James Hird
Encyclopedia
James Hird is a former professional Australian rules football
er and the current coach of the Essendon Football Club
in the Australian Football League
.
Nicknamed 'The General", Hird is a midfielder/half forward but was often given free rein by former Essendon coach Kevin Sheedy to play wherever he, Hird, thought necessary. Hird was the joint winner of the 1996 Brownlow Medal
with Brisbane Bears
midfielder Michael Voss
, as a half forward. Hird is often considered one of the greatest footballers of the modern era; he is a member of the AFL Hall of Fame and was listed by journalist Mike Sheahan
as one of the top 50 players of all time.
and Margaret Hird, James Hird was born in Canberra
on 4 February 1973. His father worked in the public service, while his mother was a teacher. The pair met in Melbourne, before they moved to the Australian capital in 1969. Allan, who has previously played four games for the Essendon Football Club
in 1966–67, initiated the move, enabling him to be player coach of Eastlake in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) football competition. James remained the Hird's only child for close to three years, until Amilia was born, and then Katherine two years later. Despite starting his life in the suburb of Ainslie, Hird soon moved to a traditional 1970s house in Latham, an outer northern suburb. The house was within a kilometre of a creek, and Hird and his friends would often ride their bikes to the creek to fish or hunt for yabbies. When Hird was in high school, he moved to the suburb of Reid, and lived near four large sporting ovals.
An active yet shy child, Hird took ballet and piano lessons as a child, as his mother wanted him to be well-rounded. However, the piano lessons only lasted a couple of years and ballet lasted "much less". He also participated in rugby league and soccer, both more popular than Australian rules football in Canberra. Being the smallest child in his Year Seven class, Hird often got knocked around playing league — the more physical of the three sports. Few of Hird's friends knew how to play Australian rules, thus forcing him to play league and soccer significantly more.
He was recruited from the Ainslie Football Club
in Canberra, in the 1990 AFL
draft. Due to a serious hip injury along with other injuries in his junior football career, he was not selected until pick number 79, Essendon's 7th and one of the last in the draft.
. Hird spent most of the season in the Essendon Reserves, which under Denis Pagan
won the premiership that season. He achieved regular selection in the Essendon senior team during the 1993 season. In that season he was a member of what was referred to as the "Baby Bombers", a group of young players (most notably including Hird, Mark Mercuri
, Gavin Wanganeen
, Dustin Fletcher
, Ricky Olarenshaw, David Calthorpe
, Paul Hills
and Joe Misiti
) that played a key role in the side winning the premiership that year. In 1994, Hird won the first of three consecutive best and fairest
s, culminating in his 1996 season, where he was jointly awarded the Brownlow Medal
for the League's fairest and best player with Brisbane Bears
midfielder Michael Voss
.
s in his foot kept him to only two games.
One of the most feared injuries for a running athlete, Hird was first struck with a stress fracture of his navicular bone early in the 1998 season. After traditional treatment for the injury, Hird returned for the start of the 1999 season, but broke down with the same injury again in only his second return game. Many feared it would be the end of his career.
Radical specialist treatment in the United States saw Hird return at the start of the 2000 season. Although technically recovered from the ailment, the injury required careful management for the rest of his career.
for a best on ground performance in the AFL Grand Final. The Essendon team also won the Ansett Cup pre-season competition, and the regular season premiership. The team only lost one game – against the Western Bulldogs
– in the season including finals, making it the most successful year for any team in the history of the Australian Football League.
The following season's Grand Final was a disappointment for Hird. 2002 then saw Hird's worst injury, an horrific facial injury sustained when he collided with teammate Mark McVeigh
's knee, breaking or fracturing all but a couple of the bones in his skull; Hird was in hospital for a week and missed several weeks of the season. The force of the impact radiated throughout his face, particularly to his sinuses, complicating the damage. Hird was unable to fly home to Melbourne due to the air pressure fluctuations found in an aircraft during flight creating concern for his health while the injuries healed.
In 2003, despite again missing eight games through various injuries, Hird tied in the Essendon Best and Fairest with Scott Lucas
. He also narrowly missed out on a second Brownlow Medal, finishing three votes behind the winners. He was rewarded with a place in the 2003 All-Australian team.
