Former Essendon champion, James Hird, was today recognised for his achievements both on and off the field, being awarded both the GNC LiveWell Football Achievement award and the Open Universities Australia Personal Development award at the AFLPA's Madden Medal luncheon.
Having played 253 games with Essendon since his debut in 1992, Hird was a worthy winner of the GNC LiveWell Football Achievement award which recognises the player who has demonstrated the highest level of achievement over his career on the field and in football related endeavours.
His long list of football accomplishments include; five-time Essendon Best & Fairest, five-time All-Australian - 1995,1996, 2000, 2001, 2003, Brownlow Medal 1996, Norm Smith Medal 2000, Essendon Premiership sides in 1998 and 2000 (Captain), Essendon Captain 1998 – 2005, named at number three on Essendon’s all-time list of players.
Hird shared this honour with former Collingwood captain, Nathan Buckley, who also finished with 17 votes – narrowly defeating Mark Ricciuto (15) and Glenn Archer (10).
In his second win for the day, James Hird received the Open Universities Australia Personal Development Award which recognises the player who has demonstrated the greatest level of personal growth and achievement off the field.
Hird’s off-field resume cuts across business, education and family and includes; an Engineering Degree, work on Melbourne’s CityLink project, employment in the stockbroking, airline and media industries before finally matching his experience and skills as a partner in sports marketing and consulting company Gemba.
Hird finished with 15 votes – ahead of Paul Licuria and James Clement (10), and Josh Mahoney (8).
The Madden Medal awards lunch is a new ongoing AFLPA event which aims to farewell and acknowledge the achievements of all retiring and delisted AFL players. The completion of the 2007 season saw 120 senior or rookie listed players leave the AFL to enter the next phase in their lives. All players leaving the AFL system this year were invited to attend the event.
