HIRD, James

James Hird was ranked the third best Essendon player of all time by a Club committee in 2002.

He was a sublimely skilled match-winner, a fine leader, and was at one time the League's most valuable player. Playing mainly at centre half-forward, his vision and reading of the game set him apart. Hird was able to play defence or forward, and his ability to lift team-mates and win games is widely acknowledged. His career however was dogged with injuries.

He was drafted at pick 79 in the 1990 National Draft and made his senior debut in 1992. He was part of the young Essendon side that won the 1993 premiership in only his 20th senior game.

In 1994 he won the first of his five Best and Fairest medals. He also won the award in 1995, the only season of his career in which he played every game, and again in 1996, 2003 (equal) and 2007. In 1996, Hird won football's highest individual honour, the Brownlow Medal, sharing the award with Brisbane player, Michael Voss.

In 1997 a foot injury caused him to hobble from the ground in Round 4 and he was restricted to only seven games for the season. It was an injury that was to threaten his career.

Hird was appointed captain in 1998 but problems with his hamstring restricted him to only 13 games. His run with injuries continued into 1999 when stress fractures of his right foot saw him play only two games for the season and he was replaced as captain by Michael Long. Yet despite these frustrations his leadership was unquestioned.

After a long recovery he returned in 2000 in the third game of the Ansett Cup, and what a season he had.

He led the team to their Ansett Cup Grand Final win over the Kangaroos then led the Club to its best season in League history. The team won 23 out of 24 games that season, won its 16th premiership, and Hird himself was voted best player in the Grand Final. He also gained All-Australian selection as captain, and was runner-up to Dustin Fletcher in the Crichton Medal that year.

He had another fine season in 2001, was again named captain of the All-Australian side and led the season into a second successive Grand Final, only to go down to Brisbane. His horror run with injuries continued when he suffered serious facial fractures in Round 6, 2002. But he returned after only eight weeks and justifiably win the Most Courageous Player award that year. He won his fourth Crichton Medal in 2003 (with co-winner Scott Lucas), and was selected in the All-Australian Team.

He played 20 games in 2004, missing games to an eye injury (one week) and then rib injury (three weeks). He once again showed his consistency as a top rated player in 2005, by again being Essendon's highest Brownlow Medal vote getter.

Hird relinquished the captaincy to Matthew Lloyd in 2006, and hamstring and calf injuries restricted the champion to only 13 games. The season was dismal for the Club, finishing 15th with only three wins and one draw. Hird considered retirement, but vowed to play one more season, with his goal being another finals series. The club fell just short.

Hird retired at the end of 2007 along with fellow Essendon great, coach Kevin Sheedy.

After his retirement in 2007, he became a partner of sports marketing company Gemba group, was been employed as a commentator and football analyst for Fox Sports and a columnist for The Herald-Sun.

After weeks of media speculation, it was confirmed in September 2010 that Hird had been appointed Essendon's senior coach for 2011. He took the Bombers to the finals in his first season with 11 and a half wins, but although they started well in 2012, winning eight of their first nine games, they faded badly to finish with just 11 wins and missed the finals.

In February 2013 the Club became embroiled in the supplements saga, which claimed that a group of Essendon players had been injected with allegedly prohibited supplements. Despite the ongoing public uproar, the Bombers managed 14 wins for the season, only to be excluded from the finals by the AFL over governance and duty-of-care breaches.

Despite being cleared by an AFL investigation, ASADA appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport which found them guilty. Thirty-four players and officials, including Hird, were suspended for 12 months.

Mark Thompson took over as coach in 2014 and, despite the turmoil, they won 12 games, but lost the Elimination Final to North Melbourne by just two goals. Hird returned in 2015 but the team couldn't re-capture that form and after they suffered a 112 point loss to Adelaide in Round 20, he resigned. His final coaching record was a respectable 41 wins, 42 losses and one draw.

The ordeal took its toll and his health suffered severely but he gradually returned to the football world. He applied for the Essendon job after Ben Rutten was sacked, but the Club chose to appoint Brad Scott. In late 2022 Hird took on a mentoring and assistant coach role at Greater Western Sydney.

There is no doubt that James Hird is one of Essendon's greatest players and most inspiring captains and it is a tragedy that his legacy will be over-shadowed by the Supplements saga controversy for years to come.

His father, Allan junior, played four games for Essendon, and his grandfather, Allan senior, was an Essendon player and committeeman for many years. His eldest son, Tom, played with the VFL team for several years.

James Hird was awarded AFL Life membership in 2011.