During one of his regular panel appearances on The Footy Show
, on Wednesday 7 April, Hird launched a surprising attack on the standard of umpiring he believed that Essendon had been dealt in the previous match versus St Kilda." After previously talking to the AFL about umpiring standards, Hird later wrote, "The umpires' interpretation of our interpretation seemed to be different too often, and we felt we weren't getting fair hearing." His anger spilled out onto the AFL Footy Show, saying:
A few AFL players spoke out in the media criticizing some of the media's negative comments towards Hird. It was, according to Hird, the first time he'd ever come under media scrutiny and he was unsure how to deal with it. He later took aim at the AFL Players Association. "I don't think I was given enough support from them. I hadn't hurt anybody or been found taking something I shouldn't take, but I felt as if I was in the middle of a police investigation." Later that Friday, Hird called a press conference to apologise to McLaren. In a statement, McLaren said:
The matter by-passed the AFL Tribunal – because he made the comments on a national television program, they did not need to decide whether they had been made. Instead, the matter would be directly determined by a meeting of the AFL Commission, and any punishment Hird would receive would result directly from that meeting. The Footy Show airs on Thursday evenings, and the AFL Commission was not meeting until the following week; as such, Hird was given clearance, pending the hearing, to play in the following game against the West Coast Eagles
(see Memorable Games). On the following Wednesday, 15 April, the AFL Commission met, deliberated, and ultimately handed down its penalty to Hird. He was fined $20,000, and forced to contribute to a 3-year umpiring development program; the Commission decided against suspension. Hird accepted his sanction and expressed remorse for his actions. In a further controversy, Scott McLaren was one of the umpires rostered for the Essendon vs Carlton
game the following Friday night. The pair shook hands at the commencement of the game, bringing closure to the issue, but Carlton fans were particularly hostile to any free kicks given by McLaren to Essendon.
On the occasion of his 300th umpiring appearance in 2008, McLaren
described Hird's outburst as a "defining moment" in his career.
Probably Hird's most memorable performance is universally considered to be the Round 3, 2004 game against West Coast
– the game immediately following the controversy. It was a close, high scoring game, and was particularly intense during its final quarter.
Up until three-quarter time, Hird had 19 disposals and one goal; in the final quarter, he managed 15 disposals and two goals, the latter of which was most memorable. With the scores level at 131 and very little time remaining, the ball was bounced in Essendon's forward pocket
, tapped to the boundary line side, roved, and neatly handpassed by Marc Bullen
to a goalward-running Hird, who, approximately thirty metres from goal, snapped from an acute angle for the game-winning goal. In the emotion of the moment, he ran to the fence and hugged the first fan he saw, a teenage Essendon fan.
Controversially, Hird did not receive any Brownlow Medal
votes from the umpires for his 34 disposals; the media speculation was that the umpires deliberately snubbed him because of his earlier comments. The votes went to Matthew Lloyd
(three votes, seven marks, eight goals), Ben Cousins
(thirty disposals, three goals), and eventual Brownlow medallist Chris Judd
(twenty-three disposals).
Hird's winning goal was the focus of a popular installment of the Toyota Memorable Moments
advertising campaign, and the hug is captured in Jamie Cooper's painting the Game That Made Australia, commissioned by the AFL in 2008 to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the sport.
. After Lloyd sustained a season-ending injury in Round 3 of 2006, Hird served briefly as acting captain until young ruckman David Hille
was named captain for the remainder of the 2006 season.
Hird missed Essendon's first round win against defending premiers Sydney
with a calf injury. In Essendon's horror 2006 season he returned one week early from a minor injury to lead his side to a drought-breaking win over Brisbane
in round 17, 2006. It was Hird's first match since round 13 against the Kangaroos, the Dons' first win since April Fools' Day of the same year and Hird's first winning match since round 21, 2005.
Hird continued to be an outstanding performer in his utility role when fit, but age was forcing him to miss games through injury with increasing frequency. He suffered broken ribs and a calf strain during his 200th and 250th games, respectively.
Despite much speculation that he would retire at the end of the 2006 season, Hird played out the 2007 season, playing 17 of a possible 22 games. Now aged 34, Hird continued to feature prominently among Essendon's best players, and he concluded his career by winning a fifth Best and Fairest award.
Hird played two farewell games: his final game in Victoria at the M.C.G.
against Richmond
, and his final game overall at Subiaco Oval
against West Coast
. The games were made higher profile as they were also the final games coached by 27-year coach Kevin Sheedy. Hird was one of the best on field in his final game, amassing 34 disposals, one shy of his career high. As Hird and Sheedy left the field for the last time, the crowd gave them a standing ovation.
