Andrew Embley (born 27 June 1981) is a former

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by k ...

er who played with the

West Coast Eagles The West Coast Eagles are a professional Australian rules football club based in Perth, Western Australia. The club was founded in 1986 as one of two expansion teams in the Australian Football League (AFL), then known as the Victorian Football ...

in the

Australian Football League The Australian Football League (AFL) is the only fully professional competition of Australian rules football. Through the AFL Commission, the AFL also serves as the sport's governing body and is responsible for controlling the laws of the gam ...

(AFL). He is known for winning the

Norm Smith Medal The Norm Smith Medal is an Australian rules football award presented annually to the player adjudged the best on ground in the Grand Final of the Australian Football League (AFL). Prior to 1990 the competition was known as the Victorian Football ...

as the best player in the 2006 AFL Grand Final. Embley was born in

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

and began his career with in the

West Australian Football League The West Australian Football League (WAFL) is an Australian rules football league based in Perth, Western Australia. The league currently consists of ten teams, which play each other in a 20-round season usually lasting from March to September, ...

(WAFL). He was recruited by West Coast with the 57th pick in the 1998 National Draft. Embley made his debut in the first match of the 1999 season, and was an

AFL Rising Star The AFL Rising Star is an Australian rules football award presented annually to the player adjudged the best young player in the Australian Football League (AFL) for the year. It was first presented in the 1993 season, and was won by Nathan Buc ...

nominee the following year. In 2004, he represented

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

in the

International Rules Series The International Rules Series is a senior men's international rules football competition between the Australia international rules football team (selected by the Australian Football League) and the Ireland international rules football team (s ...

. Embley was one of West Coast's vice-captains between 2004 and 2006, and played a key part in West Coast's victory over in the 2006 AFL Grand Final. He was awarded the

as the best player on the ground. Embley retired at the end of the 2013 season after 250 games for the club. He also kicked 216 goals, finishing second in the club's goal-kicking in 2003 and 2006.

Early life and family

Embley was born in

, Western Australia, to parents Maurice and Anne Embley. His father is of

Anglo-Burmese The Anglo-Burmese people, also known as the Anglo-Burmans, are a community of Eurasians of Burmese and European descent, who emerged as a distinct community through mixed relationships (sometimes permanent, sometimes temporary) between the Brit ...

and

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

descent and was born in

Rangoon Yangon ( my, ရန်ကုန်; ; ), formerly spelled as Rangoon, is the capital of the Yangon Region and the largest city of Myanmar (also known as Burma). Yangon served as the capital of Myanmar until 2006, when the military government ...

, emigrating to Australia in 1964 with his family after the 1962 Burmese coup and settling in

Victoria Park Victoria Park may refer to: Places Australia * Victoria Park Nature Reserve, a protected area in Northern Rivers region, New South Wales * Victoria Park, Adelaide, a park and racecourse * Victoria Park, Brisbane, a public park and former golf ...

. His mother, originally from

Ballarat Ballarat ( ) is a city in the Central Highlands (Victoria), Central Highlands of Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. At the 2021 Census, Ballarat had a population of 116,201, making it the third largest city in Victoria. Estimated resid ...

, is of

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

and

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

descent. His father played reserves football for

, and also represented Western Australia in the 1973 national junior athletic championships in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

. Embley's brothers James (17 games) and Michael (8 games) have both played football for the

Swan Districts Football Club The Swan Districts Football Club, nicknamed the Swans, is an Australian rules football club playing in the West Australian Football League (WAFL) and WAFL Women's (WAFLW). The club is based at Bassendean Oval, in Bassendean, an eastern suburb ...

. Michael Embley also was rookie-listed by West Coast for three seasons from 2004 to 2006, but did not play a senior game for the club. Along with his brothers, Embley attended

Trinity College Trinity College may refer to: Australia * Trinity Anglican College, an Anglican coeducational primary and secondary school in , New South Wales * Trinity Catholic College, Auburn, a coeducational school in the inner-western suburbs of Sydney, New ...

East Perth East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sunrise, Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from ...

, and played junior football for the Bassendean Junior Football Club. He made his WAFL debut for Swan Districts in 1998,Andrew Embley
– WAFLOnline player profile. Retrieved 3 March 2012. and was recruited by the West Coast Eagles with the 57th pick overall in the 1998 National Draft.

