Nick Holland (born July 29, 1974) is an Australian rules footballer. Every week, an Australian Football League rising star nomination is given to a standout young player. ... Hawthorn Football Club logo The Hawthorn Football Club, nicknamed The Hawks, is an Australian rules football club playing in the Australian Football League (AFL). ... International Rules football is a hybrid sport developed in the 1980s as a mixture of Australian rules football and Gaelic football. ... July 29 is the 210th day (211th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 155 days remaining. ... 1974 (MCMLXXIV) is a common year starting on Tuesday (click on link for calendar). ... Australian football, which is also known as Australian rules football, or less formally as Aussie rules or footy is a code of football which originated in Melbourne, Australia. ...

Recruited in the 1992 AFL Draft, Holland was a bright young prospect as a centre half-forward for the Hawthorn Football Club. He took out the AFL Rising Star award in 1995. In the sport Australian rules, the AFL Draft was introduced in 1986 (when the competition was then known as the VFL). ... In Australian rules football, the centre half-forward is a position on the half-forward line of a football field. ... Hawthorn Football Club logo The Hawthorn Football Club, nicknamed The Hawks, is an Australian rules football club playing in the Australian Football League (AFL). ... Every week, an Australian Football League rising star nomination is given to a standout young player. ...

In 2000 he won the Peter Crimmins Trophy for the Hawks' best and fairest player, and in 2001 he followed that up with another fine season. However from there Holland suffered from injury and experienced a steady decline. He had signed a massive contract with the Hawks and the Hawks had to keep him on for those final years despite the fact he simply wasn't worth it. Best and Fairest is the phrase given to players in the Australian Football League (formerly the VFL) that are adjudged to have played the best during the season without being suspended. ...

In 2005, Holland was involved in plenty of 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. The Age is a broadsheet daily newspaper, which has been published in Melbourne, Australia since 1854. ... Box Hill Football Club was formed in 1921 as the Box Hill Junior Football Club. ...

Amid Hawthorn's lack of success during the middle stages of 2005, they really struggled for a presence and a target up forward. Holland was frustrated that he was not being selected, as he was an experienced forward who could perhaps solve the Hawks' problems. 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 so-called "youth policy". Holland indicated his frustration at not being selected and that he was considering talking to other clubs at the end of the season to prolong his career. The very next week, Holland was playing in a game for Box Hill when he dislocated his left shoulder. At that point Holland's future looked in doubt. He made himself available for selection in the final couple of rounds but obviously the Hawks would not give him a farewell game, sticking with the youth policy. At the end of the season, Holland announced his retirement from AFL football. SEN 1116 is a Melbourne radio station focusing on sport, owned by the Pacific Star Network Limited. ... Box Hill Football Club was formed in 1921 as the Box Hill Junior Football Club. ...

External links

• Nick Holland statistics from RLeague