Before season 2008, the Archer-Hird Medal was created honouring Hird and former North Melbourne Football Club
star Glenn Archer
. Since 2008, the medal has been awarded to the player showing the most determination, courage and skill in matched between the Kangaroos and the Bombers.
, but primarily the Essendon Football Club
. After initially dodging questions about his future, Hird stated in August 2010 that "There's something in me, deep in my heart, that says at some point I want to coach Essendon". These words came as a surprise to many, including former premiership teammate
Matthew Lloyd
who said that Hird had "changed his whole persona in regards to how he's answering his questions... Just in regards to saying, 'I'll coach one day. I want to coach Essendon one day'. Even those type of words, I haven't heard before." These comments by Hird, considered to be Essendon's "favourite son", furthered speculation towards the future of then-Essendon coach Matthew Knights
. A rumour emerged following these comments suggesting that Hird was part of an unofficial agreement with the Essendon board to replace Matthew Knights for the 2011 AFL Season. However, two days after Hird's initial comments, he announced that he had changed his mind due to the intense division and speculation over Matthew Knights's future following Hird's initial comments. Hird stated that he was ruling himself out of coaching Essendon for at least three years.
.
His coaching career started with a bang, with the Bombers making Hird's presence felt by thrashing triple preliminary finalists the in the first round. Wins against , the (by a record margin of 139 points), and in the first eight rounds saw the Bombers in the top four by round eight, but a draw against , losses to and , and a five-game losing streak halfway through the season would prove costly.
But the biggest achievement of Hird's coaching career would no doubt have to be the win over the previously undefeated (a win by four points) in Round 15, whom assistant coach Mark Thompson was coaching against for the first time since his infamous and controversial exit from the club which he coached for 11 years and won two premierships with. Prior to then, Essendon had (and still have) one of the worst records amongst current AFL clubs against Geelong in recent times, having only beaten the Cats once since 2003.
Hird coached Essendon to the 2011 finals, where they lost against bitter rivals in an elimination final at the MCG in front of a record crowd. Despite this, 2011 was otherwise a season of improvement for Essendon and Hird will hope to take the Bombers one step further in season 2012.
, he became a commentator
and football analyst
for Australian rules football on Fox Sports
, a position which he held until he began his coaching career at the end of 2010. Hird also became a writer for Melbourne newspaper the Herald Sun
. Former Essendon players such as Hird, Matthew Lloyd
, and Scott Lucas
, who had all taken up media roles since their retirements, were rumoured to be the subject of then-incumbent Essendon coach Matthew Knights
's heated press conference following a win against St Kilda, in which Knights asserted that he and his players were now aware of certain people's position for or against him and the direction of the Essendon Football Club. However such comments were ultimately according to Knights, not intended towards Hird or any past player.
with Michael Voss
in 1996, the award for the fairest and best player in the Australian Football League
. After his retirement, Hird stated that being a member of the "Brownlow Club" was a privilege.
In 1997, the Essendon Football Club named the then-triple best and fairest winner in its Team of the Century on the half-forward flank.
In 2002, the Essendon Football Club conducted a fan-voted promotion to find the "Champions of Essendon". Hird was eventually named as the number three player on the all-time list of Essendon players.
Hird's grandfather, the late Allan Hird, Sr., was a notable player and president for the Essendon Football Club, and his father Allan Hird, Jr.
had a brief playing career with Essendon.
Hird completed a degree as a civil engineer in 1998, and in that capacity has worked as a consultant on the CityLink
project. He is now involved heavily in football-related media work, but he has also spent time working for a stockbroking firm. Hird currently co-owns a restaurant called "Red Mullet Fishcaf" located in Glenferrie road, Malvern and is an active partner in "Gemba" – a sports marketing and media consultancy firm based in Melbourne.
Australian rules football
Australian rules football, officially known as Australian football, also called football, Aussie rules or footy is a sport played between two teams of 22 players on either...
er and the current coach of the Essendon Football Club
Essendon Football Club
The Essendon Football Club, nicknamed The Bombers, is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League...
in the Australian Football League
Australian Football League
The Australian Football League is both the governing body and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football...
.
Nicknamed 'The General", Hird is a midfielder/half forward but was often given free rein by former Essendon coach Kevin Sheedy to play wherever he, Hird, thought necessary. Hird was the joint winner of the 1996 Brownlow Medal
Brownlow Medal
The Chas Brownlow Trophy, better known as the Brownlow Medal , is awarded to the "fairest and best" player in the Australian Football League during the regular season as determined by votes cast by the officiating field umpires after each game...
with Brisbane Bears
Brisbane Lions
The Brisbane Lions is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League . The club is based in Brisbane, Queensland. The club was formed from the merger of the Brisbane Bears and the Fitzroy Lions in 1996...
midfielder Michael Voss
Michael Voss
Michael Voss is the senior coach of the Brisbane Lions Australian Football League team and a former professional Australian rules footballer....