Football career

Embley made his debut for West Coast in the first round of the 1999 season, a

Western Derby The Western Derby () is the name given to the Australian rules football match between the West Coast Eagles and the Fremantle Dockers, who both participate in the Australian Football League (AFL). As both teams are based in Perth, the capital ...

against , gathering nine disposals and taking three marks. He played nine games in total for the season, as well as 13 WAFL games for as part of an

affiliation Affiliation or affiliate may refer to: * Affiliate (commerce), a legal form of entity relationship used in Business Law * Affiliation (family law), a legal form of family relationship * Affiliate marketing * Affiliate network or affiliation platf ...

with West Coast which lasted until 2000. Embley played 28 games over the next two seasons, mainly as a half-forward flanker, scoring 29 goals including three four-goal hauls.Andrew Embley
- AFLTables. He was nominated for the 2000 AFL Rising Star for his efforts against in

round 14 Round or rounds may refer to: Mathematics and science * The contour of a closed curve or surface with no sharp corners, such as an ellipse, circle, rounded rectangle, cant, or sphere * Rounding, the shortening of a number to reduce the numbe ...

. With

John Worsfold John Richard Worsfold (born 25 September 1968) is a former Australian rules football coach and player. He was the senior coach of the Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL) between October 2015 and September 2020. He pr ...

having replaced Ken Judge as coach of the club prior to the start of the 2002 season, Embley established himself as a regular part of the Eagles' line-up over the next two seasons, playing in losing elimination finals in both the

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A des ...

and 2004 finals series. He kicked 31 goals in 2003 to finish second in the Eagles' goalkicking behind Phil Matera (62 goals). A 25-disposal, four-goal game against in round eight, 2003, earned him three

Brownlow Medal The Charles Brownlow Trophy, better known as the Brownlow Medal (and informally as "Charlie"), is awarded to the " best and fairest" player in the Australian Football League (AFL) during the home-and-away season, as determined by votes cast by ...

votes, the first of his career. Embley was named vice-captain of West Coast for the 2004 season, and also represented

in that year's

. Embley played 18 games for the Eagles in the

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...

season, including all of the Eagles' finals and the Grand Final loss to . He played 23 out of a possible 24 games in the Eagles' 2006 season, playing mainly across the half-forward line and

wings A wing is a type of fin that produces lift while moving through air or some other fluid. Accordingly, wings have streamlined cross-sections that are subject to aerodynamic forces and act as airfoils. A wing's aerodynamic efficiency is expresse ...

. Embley also kicked 31 goals for the season to be the club's second leading-goalkicker behind

Quinten Lynch Quinten Peter Lynch (born 24 January 1983) is a former Australian rules footballer who played with the Collingwood Football Club and the West Coast Eagles in the Australian Football League (AFL). Originally from Grass Patch, a rural farming co ...

(65 goals). Despite injuries late in the season, Embley played a key role in the team's successful final series. He averaged 26 possessions and kicked five goals across the Eagles' three finals matches, despite playing the semi-final against the with a paralysed vocal chord. He took a game-saving mark in the preliminary final against in a game the Eagles won by 10 points. He was awarded the 2006

as the best-on-ground player in the Eagles' Grand Final win over for his 26-disposal, two-goal effort. Embley played only 13 out of a possible 24 games during the 2007 season, missing seven games between rounds 6 and 12 and four games at the end of the season due to a hamstring injury. He was dropped as Eagles vice-captain for the 2007 season. Embley played 42 out of a possible 44 games during the

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

and 2009 seasons in a shift to a more midfield role. He played his 150th game for the Eagles against the in Round 6, 2008 in a 60-point loss, earning life membership of the club. He received three Brownlow votes for a best-on-ground performance against the Western Bulldogs in Round 19, 2009, getting 32 possessions and scoring four goals. Embley played 20 games in

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

, including his 200th game in the AFL against in Round 10. After a strong pre-season, Embley started the 2011 season with two best-on-ground efforts against and , receiving some credit for West Coast's strong start to the season after a wooden spoon the previous year. The round eight

against was the only match Embley missed through the entire season, playing 24 out of a possible 25 games, and also recording several personal bests, including career-high numbers in disposals, tackles, and Brownlow votes. In the

2012 NAB Cup The 2012 NAB Cup was the Australian Football League (AFL) pre-season competition played before the 2012 home-and-away season. The games were played between 17 February and 18 March 2012. The competition format was changed for the second cons ...

