EDWARDS, Shaun

Shaun Edwards grew up in Darwin and a remote community in West Arnham land and played with the famous St Mary's club. He began his senior AFL career with Greater Western Sydney as an NT zone selection and played a total of 12 games in 2012-2013. He was traded to Essendon (along with his teammate, Kurt Aylett) for pick 48 in the 2013 National Draft.

He was a natural who brought speed, skill and a dose of excitement to his game.

After a string of strong performances in the VFL, he made his senior debut in Round 11, 2015, against West Coast, kicking two of the Club's six goals in a 50-point loss. He finished the year with nine games and eight goals.

Edwards found senior games hard to come by and he added only three games to his 2015 tally before he was delisted by Essendon. However, he was the recipient of the Bill Hutchison Community Award in 2016 for his contribution to EFC Community Programs.

He was later taken by Sydney in the 2017 Rookie Draft, but didn't add to his tally of senior games. Sydney was working on a new contract for him, but he decided he wanted something more from life and retired at the end of the season, aged only 23.

He spent a year with Sydney University in the NEAFL, then moved to Los Angeles and began working with AIME Mentoring, an organisation that mentors marginalised youth around the world. In Australia, AIME works specifically with Indigenous children, aiming to close the gap in education.

Back in Australia, he established a social enterprise clothing brand called House of Darwin, which reinvests its funds back into remote Indigenous communities in the Northern Territory. He also runs workshops on leadership and life skills, aiming to improve the lives of young Indigenous people.