, as a half forward. Hird is often considered one of the greatest footballers of the modern era; he is a member of the AFL Hall of Fame and was listed by journalist Mike Sheahan
Mike Sheahan
Michael "Mike" Sheahan is an Australian journalist who specialises in Australian rules football. He is Chief Football Writer and Associate Sports Editor for the Herald Sun, a panelist on the Fox Sports program "On the Couch" and former Media Director for the VFL .Sheahan attended Werribee High...
as one of the top 50 players of all time.
Early life
The son of AllanAllan Hird, Jr.
Allan Hird, Jr. is a former Australian rules footballer who played with Essendon in the Victorian Football League .Hird joined Essendon in 1964, from Stawell, but didn't make his debut until 1966 when he came on as the 20th man in the final quarter of a game against St Kilda...
and Margaret Hird, James Hird was born in Canberra
Canberra
Canberra is the capital city of Australia. With a population of over 345,000, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The city is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory , south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Melbourne...
on 4 February 1973. His father worked in the public service, while his mother was a teacher. The pair met in Melbourne, before they moved to the Australian capital in 1969. Allan, who has previously played four games for the Essendon Football Club
Essendon Football Club
The Essendon Football Club, nicknamed The Bombers, is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League...
in 1966–67, initiated the move, enabling him to be player coach of Eastlake in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) football competition. James remained the Hird's only child for close to three years, until Amilia was born, and then Katherine two years later. Despite starting his life in the suburb of Ainslie, Hird soon moved to a traditional 1970s house in Latham, an outer northern suburb. The house was within a kilometre of a creek, and Hird and his friends would often ride their bikes to the creek to fish or hunt for yabbies. When Hird was in high school, he moved to the suburb of Reid, and lived near four large sporting ovals.
An active yet shy child, Hird took ballet and piano lessons as a child, as his mother wanted him to be well-rounded. However, the piano lessons only lasted a couple of years and ballet lasted "much less". He also participated in rugby league and soccer, both more popular than Australian rules football in Canberra. Being the smallest child in his Year Seven class, Hird often got knocked around playing league — the more physical of the three sports. Few of Hird's friends knew how to play Australian rules, thus forcing him to play league and soccer significantly more.
He was recruited from the Ainslie Football Club
Ainslie Football Club
Ainslie Football Club is a semi-professional Australian rules football club based in Canberra, in the Australian Capital Territory.The club, formed in 1927 and play now in the North East Australian Football League, won its first permiership in 1929....
in Canberra, in the 1990 AFL
Australian Football League
The Australian Football League is both the governing body and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football...
draft. Due to a serious hip injury along with other injuries in his junior football career, he was not selected until pick number 79, Essendon's 7th and one of the last in the draft.
Early career
In his first season, 1991, Hird sat on the sidelines for most of the season with constant injuries hampering him. At the end of the season, a vote was held on whether to delist him. The majority (4–2) voted in favour of Hird being delisted, although coach Kevin Sheedy voted to keep him. Eventually Hird remained with the team. He made his senior debut against St Kilda in 1992 at Waverley Park, as a late replacement for former captain Terry DaniherTerry Daniher
Terrence "Terry" John Daniher is a former Australian rules footballer who played with the South Melbourne and Essendon Football Clubs in the Australian Football League . Terry was also an Assistant Coach to the Essendon, Collingwood, St Kilda and Carlton Football Clubs. Terry's brothers, Neale,...
. Hird spent most of the season in the Essendon Reserves, which under Denis Pagan
Denis Pagan
Denis Pagan is a former Australian rules football coach and player in the VFL/AFL. He is current coach of Northern Knights in TAC Cup.-Playing career:...
won the premiership that season. He achieved regular selection in the Essendon senior team during the 1993 season. In that season he was a member of what was referred to as the "Baby Bombers", a group of young players (most notably including Hird, Mark Mercuri
Mark Mercuri
Mark Mercuri was a professional Australian rules football player for Essendon. He played in the 1993 Grand final winning team which defeated Carlton...
