Playing careers in the AFL don’t last forever. On average, players are either retired and delisted by approximately 25 years of age.

After 69 AFL games across two clubs, Nathan Hrovat's retirement at the end of 2019 saw him match the average delisting age almost perfectly.

Starting his career at the Western Bulldogs, Hrovat was a part of the Bulldogs’ list who went on to experience premiership glory in 2016, though he unfortunately played only four senior games in that successful season.

Crossing to Arden Street before the 2017 campaign, Hrovat's 22 games in his first season at the club were the most he managed in any season in his career, thanks to persistent injuries.

Since his retirement from senior football, Hrovat has moved into football administration where he has gone from strength to strength, becoming North’s Head of Women’s Football ahead of the 2022 campaign.

This is North Media’s 'Where Are They Now?'

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You were selected with the 21st pick in the 2012 draft by the Bulldogs. Every player has a different draft experience - what was yours like?

It was very exciting. Like most kids I just wanted to get drafted. There’s not necessarily any preference on where you go and how high you go or how low you go. The excitement is all about actually getting drafted and getting the opportunity to play AFL. I had a few conversations with North in my draft year, and you have to be open to going anywhere because it’s a national draft and it’s a bit of a lottery. I certainly didn’t go into the draft with any expectation of where I might land, but I did have a few conversations with North and they were always very positive in nature and content. If North had have picked me up in the draft I would have been just as excited to have been drafted by them as I was to be drafted by the Bulldogs. 

Your last year at the Dogs was the year they won both the VFL and AFL premierships. You played the last four games of the home and away season but missed out on finals, and then didn’t play in the VFL premiership. Even though you were an integral part of that group and that success, was it difficult to not be playing every week, especially when you look back on just how historic that team turned out to be?

Yes and no. No AFL player goes out onto the track to not try and play every week. I think everyone that’s on a list goes out there to play AFL football. Nobody goes out there with any other mindset. From that perspective it’s always disappointing when you don’t get selected for any game. Whether you’re the best player on the list or the 45th player on the list you want to go out and play every game possible. It’s always going to be disappointing. I think reflecting on it, being part of that group in general was so special and such an exciting time. What that group was able to achieve was clearly remarkable and will go down in the history books. I think being there, being a part of it and experiencing a premiership year, albeit not playing personally, I think it was a fantastic experience.

You opted for a change of scenery, and by all reports turned down Gold Coast and Carlton to come to North. What prompted that move?

I think I’d always had a gut feeling that North would be a really good place to play football, and I trusted that gut feel. I had a little bit of interest from a couple of other clubs. I always felt that North were really keen, and I was really keen to go there. It just felt like a really good fit. Even with all the on-field change that was happening with the likes of Boomer and Nick Dal Santo finishing before I got there, I didn’t really feel any extra pressure coming in. As an athlete you can’t concern yourself with what’s going on outside of the team and outside your bubble that much. I just wanted to come in and play some consistent football, and hopefully contribute to the team in any way I could.

You had your fair share of injuries and finished up your playing days on 69 games after being delisted at the end of 2019. Is there ever any element of ‘what might have been’ had you elected to keep going with your playing career?

Not at all. I think I said this immediately after being delisted in a podcast interview. I’m extremely grateful for what AFL has provided, and I’ve been extremely grateful for the friendships, the connections, the networks, and everything that’s come with being an elite athlete and being in the AFL program. I was really comfortable at the end of 2019 to finish up, and I was probably more passionate about a few things outside of footy I wanted to pursue a bit more, so for me it felt like the time was right. I never had any intentions to keep going at all. To be honest I haven’t really looked back.

I remember listening to that podcast as a fan and thinking how good the insight was. What prompted you to want to give that sort of insight on what had the potential to be a very emotional day?

It was probably underpinned by the fact I was really comfortable with how things finished up, and I think that’s a critical part of it. It would clearly be very different if there were the emotions involved surrounding if you wanted to continue with your career. I think I was in a position where I was comfortable with how things had finished, and I didn’t have any intentions of doing the podcast. (Former GM of Media) Heath O’Loughlin just grabbed me on the way out and asked me if I was up for a quick chat about that experience and what it’s like to get delisted. Like I said, I’m extremely grateful and I’ll always be grateful for the opportunities afforded to me through the AFL, the Western Bulldogs and North Melbourne. I was really comfortable talking about that whole experience, and it was a very human perspective on it. I think at times that can get lost around a lot of areas of elite sport. At the end of the day athletes are humans and they have emotions like everyone else. We all go through the same ups and downs. On reflection I didn’t have any strong intention of doing anything post delisting, but it just worked.

