and largest city of Samoa, as well as the nation's only city. It is located on the central north coast of Upolu, Samoa's second-largest island. Apia falls within the political district (''itūmālō'') of Tuamasaga. ...

. In 2013, she was a member of Australia's 2013 Women's Rugby League World Cup-winning squad. In October 2017, she was named in Australia's 2017 Women's Rugby League World Cup squad. On 2 December, she started at prop in the Jillaroos 23-16

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: * Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of con ...

win over the

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

. In June 2018, Ballinger, along with Ali Brigginshaw, Brittany Breayley,

Teuila Fotu-Moala Teuila Fotu-Moala (born 29 November 1993) is a New Zealand rugby league footballer who played for the Brisbane Broncos and St George Illawarra Dragons in the NRL Women's Premiership. Primarily a er, she is a New Zealand representative and won ...

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. On 29 September 2018, she started at prop and scored a try in the Broncos' 34–12

Grand Final Primarily in Australian sports, a grand final (sometimes colloquially abbreviated to "grannie") is a game that decides a sports league's premiership (or championship) winning team, i.e. the conclusive game of a finals (or play-off) series. S ...

win over the

Sydney Roosters The Sydney Roosters are an Australian professional Rugby League Football Club based in the Eastern Suburbs (Sydney) and parts of inner Sydney. The club competes in the National Rugby League (NRL) competition. The Roosters have won fifteen Ne ...

. 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 Mount Smart Stadium (formerly known as Ericsson Stadium) is a multipurpose stadium in Auckland, New Zealand. It is the main home ground of the New Zealand Warriors of the National Rugby League, and occasionally hosts rugby union and internatio ...

. 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. On 11 February 2020, she announced her retirement from State of Origin, after 11 years of representing Queensland. In March 2020, she joined the

Tweed Heads Seagulls The Tweed Heads Seagulls, often referred to simply as Tweed or Seagulls or Tweed Seagulls, is a rugby league club based in Tweed Heads, New South Wales. It is one of only two non-Queensland teams to play in the Queensland Cup, along with th ...

in the newly established

QRL Women's Premiership The QRL Women's Premiership, known as the BMD Premiership due to sponsorship from BMD Group, is the top level of women's rugby league football in Queensland, Australia. Run by the Queensland Rugby League, the competition is Queensland's first s ...

Achievements and accolades

Individual

* QRL Representative Player of the Year: 2015

Team

* 2013 Women's Rugby League World Cup: Australia – Winners * 2017 Women's Rugby League World Cup: Australia – Winners * 2018 NRLW Grand Final: Brisbane Broncos – Winners

References

External links

QRL profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ballinger, Heather 1982 births Living people People from Warwick, Queensland Australian female rugby league players Sportswomen from Queensland Australia women's national rugby league team players Rugby league props Queensland rugby league team players Brisbane Broncos (NRLW) players Recipients of the Australian Sports Medal Queensland police officers