, Gavin Wanganeen
Gavin Wanganeen
Gavin Adrian Wanganeen is a retired Australian rules footballer, playing in two Australian Football League premierships with Essendon and Port Adelaide. Wanganeen is a Brownlow Medallist and is considered one of the finest indigenous players ever...
, Dustin Fletcher
Dustin Fletcher
Dustin Fletcher is an Australian rules footballer with the Essendon Football Club. He is renowned as one of the finest defenders in the AFL, and has played at full-back for his team for many years. He is the son of former Bombers captain Ken Fletcher...
, Ricky Olarenshaw, David Calthorpe
David Calthorpe
David Calthorpe is a former Australian rules footballer who played for Essendon, the Brisbane Lions and the Kangaroos in the AFL....
, Paul Hills
Paul Hills
Paul Hills is a former Australian rules footballer who played with Essendon in the AFL during the 1990s.Hills usually played on the wing and after being recruited from North Ballarat he joined Essendon for the 1991 season despite not having played a reserves game...
and Joe Misiti
Joe Misiti
"Smokin" Joe Misiti is a former Australian rules football player of Italian descent who played for the Essendon Football Club. Originally from Keilor Park, he made his Australian Football League debut in 1992 and retired at the end of the 2004 premiership season with 236 games to his credit...
) that played a key role in the side winning the premiership that year. In 1994, Hird won the first of three consecutive best and fairest
Best and Fairest
Best and Fairest is the term commonly used in Australian sport to describe the player adjudged to have had the best performance in a game or over a season for a given sporting club or competition while not receiving a suspension for misconduct or breaching the rules during that season.In the...
s, culminating in his 1996 season, where he was jointly awarded the Brownlow Medal
Brownlow Medal
The Chas Brownlow Trophy, better known as the Brownlow Medal , is awarded to the "fairest and best" player in the Australian Football League during the regular season as determined by votes cast by the officiating field umpires after each game...
for the League's fairest and best player with Brisbane Bears
Brisbane Bears
The Brisbane Football Club, formerly nicknamed The Bears was an Australian rules football club and the first Queensland-based club in the Victorian Football League . The club played its first match in 1987, but struggled on and off the field until it made the finals for the first time in 1995...
midfielder Michael Voss
Michael Voss
Michael Voss is the senior coach of the Brisbane Lions Australian Football League team and a former professional Australian rules footballer....
.
Late 1990s
A series of injuries restricted Hird's appearances during the remainder of the 1990s. He could manage only seven games in 1997 and although he was named captain in 1998 (a position he held until the end of 2005), he was restricted to thirteen games that year. An even worse year followed in 1999, when stress fractureStress fracture
A stress fracture is one type of incomplete fracture in bones. It is caused by "unusual or repeated stress" and also heavy continuous weight on the ankle or leg...
s in his foot kept him to only two games.
One of the most feared injuries for a running athlete, Hird was first struck with a stress fracture of his navicular bone early in the 1998 season. After traditional treatment for the injury, Hird returned for the start of the 1999 season, but broke down with the same injury again in only his second return game. Many feared it would be the end of his career.
Radical specialist treatment in the United States saw Hird return at the start of the 2000 season. Although technically recovered from the ailment, the injury required careful management for the rest of his career.
Early 2000s
2000 was a much better year for Hird. Injury free, he received a number of honours, including selection to the All Australian Team, and the Norm Smith MedalNorm Smith Medal
The Norm Smith Medal is the award given in the AFL Grand Final to the player adjudged by an independent panel of experts to have been the best player in the match.-History:The Norm Smith Medal is named after former Melbourne player and coach, Norm Smith...
for a best on ground performance in the AFL Grand Final. The Essendon team also won the Ansett Cup pre-season competition, and the regular season premiership. The team only lost one game – against the Western Bulldogs
Western Bulldogs
The Western Bulldogs are an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League . The club is based at the Whitten Oval in West Footscray, an inner-western suburb of Melbourne...
– in the season including finals, making it the most successful year for any team in the history of the Australian Football League.
The following season's Grand Final was a disappointment for Hird. 2002 then saw Hird's worst injury, an horrific facial injury sustained when he collided with teammate Mark McVeigh
Mark McVeigh
Mark McVeigh is an Australian rules footballer. He made his debut for Essendon Football Club in 1999 after representing NSW/ACT at Under 18 level...
's knee, breaking or fracturing all but a couple of the bones in his skull; Hird was in hospital for a week and missed several weeks of the season. The force of the impact radiated throughout his face, particularly to his sinuses, complicating the damage. Hird was unable to fly home to Melbourne due to the air pressure fluctuations found in an aircraft during flight creating concern for his health while the injuries healed.
