Who????
23. Kieran Harper
Height: 187cm
Weight: 84kg
DOB: 15/06/1992 (22 years old)
Career games: 40
Career goals: 37
Junior club: Lilydale
Recruited from: Eastern Ranges
Draft: #27, 2010 National
Debut: Round 6, 2011 v Port Adelaide
With explosive pace off the mark, Harper can play both forward and through the middle.
2011Coming to the club as a slightly built teenager, the consensus was that Harper would take time to adjust to the physicality of AFL football.
However after making his debut in Round 6, he provided a touch of class, pace and that X-factor while also working hard defensively. He only missed four more games for the rest of the year.
His defensive side was perhaps the most impressive aspect of his first year. He frequently placed emphasis on tackling and running without the ball, a rare commodity with most young players.
2012Now with added size to his frame, Harper maintained his trademark explosiveness to feature in the majority of North's highlight packages.
Frequently used as the substitute, he provided an instant spark when he was on the ground. It was typified by his four goals after starting with the green vest in Round 23 against the GWS Giants.
His 25 goals ranked him fourth at the club, behind Brent Harvey, Lindsay Thomas and Drew Petrie.
2013Mid-season, from Brett Allison“For Harps it’s about consistency and being able to impact the game for four quarters. We see the brilliant stuff he can do and we know he’s going to be an important player for us going forward.
“The small mid-forward role is not an easy role to play. The ball is directed to the taller forwards most of the time so you’re relying on spilt marks or crumbs on the ground. Then you’ve got to be in the right place at the right time to make it happen.”
End of season reviewIt was a disappointing second half of the year for Harper as he was unable to break back into the senior side.
A succession of niggling injuries prevented the youngster from putting together a string of consecutive games for Werribee. Contracted until the end of 2015, Harper will look to Utah as the beginning of a big pre-season.
http://www.nmfc.com.au/player-profile/kieran-harper2014One of North’s most impressive youngsters in 2011 and 2012, Kieran Harper has only played three senior games since the start of last season.
A road full of injuries, time on the sidelines and VFL spells has curtailed a promising career with just 40 games under his belt.
It’s an ankle that has troubled Harper for the better part of the last 12 months. He had surgery to debride scar tissue. In layman’s terms, debridement is the process of removing unhealthy tissue.
It was an issue caused by what basically boiled down to an overprotective body function.
“I over-scar compared to most people. So after games as a healing process it produces more scar tissue,” Harper revealed.
“The scar tissue tends to jam up a joint, so it creates less movement in the ankle. It’s a matter of doing all my recovery processes to keep it clear. Generally speaking, eventually it’ll get right.”
While some injuries are easier to play with than others, anything related to an ankle can rob a player of their explosiveness, a feature of Harper's game when he's at his best.
Read more: http://www.nmfc.com.au/news/2014-05-30/believe-and-succeedCareer stats:
http://finalsiren.com/PlayerStats.asp?PlayerID=2110&SeasonID=ALL#ind
