Henry Playfair (born 22 January 1983) is the former the Head of Coaching PerformanceBlues boost with Playfair, Power
/ref> at the

Carlton Football Club The Carlton Football Club, nicknamed the Blues, is a professional Australian rules football club that competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's top professional competition. Founded in 1864 in Carlton, an inner suburb of Mel ...

having previously been an assistant coach at the

St Kilda Football Club The St Kilda Football Club, nicknamed the Saints, is a professional Australian rules football club based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, Victoria. The club plays in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's premier league. The club ...

and 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 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 ...

. Playfair grew up around the town of

Holbrook Holbrook may refer to: Places England *Holbrook, Derbyshire, a village *Holbrook, Somerset, a hamlet in Charlton Musgrove *Holbrook, Sheffield, South Yorkshire, a former mining village in Mosborough ward, now known as Halfway *Holbrook, Suffolk, a ...

in the

Riverina The Riverina is an agricultural region of south-western New South Wales, Australia. The Riverina is distinguished from other Australian regions by the combination of flat plains, warm to hot climate and an ample supply of water for irrigation ...

region of

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

.Cats trade Steven King and Charlie Gardiner to Saints for pick 90
/ref>

Career

Drafted by the Geelong Cats in the

2001 AFL Draft The 2001 AFL draft consisted of a state draft, a body draft, a pre-season draft and a trade period. The AFL draft is the annual draft of players by Australian rules football teams that participate in the main competition of that sport, the Aust ...

at pick number 41, he debuted in Round 15 of the 2003 season at

Telstra Dome Docklands Stadium, also currently known by naming rights sponsorship as Marvel Stadium, is a multi-purpose sports and entertainment stadium in the Docklands area of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Construction started in October 1997 and was ...

. He was one of Geelong's main players in the 2005 AFL season, however a series of injuries hampered his performance in 2006. He was a key forward who also played the positions of back and ruck. Playfair was an integral part of the Cats 2007 VFL premiership team, along with players such as Charlie Gardiner,

Brent Prismall Brent Prismall (born 14 July 1986) is a former Australian rules football player for the Geelong Football Club and Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). Career Early career Prismall grew up in Werribee, Victoria. He wa ...

and Tom Lonergan. Due to a lack of opportunities, and moving into the prime of his career, Playfair asked to be traded to the

Sydney Swans The Sydney Swans are a professional Australian rules football club based in Sydney, New South Wales. The men's team competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), and the women's team in the AFL Women's (AFLW). The Swans also field a reser ...

in 2008 and was traded in exchange for a third round draft pick. He moved back to his home state in an attempt to get more AFL playing opportunities. Sydney delisted Playfair on 13 November 2009 and then redrafted him as a mature age rookie with their first pick (pick 10) in the Rookie Draft on 15 December 2009. Playfair retired as a player at the end of the 2010 season due to injury concerns, but continued his involvement with football and with the Sydney club, being appointed as a development coach. He coached the reserves team to the NEAFL grand final in 2011. In 2012 he became an assistant coach at the club. He was responsible for the forward line in that year, in which the Swans won the AFL premiership, and has continued in that role.

Retirement

After suffering a serious back injury in the Round 14 match against Richmond at the SCG, and after medical advice Playfair decided to call an end to his career as an AFL player.Henry Playfair retires
Playfair said "When I found out I’d done some damage to my back it was a bit of a shock. At first I didn’t know what it meant for my season, and then I spoke further to the doctor and the physio and it looked like my season was over, I then had to make a decision about next year, and coming off the troubles I’ve had previously with hamstring injuries over the past couple of seasons, the back was another indication that my body is not up to it at this stage.'’

Coaching career

He started his coaching career in charge of the Swans' NEAFL side in 2011. Playfair was promoted to assistant coach of

in the AFL in 2012 and was in charge of the forwards in Sydney's premiership year. Playfair left the Sydney Swans Football Club at the end of the 2017 season. Playfair then spent two seasons with

as backline and team defence assistant coach. In September 2019, Playfair was appointed Head of Coaching Performance at

with the aim of working directly with the senior coach. On 13 August 2020, Playfair left the Carlton Football Club because his role as head of coaching performance at Carlton was made redundant due to the financial effects of

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

Personal life

Playfair previously had a fitness business, Fitness By Cats, with former teammates

Corey Enright Corey Enright (born 14 September 1981) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Geelong Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He has played the second-most games for . Enright is currently defenc ...

and

. All three are accredited personal trainers.Geelong Football Club player Brent Prismall is rough and ready
/ref>

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Playfair, Henry 1983 births Living people Australian rules footballers from New South Wales Geelong Football Club players Sydney Swans players North Shore Australian Football Club players NSW/ACT Rams players People educated at Sydney Church of England Grammar School