In 2003, despite again missing eight games through various injuries, Hird tied in the Essendon Best and Fairest with Scott Lucas
Scott Lucas (footballer)
Scott Lucas is a former Australian rules footballer for the Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League, and is noted as the other major forward for the Bombers, along with Matthew Lloyd...
. He also narrowly missed out on a second Brownlow Medal, finishing three votes behind the winners. He was rewarded with a place in the 2003 All-Australian team.
During one of his regular panel appearances on The Footy Show
The AFL Footy Show
The Footy Show is a Logie Award winning Australian sports television program, shown on the Nine Network and its affiliates.This show, which is dedicated to the AFL and Australian rules football, made its debut on 24 March 1994 at the same time as the other version which relates to the NRL and rugby...
, on Wednesday 7 April, Hird launched a surprising attack on the standard of umpiring he believed that Essendon had been dealt in the previous match versus St Kilda." After previously talking to the AFL about umpiring standards, Hird later wrote, "The umpires' interpretation of our interpretation seemed to be different too often, and we felt we weren't getting fair hearing." His anger spilled out onto the AFL Footy Show, saying:
A few AFL players spoke out in the media criticizing some of the media's negative comments towards Hird. It was, according to Hird, the first time he'd ever come under media scrutiny and he was unsure how to deal with it. He later took aim at the AFL Players Association. "I don't think I was given enough support from them. I hadn't hurt anybody or been found taking something I shouldn't take, but I felt as if I was in the middle of a police investigation." Later that Friday, Hird called a press conference to apologise to McLaren. In a statement, McLaren said:
The matter by-passed the AFL Tribunal – because he made the comments on a national television program, they did not need to decide whether they had been made. Instead, the matter would be directly determined by a meeting of the AFL Commission, and any punishment Hird would receive would result directly from that meeting. The Footy Show airs on Thursday evenings, and the AFL Commission was not meeting until the following week; as such, Hird was given clearance, pending the hearing, to play in the following game against the West Coast Eagles
West Coast Eagles
The West Coast Eagles are an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League. The club is based in Perth, Western Australia. The club was founded in 1986 and played its first games in the 1987 season. Its current home ground is Subiaco Oval...
(see Memorable Games). On the following Wednesday, 15 April, the AFL Commission met, deliberated, and ultimately handed down its penalty to Hird. He was fined $20,000, and forced to contribute to a 3-year umpiring development program; the Commission decided against suspension. Hird accepted his sanction and expressed remorse for his actions. In a further controversy, Scott McLaren was one of the umpires rostered for the Essendon vs Carlton
Carlton Football Club
The Carlton Football Club is a professional Australian rules football club based in Melbourne, Victoria. The club competes in the Australian Football League, and was one of the eight founding members of that competition in 1897...
game the following Friday night. The pair shook hands at the commencement of the game, bringing closure to the issue, but Carlton fans were particularly hostile to any free kicks given by McLaren to Essendon.
On the occasion of his 300th umpiring appearance in 2008, McLaren
Scott McLaren
Scott McLaren is an Australian rules football field umpire in the Australian Football League. He has umpired 300 career games in the AFL....
described Hird's outburst as a "defining moment" in his career.
Probably Hird's most memorable performance is universally considered to be the Round 3, 2004 game against West Coast
West Coast Eagles
The West Coast Eagles are an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League. The club is based in Perth, Western Australia. The club was founded in 1986 and played its first games in the 1987 season. Its current home ground is Subiaco Oval...
– the game immediately following the controversy. It was a close, high scoring game, and was particularly intense during its final quarter.
Up until three-quarter time, Hird had 19 disposals and one goal; in the final quarter, he managed 15 disposals and two goals, the latter of which was most memorable. With the scores level at 131 and very little time remaining, the ball was bounced in Essendon's forward pocket
Forward pocket
In Australian rules football, the forward pocket refers to a position on the field deep in offense.Forward pocket players, situated in the forward line, need to have good avoidance and goal sneak skills and usually, quality forward-pockets are noted for their agility and ability to score difficult...