, Embley injured his left shoulder, but played the first two games of the

regular season In an organized sports league, a typical season is the portion of one year in which regulated games of the sport are in session: for example, in Major League Baseball the season lasts approximately from the last week of March to the last week of Se ...

before opting to have surgery, missing much of the Eagles' season as a result. He returned to football via Swan Districts, his first WAFL match since the 2002 season. Having successful tested the durability of his shoulder, Embley returned to West Coast's side for the round 20 match against , starting as the substitute. He played every remaining game of West Coast's season, recording 22 disposals and four goals in the club's elimination final defeat of . However, in the following week's qualifying final loss to , Embley turned the ball over late in the game, resulting in a Collingwood goal, with the ''

Herald Sun The ''Herald Sun'' is a conservative daily tabloid newspaper based in Melbourne, Australia, published by The Herald and Weekly Times, a subsidiary of News Corp Australia, itself a subsidiary of the Murdoch owned News Corp. The ''Herald S ...

'' describing him as "at one of his lowest ebbs". At the end of the 2012 season, he signed a further one-year extension to his contract with West Coast. In what was to be his final season at AFL level, Embley was again troubled by injury, straining a hamstring in the

NAB Cup In the Australian Football League (AFL), previously the Victorian Football League (VFL), the pre-season competition, known during its history by a variety of sponsored names and most recently as the NAB Cup, was an annual Australian rules foot ...

and missing another three weeks with a foot injury early in the season. He also struggled for consistency during the season—of his eleven matches during the season, he played three consecutive matches only once. Embley spent portions of the season in the WAFL, averaging 23 disposals over five games for Swan Districts. When he did play for West Coast, he was often used as substitute, especially towards the end of the season. Embley announced his retirement towards the end of the 2013 season, retiring at the same time as Adam Selwood, a premiership teammate. The pair, who had not been regular selections in the team throughout the season, were selected for what was described as "farewell game" in the team's final match of the season, at home against Adelaide. The match was Embley's 250th at AFL level, and he became the seventh West Coast player to reach that milestone.

Statistics

: , - style="background-color: #EAEAEA" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shootin ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 32 , , 9 , , 3 , , 1 , , 41 , , 17 , , 58 , , 17 , , 4 , , 0.3 , , 0.1 , , 4.6 , , 1.9 , , 6.4 , , 1.9 , , 0.4 , , 0 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 32 , , 13 , , 10 , , 8 , , 87 , , 42 , , 129 , , 47 , , 19 , , 0.8 , , 0.6 , , 6.7 , , 3.2 , , 9.9 , , 3.6 , , 1.5 , , 0 , - style="background:#eaeaea;" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a Participants in ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 32 , , 15 , , 15 , , 11 , , 94 , , 78 , , 172 , , 60 , , 12 , , 1.0 , , 0.7 , , 6.3 , , 5.2 , , 11.5 , , 4.0 , , 0.8 , , 0 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 32 , , 18 , , 14 , , 12 , , 122 , , 64 , , 186 , , 66 , , 34 , , 0.8 , , 0.7 , , 6.8 , , 3.6 , , 10.3 , , 3.7 , , 1.9 , , 0 , - style="background:#eaeaea;" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

, style="text-align:center;", , 32 , , 19 , , 31 , , 19 , , 237 , , 105 , , 342 , , 104 , , 28 , , 1.6 , , 1.0 , , 12.5 , , 5.5 , , 18.0 , , 5.5 , , 1.5 , , 5 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 32 , , 17 , , 14 , , 12 , , 211 , , 112 , , 323 , , 89 , , 45 , , 0.8 , , 0.7 , , 12.4 , , 6.6 , , 19.0 , , 5.2 , , 2.6 , , 4 , - style="background:#eaeaea;" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

, style="text-align:center;", , 32 , , 18 , , 24 , , 21 , , 260 , , 115 , , 375 , , 102 , , 37 , , 1.3 , , 1.2 , , 14.4 , , 6.4 , , 20.8 , , 5.7 , , 2.1 , , 8 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center;" ,

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 32 , , 23 , , 31 , , 29 , , 313 , , 130 , , 443 , , 138 , , 33 , , 1.3 , , 1.3 , , 13.6 , , 5.7 , , 19.3 , , 6.0 , , 1.4 , , 5 , - style="background:#eaeaea;" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 32 , , 13 , , 10 , , 12 , , 166 , , 100 , , 266 , , 65 , , 23 , , 0.8 , , 0.9 , , 12.3 , , 7.7 , , 20.5 , , 5.0 , , 1.8 , , 0 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

