Leigh Harding

Personal information
Birth	26 April 1981 (1981-04-26) (age 28)
Recruited from	Bannockburn/Geelong U18
Height and weight	181cm / 84kg
Playing career¹
Debut	Round 17, 28 July 2001, Kangaroos vs. Brisbane Lions, at Colonial Stadium
Team(s)	Kangaroos (2001-) 89 games, 123 goals
¹ Statistics to end of 2006 season
Career highlights
Kangaroos leading goalkicker 2003

Leigh Harding (born 26 April 1981) is an Australian rules footballer in the Australian Football League.

Originally from Bannockburn, Victoria, Harding then played under-18 football with the Geelong Falcons before he moved to play with Geelong in the VFL. He is also a very handy cricketer making numerous centuries with bannockburn as a no.3 batsmen.

Selected in the 2000 rookie draft, he was elevated from the Kangaroos' rookie list in 2001, where he made his debut as a 20-year-old.

A crumbing forward, Harding has the tendency to miss simple shots at goal on the run, although he has a high work rate. He topped the Kangaroos goalkicking in 2003 with just 33 goals, an equal personal best season haul.

In 2005, Harding moved from being a fringe player to more of a regular role. This improved in 2006 when he played 19 games out of 21, up until the final training session before Round 22, the final week of the season as the worst of luck struck as he suffered a knee injury, requiring a knee reconstruction, keeping him out of playing for around 12 months.

[edit] External links

• Leigh Harding profile on the Official AFL Website of the Kangaroos Football Club
• Leigh Harding's statistics from AFL Tables