, tapped to the boundary line side, roved, and neatly handpassed by Marc Bullen
Marc Bullen
Marc Bullen is an Australian rules footballer in the Australian Football League for the Essendon Football Club.Originally from Shepparton, Victoria, Bullen was selected with the 63rd pick in the 2000 AFL Draft. In the 5 seasons he played for the Bombers, he never cemented his position...
to a goalward-running Hird, who, approximately thirty metres from goal, snapped from an acute angle for the game-winning goal. In the emotion of the moment, he ran to the fence and hugged the first fan he saw, a teenage Essendon fan.
Controversially, Hird did not receive any Brownlow Medal
Brownlow Medal
The Chas Brownlow Trophy, better known as the Brownlow Medal , is awarded to the "fairest and best" player in the Australian Football League during the regular season as determined by votes cast by the officiating field umpires after each game...
votes from the umpires for his 34 disposals; the media speculation was that the umpires deliberately snubbed him because of his earlier comments. The votes went to Matthew Lloyd
Matthew Lloyd
Matthew James Lloyd is a former Australian rules footballer who played for and was the captain of the Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League...
(three votes, seven marks, eight goals), Ben Cousins
Ben Cousins
Benjamin Luke "Ben" Cousins is a former Australian rules footballer, best known for his 270-game career with and in the Australian Football League ....
(thirty disposals, three goals), and eventual Brownlow medallist Chris Judd
Chris Judd
Christopher Dylan "Chris" Judd is a professional Australian rules footballer and current captain of the Carlton Football Club in the Australian Football League ....
(twenty-three disposals).
Hird's winning goal was the focus of a popular installment of the Toyota Memorable Moments
Toyota Memorable Moments
The Toyota Memorable Moments series is a series of television advertisements produced over several years for the Australian Football League by its major sponsor, Toyota....
advertising campaign, and the hug is captured in Jamie Cooper's painting the Game That Made Australia, commissioned by the AFL in 2008 to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the sport.
Late career
On 27 September 2005, Hird handed the captaincy to Matthew LloydMatthew Lloyd
Matthew James Lloyd is a former Australian rules footballer who played for and was the captain of the Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League...
. After Lloyd sustained a season-ending injury in Round 3 of 2006, Hird served briefly as acting captain until young ruckman David Hille
David Hille
David Hille is an Australian rules footballer in the Australian Football League.He debuted in 2001 with the Essendon Football Club and has been a solid ruckman for a number of years....
was named captain for the remainder of the 2006 season.
Hird missed Essendon's first round win against defending premiers Sydney
Sydney Swans
The Sydney Swans Football Club is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League . The club is based in Sydney, New South Wales. The club, founded in 1874, was known as the South Melbourne Football Club until it relocated to Sydney in 1982 to become the Sydney...
with a calf injury. In Essendon's horror 2006 season he returned one week early from a minor injury to lead his side to a drought-breaking win over Brisbane
Brisbane Lions
The Brisbane Lions is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League . The club is based in Brisbane, Queensland. The club was formed from the merger of the Brisbane Bears and the Fitzroy Lions in 1996...
in round 17, 2006. It was Hird's first match since round 13 against the Kangaroos, the Dons' first win since April Fools' Day of the same year and Hird's first winning match since round 21, 2005.
Hird continued to be an outstanding performer in his utility role when fit, but age was forcing him to miss games through injury with increasing frequency. He suffered broken ribs and a calf strain during his 200th and 250th games, respectively.
Final season and retirement
Hird played two farewell games: his final game in Victoria at the M.C.G.
Melbourne Cricket Ground
The Melbourne Cricket Ground is an Australian sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne and is home to the Melbourne Cricket Club. It is the tenth largest stadium in the world, the largest in Australia, the largest stadium for playing cricket, and holds the world record for the highest light...
against Richmond
Richmond Football Club
The Richmond Football Club, nicknamed The Tigers, is an Australian rules football club which competes in the Australian Football League. Richmond shares healthy rivalries with Carlton, Collingwood and Essendon. After winning five premierships between 1967 and 1980, the club hit the depths in 1990,...
, and his final game overall at Subiaco Oval
Subiaco Oval
Subiaco Oval , known colloquially as Subi, is the highest capacity sports stadium in Perth, Western Australia...
against West Coast
West Coast Eagles
The West Coast Eagles are an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League. The club is based in Perth, Western Australia. The club was founded in 1986 and played its first games in the 1987 season. Its current home ground is Subiaco Oval...
. The games were made higher profile as they were also the final games coached by 27-year coach Kevin Sheedy. Hird was one of the best on field in his final game, amassing 34 disposals, one shy of his career high. As Hird and Sheedy left the field for the last time, the crowd gave them a standing ovation.
