""I feel a great sense of pride and satisfaction that I am about to play 200 games. I think any player that gets to play 200 games is very proud of the moment and very proud of what they have achieved in the their career.""
Hird chatted about his 199 game career yesterday at the Essendon Football Club Hall of Fame. This is what the skipper had to say:
Contract:
Hopefully I have at least another year to go and see what happens after that. I have a contract to the end of 2005 and we will assess it after that.
Injuries:
1999 was my hardest year. I was captain of the club and I had played to the end of 1999 season about 15 games in three years, which isn’t a great output. You start to wonder and have a lot of people doubting you. 2000 was a big moment for me in coming back and playing 20 games that year and proving to myself more than anyone that I could still play good football.
Doubters:
I have always had a self-belief that whatever happened I could always come back and play footy. People keep bringing up the injuries and doubts, but I always believed that I could play some good football.
First game:
Against St Kilda in 1992 at Waverley. I played on Danny Frawley and Russell Morris. I kicked a goal and Essendon lost. Brad Fox nearly got choked to death that day by Tony Lockett.
Highlight:
The 2000 premiership. It was an amazing year and an amazing group of players to play football with. We had great experience in Dean Wallis, Michael Long and Darren Bewick. We had great young kids in the two Johnsons, Solly and Ramanauskas coming through. We had a great mix and it was great to be part of.
Lowest point:
The morning after the Richmond game in 1999 when I re-injured my foot. I think it was the Easter weekend. I was renovating my house and we just had a heaps of hedges delivered. I was trying to move them with a broken foot. I sat on the ground and thought where am I going with this. I thought is my career going no where and what am I doing to myself and my family and also the Essendon Football Club. I was being paid a lot of money and I wasn’t doing much, so was it worth calling it quits for everyone and getting on with it. That was probably my worst moment.
Game that stands-out:
The semi final in 1996 where we played West Coast. I had a pretty good game that day and I was proud of that final. Obviously the grand final in 2000. I didn’t win the game off my own boot, but to win a Norm Smith Medal and be part of a premiership team was a special moment in my career.
The adulation:
I am a fairly private person. The adulation obviously gives you a high self-esteem and makes you feel good about yourself at times, but the best moment for me during my career is after the game when I get home and just sit down with my wife and kids. That is probably the times rather than the applause, the times that are special to me are with my family after the game.
Who has been more important to his career:
I would have to say my wife and that is not putting Kevin Sheedy down at all. Sheeds has been extremely important to my career but he is not at the dinner table with me every night and not in the bedroom with me every night.
Any person who goes through their career loves their coach and loves what they tell you, but you have to say that the person closest to you is the most important. She doesn’t tell me how to play footy, she never has. For moral and all sorts of support she has been the one.
There have been others as well – my family, my mum, my dad, my kids and Sheeds is right up there in those people.
What is the main thing that Kevin Sheedy has taught you:
When things goes wrong you turn them into a positive as soon as possible. The best thing about Kevin Sheedy is that when you have had an injury or a loss or things go wrong, you are positive straight away and that is the biggest thing I have learnt from him. In footy if you said that the only way to be successful every year is to win a premiership, then we have only been successful twice in my career. You have to get back on the horse and be positive after that and he is very good at that.
Best player he has seen:
Michael Voss would have to come close, but it is hard to say. Wayne Carey is a standout but it is hard to say whether Buckley, Voss, Carey, who is better and by how much. I would say Carey is, but is he better by 2%, 10%? The three of those guys are the standout in great players that I have watched and been against.
A player that you would love to go into the trenches with you:
Dean Wallis would be the guy that I would love to be next to me when things go wrong and probably Dean Solomon as well.
The Scott McLaren situation:
The umpires were a difficult situation to deal with because of the public criticism but it was brought on by myself. The foot and injuries you can sort of feel sorry for yourself a bit because there is nothing you can do about it, but I couldn’t really afford to feel sorry for myself because there was only one bloke to blame and that was myself. I don’t see that as a difficult thing to get through. I saw it as something that I did that was a bit naive and a bit stupid. It think everyone has come out of it alright and I don’t think the game has been tarnished too much.""
The AFL:
I am very proud of being an AFL player and being part of the AFL system. I think it is a great group and the day I retire I will be very sad.
Future:
If I stopped now I would be very happy with what I have achieved and very happy with what has happened in my career. But as I said you always want more than there is and as I said I would love one more premiership.
It (career) is definitely closer to the end than the start. I enjoy playing but I will enjoy the end as well – I am not frightened of finishing footy. When the time is right I will wrap it up. I am very proud of being captain of the Essendon Football Club and playing for this club and I have really enjoyed it, but when it does finish I will be happy as well.
When I finish playing, I would like to have a break for six months to a year. Get away and clear my head so I can work out what I want to do. Footy is so consuming it is hard to think about anything else. Running through your head all the time is football so it will be nice to have a bit of time away and contemplate what the rest of life has to offer.
Hird’s Heroics:
It is the must see documentary for all Bomber Fans! Our latest Engine Room documentary Hird's Heroics celebrates James Hird's 200-game milestone. We speak with the man himself, Mark Harvey, John Quinn and teammate Mark McVeigh. Don't miss Hird’s Heroics.
