Emma Zielke (born 19 April 1988) is a retired Australian rules footballer who played for the

Brisbane Lions The Brisbane Lions is a professional Australian rules football club based in Brisbane, Queensland, that plays in the Australian Football League (AFL). The club was formed in late 1996 via a merger of the Melbourne-based 1883 foundation VFL c ...

in the

AFL Women's AFL Women's (AFLW) is Australia's national semi-professional Australian rules football in Australia, Australian rules football league for women's Australian rules football, female players. The 2017 AFL Women's season, first season of the league ...

competition. She was the club's inaugural AFLW team captain, leading the club in 2017–2018 and 2020–2021.

Early life and state league football

Zielke was born and raised in Bundaberg,

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , establishe ...

. She grew up a passionate

Brisbane Broncos The Brisbane Broncos Rugby League Football Club Ltd., commonly referred to as the Broncos, is an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Brisbane, Queensland. Founded in April 1987, the Broncos play in Australia's elite c ...

fan and played soccer from the age of 6. Following high school graduation, Zielke moved to

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Queensland, and the third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of approximately 2.6 million. Brisbane lies at the centre of the South ...

to pursue greater opportunities in soccer but quickly lost passion for the sport and tried her hand at Australian rules football after being convinced by friends to try the sport. She first played Aussie rules in 2008 at the age of 19 for her local club Morningside. She was selected to participate in the women's AFL high-performance camp in 2010. As part of the program she played in a curtain-raiser exhibition match ahead of the round 12, 2010 AFL match between and . After the team at Morningside folded, Zielke approached the Coorparoo Football Club about establishing a women's team in 2013, to play in the

AFL Queensland Women's League There are five senior women's AFL leagues in Queensland governed by AFL Queensland. The Queensland Australian Football League Women's (QAFLW) is the highest league in the State and provides elite women footballers the opportunity to play in ...

(QAWFL). She was the club's inaugural captain. In 2013, a broken arm forced Zielke to miss a considerable period of football, including a chance to play in the first women's AFL exhibition match. She returned to football late in the season and captained Coorparoo to a state-league premiership. She kicked a goal after the siren to win the game. In 2014 and 2015, she captained her second and third consecutive QAWFL premierships, while also being awarded the league's best and fairest in both years. Zielke moved again in 2016, this time to the University of Queensland side competing again in the QAWFL. She was named in the league's team of the year at the conclusion of the season. In 2014, Zielke was drafted by ahead of the years women's AFL exhibition match. She was not retained after that year's match and would subsequently re-nominate for the draft in 2015. She was selected again, this time by the . She later played in and captained the Brisbane Lion's representative side in the 2016 exhibition series. Zielke has captained Queensland at three

AFL Women's National Championship The AFL Women's National Championship was the premier national and international competition in Women's Australian rules football. The championship was held every year between 1992 and 2015. The tournament was organised by the sport's governing ...

AFL Women's career

Zielke was signed as a priority access player by in August 2016, ahead of the inaugural

season in 2017. She completed a reduced pre-season ahead of 2017, after breaking her foot in September 2016. Zielke was named the club's inaugural AFL Women's captain in January 2017. Zielke was highlighted as "Player of the Week" for her round 3 performance in the 2017 AFL Women's season. It was the second round in a row that a Brisbane Lions player received this honor from the

AFL Players Association The AFL Players Association (AFL PA, also simply known as AFL Players) is the representative body for all current and past professional Australian Football League (AFL) and AFL Women's (AFLW) players. The AFL PA promotes and protects its membe ...

. At the end of the season, Zielke was nominated by her teammates for the AFLW Players’ Most Valuable Player Award, and was also listed in the 2017 40-player All-Australian squad. On 17 May 2017, Brisbane announced they has signed Zielke for the 2018 season. In April 2021, following Brisbane's 18-point Grand Final victory over

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

to claim the

2021 AFL Women's season The 2021 AFL Women's season was the fifth season of the AFL Women's competition, the highest level senior Australian rules football competition in Australia. The season featured fourteen clubs, ran from 28 January until 17 April, and comprised ...

premiership. The Emma Zielke Medal, the medal awarded to the best and fairest player in the

, was named after her in August 2021, due to her work in pioneering women's football in Queensland.

Personal life

Off-field, Zielke works as an admin support officer at the Brisbane Lions. She also has worked as an assistant coach of the Queensland under 18 youth girls team.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Zielke, Emaa 1988 births Living people Brisbane Lions (AFLW) players Australian rules footballers from Queensland Sportswomen from Queensland Sportspeople from Brisbane