, style="text-align:center;", , 32 , , 21 , , 7 , , 13 , , 311 , , 181 , , 492 , , 156 , , 41 , , 0.3 , , 0.6 , , 14.8 , , 8.6 , , 23.4 , , 7.4 , , 2.0 , , 0 , - style="background:#eaeaea;" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 32 , , 21 , , 16 , , 12 , , 292 , , 180 , , 472 , , 102 , , 53 , , 0.8 , , 0.6 , , 13.9 , , 8.6 , , 22.5 , , 4.9 , , 2.5 , , 4 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

, style="text-align:center;", , 32 , , 20 , , 11 , , 6 , , 264 , , 200 , , 464 , , 105 , , 69 , , 0.6 , , 0.3 , , 13.2 , , 10.0 , , 23.2 , , 5.3 , , 3.5 , , 3 , - style="background:#eaeaea;" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 32 , , 24 , , 17 , , 19 , , 312 , , 206 , , 518 , , 113 , , 104 , , 0.7 , , 0.8 , , 13.0 , , 8.6 , , 21.2 , , 4.7 , , 4.3 , , 11 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 32 , , 8 , , 6 , , 2 , , 97 , , 42 , , 139 , , 31 , , 16 , , 0.8 , , 0.3 , , 12.1 , , 5.3 , , 17.4 , , 3.9 , , 2.0 , , 0 , - style="background:#eaeaea;" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 32 , , 11 , , 7 , , 3 , , 101 , , 41 , , 142 , , 34 , , 21 , , 0.6 , , 0.3 , , 9.2 , , 3.7 , , 12.9 , , 3.1 , , 1.9 , , 0 , - class="sortbottom" ! colspan=3, Career ! 250 ! 216 ! 182 ! 2908 ! 1613 ! 4521 ! 1229 ! 539 ! 0.9 ! 0.7 ! 11.6 ! 6.5 ! 18.1 ! 4.9 ! 2.2 ! 40

Personal life and post football

Embley married Rayne Ella Bryant, the daughter of

Kevin Bryant Kevin Ronald Bryant (born 8 July 1955) is a former Australian rules footballer who played with in the Western Australian National Football League (WANFL) and North Melbourne in the Victorian Football League The Victorian Football League ...

, who played for and , in December 2006. After 10 years of marriage the couple separated. The couple have three children together, a daughter and two sons. Embley co-owned restaurant, ''Beluga'', in Claremont, with

Dean Cox Dean Michael Cox (born 1 August 1981) is a former Australian rules footballer and current assistant coach of the Sydney Swans who played for the West Coast Eagles in the Australian Football League (AFL). Originally from Dampier, Western Austr ...

, which opened in April 2011. He is working with Catalano's Seafood in Perth, in sales and doing regular cooking demonstrations. Embley is currently part o
Triple M Perth
Rush Hour Drive show with Michelle Anderson and the Triple M Perth AFL call team with Lachie Reid,

Dennis Cometti Dennis John Cometti (born 26 March 1949) is an Australian retired sports commentator, player and coach of Australian rules football. In a career spanning 51 years, his smooth voice, dry humour and quick wit became his trademark. Until his reti ...

and

Xavier Ellis Xavier John Ellis (born 28 February 1988) is a media personality and former professional Australian rules football player who played with the Hawthorn Football Club and West Coast Eagles in the Australian Football League. Over 125 senior matc ...

and producer Tom Atkinson. Embley married Caitlyn Fogarty on 5 November 2021 in Perth. She is the daughter of businessman Brett Fogarty and 2020 West Australian Australian of the Year Annie Fogarty. Fogarty leads the family'
Fogarty Foundation
supporting education program in Western Australia.

References

External links

*
Andrew Embley player profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Embley, Andrew 1981 births Anglo-Burmese people Australian people of Anglo-Burmese descent Australian people of Irish descent Australian people of Italian descent Australian people of Spanish descent Claremont Football Club players Living people Norm Smith Medal winners People educated at Trinity College, Perth Sportsmen from Western Australia Swan Districts Football Club players West Coast Eagles players West Coast Eagles Premiership players Australian rules footballers from Perth, Western Australia Australia international rules football team players One-time VFL/AFL Premiership players