Chris Yarran

Christopher "Chris" Yarran (born 19 December 1990) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Carlton Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He was also listed with the Richmond Football Club but did not play a senior match.

Yarran is an indigenous footballer who played his junior years in Western Australia. He was primarily a small forward in his junior days, but occasionally spent time in the midfield and defence.As a seventeen-year-old, Yarran gained selection into the Swan Districts senior team, where he played thirteen games and kicked thirty-nine goals, including seven on debut and eight in three finals matches. He played with Western Australia in the under 18s championships and kicked eight goals in four games. He was selected to join the Australian Institute of Sport-AFL academy in the 2006/07 intake and captained a team from the Clontarf Football Academy in a game against a visiting South African under 19s side in February 2007.

Yarran is the cousin of former Fremantle player Shane Yarran.

Yarran was a noted talent and was expected to be drafted high, with some considering him to be the one of the most talented players available in the draft. He would ultimately be selected by the Carlton Football Club with its first round selection (sixth overall) in the 2008 national draft. At draft time, Carlton coach Brett Ratten said that Yarran could assist fellow small forward Eddie Betts, and help to reduce the defensive pressure on then full-forward Brendan Fevola.

Yarran played his first senior game for Carlton in round 7, 2009 against Fremantle. He played sporadically for Carlton during the season, managing six games, but played most of his games with Carlton's Victorian Football League (VFL) affiliate team, the Northern Bullants, including a five-goal performance in the VFL preliminary final. In 2010, Yarran played sixteen games for Carlton, and earned an AFL Rising Star nomination. Throughout that season, Yarran formed part of a short-lived forward-line structure consisting of tall full-forward Setanta Ó hAilpín, and three small forwards (Betts, Yarran, and Yarran's Swan Districts teammate Jeff Garlett) who became known as "Setanta's Little Helpers".