Harry Sheezel

Harry Sheezel (born 13 October 2004) is an Australian rules footballer who plays as a versatile defender-midfielder for the North Melbourne Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL).

Drafted by North Melbourne with the third pick in the 2022 AFL National Draft, Sheezel debuted in the opening round of the 2023 season against West Coast and featured in all 23 matches that year, a feat achieved by few first-year players. In his rookie campaign, he secured the AFL Rising Star award for the league's best young player and won North Melbourne's Syd Barker Medal as the club's best and fairest, joining an elite group of debutants to claim the honour. Sheezel's ability to accumulate disposals, gain metres, and contribute across half-back and midfield positions has marked him as a cornerstone talent for the rebuilding Kangaroos, with subsequent accolades including the 2024 AFL Coaches Association Best Young Player award and a tie for the 2025 Syd Barker Medal alongside teammate Tristan Xerri. By mid-2025, he had recorded standout performances such as 54 disposals in a single game, underscoring his elite ball-winning prowess.

Harry Sheezel was born on 13 October 2004 in Melbourne, Australia, into a Jewish family residing in the city's inner south-eastern suburbs. His parents, Dean and Lana Sheezel, supported his early athletic pursuits, with Dean coaching him for five years at the AJAX Junior Football Club, Melbourne's only Jewish football club. The family observed traditional Jewish customs annually, though Sheezel has described himself as not particularly religious.

Sheezel attended Mount Scopus Memorial College, Melbourne's largest Jewish day school, throughout his education, immersing him in the local Jewish community from a young age. His family originally supported the Hawthorn Football Club, reflecting common allegiances among Melbourne's Jewish sports enthusiasts during his childhood. Dean exemplified dedication through personal feats, such as completing two Ironman triathlons while Sheezel was young, instilling values of discipline and endurance. Sheezel has siblings, including sisters, contributing to a supportive household environment focused on athletic development.

His introduction to Australian rules football occurred at age five through the Auskick program at AJAX Football Club, Melbourne's primary Jewish community club in the inner south-eastern suburbs. Coached initially by Jason Wrobel in Auskick sessions starting around, Sheezel progressed through AJAX's junior ranks, earning best-and-fairest awards in underage teams from 2012 to 2016. At age six, he briefly experimented with soccer but returned to football at his father Dean's encouragement, honing skills that distinguished him early.