Andrew Embley


Andrew Embley is a former Australian rules footballer who played with the West Coast Eagles in the Australian Football League. He is known for winning the Norm Smith Medal as the best player in the 2006 AFL Grand Final.
Embley was born in Perth and began his career with in the West Australian Football League. 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 nominee the following year. In 2004, he represented Australia in the International Rules Series. 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 Norm Smith Medal 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 Perth, Western Australia, to parents Maurice and Anne Embley. His father is of Anglo-Burmese and Spanish descent and was born in Rangoon, emigrating to Australia in 1964 with his family after the 1962 Burmese coup and settling in Victoria Park. His mother, originally from Ballarat, is of Italian and Irish descent. His father played reserves football for Perth, and also represented Western Australia in the 1973 national junior athletic championships in Melbourne. Embley's brothers James and Michael have both played football for the Swan Districts Football Club. 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 in East Perth, and played junior football for the Bassendean Junior Football Club. He made his WAFL debut for Swan Districts in 1998, 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 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 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. He was nominated for the 2000 AFL Rising Star for his efforts against in round 14.
With John Worsfold 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 and 2004 finals series. He kicked 31 goals in 2003 to finish second in the Eagles' goalkicking behind Phil Matera. A 25-disposal, four-goal game against in round eight, 2003, earnt him three Brownlow Medal votes, the first of his career. Embley was named vice-captain of West Coast for the 2004 season, and also represented Australia in that year's International Rules Series. Embley played 18 games for the Eagles in the 2005 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. Embley also kicked 31 goals for the season to be the club's second leading-goalkicker behind Quinten Lynch. 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 Norm Smith Medal 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 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, 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 Western Derby 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, Embley injured his left shoulder, but played the first two games of the regular season 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 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 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

! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | 1999
! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | 2000
! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | 2001
! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | 2002
! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | 2003
! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | 2004
! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | 2005
! scope="row" style="text-align:center;" | 2006
! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | 2007
! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | 2008
! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | 2009
! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | 2010
! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | 2011
! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | 2012
! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | 2013
! 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

Embley married Rayne Ella Bryant, the daughter of Kevin Bryant, who played for and, in December 2006. Subsequently, Rayne has left Embley and has gone back to her maiden name. The couple have three children together, a daughter and two sons.
Outside of football, Embley co-owns a seafood restaurant, Beluga, in Claremont, with Dean Cox, which opened in April 2011. He also operates a cooking demonstration business, Cooking With Embers, and participated in the inaugural edition of Celebrity Chef in 2011, a charity cooking event.
Embley also has a strong passion in property investment. He is currently the business development manager of Burswood-based property investment consulting firm Investwise.