You’ve had a couple of off-field roles at North since your playing days finished up. How did you set about preparing for life after footy while you were playing, and how conscious were you that there’s always potential for a playing career to not last into your 30s like it does for some?

It’s probably something I understood better as my career progressed. I was always very conscious about what I was going to do outside and then after footy. It’s not a forever thing. I took a very traditional pathway in studying while I played footy, and the end of my degree coincided with my delisting which was actually a bit of a blessing looking back on it now. I was mindful of little things like continuing to build out my network and finding what I was passionate about outside of footy while I was playing footy to make sure my exit from the game was a lot easier than if I’d tried to do it all over a few months. I was always conscious of the fact footy doesn’t last forever and it’s going to end whether you like it or not. You need to prepare for it and give yourself the best opportunity to transition out of it really efficiently. That probably underpinned the reason why I did a lot of work around studying, networking and setting myself up outside of footy.

How did the move into the admin side of the club come about? 

It was fairly quick how it all happened. I took a bit of time to chat with some different people about what I might want to do outside of football, and what was available both outside of footy and the footy club, as well as inside the industry. I’m clearly very passionate about sport and I really love being able to merge business, management and sport. After some conversations with the club something came up in football operations that I thought would be very interesting work. From that there was a bit of a ripple effect. I was offered a role in our people and culture team, so I worked across footy operations, special projects and human resources with our people and culture team for my first year outside of footy. That was fantastic because it gave me perspective on not only football operations, but also a lot about people management. Then I was lucky enough, and it was a bit of a sliding doors moment, but Matt Bolitho who’s now head of compliance and football projects at the AFL, he moved out of his role at the time and the role was offered to me which was really exciting.

So were you targeting a type of role in footy ops from a long way out, or is it more the case of taking opportunity after opportunity and finding yourself in something you really enjoy?

It wasn’t necessarily something I specifically set out to chase. I made a bit of an effort when I left the game to explore a bit, particularly in the first 18 months. I was mindful not to close any doors, I wanted to take on new roles, take on new opportunities and see what stuck and what didn’t. I always found footy ops really interesting so to be able to transition straight into that from playing was excellent, but then the people and culture stuff around management was eye-opening too, and aspects of both have filtered into the role I’m in now.

Even though you don’t hold a coaching or development role, do you think your knowledge and experience of not just being a player, but being a North Melbourne player, can offer some of the girls a bit of extra insight into the game and the club?

In all honesty I don’t dabble into coaching at all. We’ve got a fantastic group of coaches in our program. We have Darren Crocker who needs no introduction, he’s got a fantastic coaching resume. Rhy Harwood is incredibly knowledgeable about the game, Brad Murphy, Zac Read, Natasha Hardy, Lauren Spark, Mark Kovacevic. Our coaching group and our coaching department is fantastic. I don’t get involved at all, I don’t need to be involved. They really drive the coaching and development of our players and they’re doing it really, really well.

Obviously every team goes into a new campaign with the goal of winning a premiership, but what are some of the goals we have for the team outside of that for 2022?

Like you said, everyone sets out to win the premiership, and we’re no different. We want to have a really strong season and put ourselves in a position where we can be really competitive. Outside of that our mission is to create an environment where our players are able to feel safe and connected, and allows them to develop as people and players. It brings it back to our culture and ability to create an environment that our players, coaches and staff want to come to.

Usually I finish off by asking whoever I’m talking to to sum up their time at the club, but you’re obviously still here. So that sort of changes to how would you sum up your time at the club so far?

I’m still at the footy club so I’ve clearly really enjoyed my time so far. I’m thoroughly enjoying what I’m doing at the club now, and the people I work with in particular. I’ve loved it. I’ve loved every minute of being at this football club, and I love everything this football club stands for. I can’t wait to see what this club can achieve in both its men’s and women’s program in the future.

Calling all past players

The club is seeking past players, who have represented North Melbourne at any level, to be part of the Kangaroos' past players' association. If you are a past player, or know someone that would like to be part of the Association, please fill in the form below and a representative from the club will be in touch with further information.