Nick Holland
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 |
The neutrality of this article is disputed. Please see the discussion on the talk page.(December 2007) Please do not remove this message until the dispute is resolved. |
 |
|
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Birth | July 29, 1974 , |
| Recruited from | North Adelaide Football Club (SANFL) |
| Playing career¹ | |
| Debut | Round 3, April 8, 1994, Hawthorn vs. North Melbourne, at Melbourne Cricket Ground |
| Team(s) | Hawthorn (1994-2005)
179 games, 239 goals |
| ¹ Statistics to end of 2005 season | |
| Career highlights | |
|
|
Nick Holland (born July 29, 1974) is an Australian rules footballer, nicknamed the GOAT - Greediest Of All Time".
Contents |
[edit] Early career
Holland was recruited in the 1992 AFL Draft as a centre half-forward for the Hawthorn Football Club. He took out the AFL Rising Star award in 1995.
[edit] Career
Nick was a good mark, but a poor kick and was not highly regarded for his decision-making skills.
In 2000 he shared the Peter Crimmins Trophy for the Hawks' best and fairest player with Daniel Chick, however from there Holland suffered from injury and experienced a steady decline. He had signed a back-ended contract, worth millions over four years, with the Hawks in late 2001 after shoulder injuries, however injury and form problems meant he did not deliver on the investment made by his club. He has a lesser known brother, Ben who ultimately played more games (for Richmond and Melbourne) and had a more successful career.
In 1996, he infamously failed to punch a ball in the goalsquare in the dying moments of a final against Sydney. The ball was marked by Sydney rover, Darryn Cresswell, who kicked a goal and won the match for Sydney.
[edit] 2005 Season Controversy
In April of that year The Age ran a story saying that Holland would never play AFL again and would be kept in the reserves with the Box Hill Hawks. Holland came back and played the next week, but it was one of only 3 games he played for that year, to mediocre effect - as he struggled to match the performances of first year players Jarryd Roughead and Lance Franklin.
[edit] "Youth Policy" Outburst
During Round 15 in July 2005, Holland appeared on SEN 1116's VFL coverage in an interview that hit out at Hawthorn's selectors and their youth policy. Holland indicated his frustration at not being selected and that he was planning to talk to other clubs at the end of the season to prolong his career. Holland was also critical of coach Alastair Clarkson after previously criticising prior coach Peter Schwab for giving him a lack of opportunity. The very next week, Holland was playing in a game for Box Hill when he dislocated his left shoulder.
[edit] End of career
His form (and then injury) ensured that there would be no farewell game. However, in the round 22 game against Sydney, Holland was driven around the MCG to a mixed response from Hawks fans. At the end of the season, Holland was delisted and announced his retirement from AFL football after finding little interest in his services from other clubs. He is currently pursuing a career in Law and in media with sports radio station SEN. He also regularly plays in the Whitten Legends match, for which players are paid over 10K each to participate in.
[edit] References
 |
This article or section includes a list of references or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks in-text citations. You can improve this article by introducing more precise citations. |
[edit] External links
| Awards | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Chris Scott |
AFL Rising Star 1995 |
Succeeded by Ben Cousins |
| Preceded by Shane Crawford |
Hawthorn Best and Fairest winner (tied) 2000 |
Succeeded by Joel Smith |
|
|||||
