Paul Wheatley (born 12 April 1981) is a former

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 who played 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). A Preston Knights recruit, Wheatley made his debut for the

Melbourne Football Club The Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed the Demons, is a professional Australian rules football club that competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's elite competition. It is based in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, ...

in 2000, after being selected at number 20 in the 1999 AFL Draft. Wheatley is known for his prodigious kicking, with his ability to pinpoint 60 metre passes using the drop punt. He is also known to be able to kick long distance

torpedo punt A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, and with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, su ...

s, which led to speculation that he might try out as an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

punter. Paul polled two votes in the 2007

Brownlow Medal The Charles Brownlow Trophy, better known as the Brownlow Medal (and informally as "Charlie"), is awarded to the " best and fairest" player in the Australian Football League (AFL) during the home-and-away season, as determined by votes cast by ...

, his first votes, and five votes in 2008, a career high. He has the record in the

NAB Cup In the Australian Football League (AFL), previously the Victorian Football League (VFL), the pre-season competition, known during its history by a variety of sponsored names and most recently as the NAB Cup, was an annual Australian rules footba ...

with the most goals scored outside of 50 m. Wheatley announced his retirement from the game and played his last match against St Kilda with Matthew Whelan in round 22, 2009. Wheatley played 135 games and kicked 34 goals. Wheatley stated that he intends to nominate for the pre-season draft and failing being picked up by another club will seek a trial in the NFL.

References

External links

Paul Wheatley's Melbourne Football Club profile
* 1981 births Living people Melbourne Football Club players Australian rules footballers from Victoria (Australia) Northern Knights players Casey Demons players {{AFL-bio-1980s-stub