Before season 2008, the Archer-Hird Medal was created honouring Hird and former North Melbourne Football Club
North Melbourne Football Club
The North Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed The Kangaroos, is the fourth oldest Australian rules football club in the Australian Football League and is one of the oldest sporting clubs in Australia and the world...
star Glenn Archer
Glenn Archer
Glenn Archer is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played his entire career with the North Melbourne Football Club.Archer had a reputation as one of the most courageous players ever to play the game...
. Since 2008, the medal has been awarded to the player showing the most determination, courage and skill in matched between the Kangaroos and the Bombers.
Coaching rumours
Immediately after Hird retired from playing football, there was much speculation as to whether he would be interested in a coaching role at a club in the AFLAustralian Football League
The Australian Football League is both the governing body and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football...
, but primarily the Essendon Football Club
Essendon Football Club
The Essendon Football Club, nicknamed The Bombers, is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League...
. After initially dodging questions about his future, Hird stated in August 2010 that "There's something in me, deep in my heart, that says at some point I want to coach Essendon". These words came as a surprise to many, including former premiership teammate
2000 AFL Grand Final
The 2000 AFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Essendon Football Club and the Melbourne Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 2 September 2000. It was the 104th annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League/Australian...
Matthew Lloyd
Matthew Lloyd
Matthew James Lloyd is a former Australian rules footballer who played for and was the captain of the Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League...
who said that Hird had "changed his whole persona in regards to how he's answering his questions... Just in regards to saying, 'I'll coach one day. I want to coach Essendon one day'. Even those type of words, I haven't heard before." These comments by Hird, considered to be Essendon's "favourite son", furthered speculation towards the future of then-Essendon coach Matthew Knights
Matthew Knights
Matthew Knights is a former Australian rules football player, having played in the midfield for the Richmond Football Club from 1988 to 2002. He went on to a coaching career, most notably as head coach of the Essendon Football Club from 2008 to 2010...
. A rumour emerged following these comments suggesting that Hird was part of an unofficial agreement with the Essendon board to replace Matthew Knights for the 2011 AFL Season. However, two days after Hird's initial comments, he announced that he had changed his mind due to the intense division and speculation over Matthew Knights's future following Hird's initial comments. Hird stated that he was ruling himself out of coaching Essendon for at least three years.
Appointment
On 28 September 2010 the rumours were confirmed when Essendon's CEO, Ian Robson, and Chairman, David Evans, announced at an official press conference that Hird would be the next senior coach of the Essendon Football Club. Hird made his decision to coach after a trip to New York and, on his return, he made a presentation to the Essendon club officials. Hird was offered a four year contract by the Bombers and he accepted after making the arrangements to his business career. He remained as a director of his sports marketing company, Gemba, and his role on the television program On The Couch was filled by retired Sydney coach, Paul RoosPaul Roos (Australian rules footballer)
Paul Roos is a former Australian rules football player and coach in the VFL and Australian Football League.Playing the majority of his career with Fitzroy, Roos was one of the teams greats, captaining the side for a long time and was acknowledged as its best player for several seasons, being named...
.
His coaching career started with a bang, with the Bombers making Hird's presence felt by thrashing triple preliminary finalists the in the first round. Wins against , the (by a record margin of 139 points), and in the first eight rounds saw the Bombers in the top four by round eight, but a draw against , losses to and , and a five-game losing streak halfway through the season would prove costly.
But the biggest achievement of Hird's coaching career would no doubt have to be the win over the previously undefeated (a win by four points) in Round 15, whom assistant coach Mark Thompson was coaching against for the first time since his infamous and controversial exit from the club which he coached for 11 years and won two premierships with. Prior to then, Essendon had (and still have) one of the worst records amongst current AFL clubs against Geelong in recent times, having only beaten the Cats once since 2003.
Hird coached Essendon to the 2011 finals, where they lost against bitter rivals in an elimination final at the MCG in front of a record crowd. Despite this, 2011 was otherwise a season of improvement for Essendon and Hird will hope to take the Bombers one step further in season 2012.
Media career
Following Hird's retirement as a player from the Bombers at the end of the 2007 AFL season2007 AFL season
The 2007 AFL Season was the 111th season of the Australian Football League, the highest-level professional Australian rules football league in Australia...
, he became a commentator
Sports commentator
In sports broadcasting, a commentator gives a running commentary of a game or event in real time, usually during a live broadcast. The comments are normally a voiceover, with the sounds of the action and spectators also heard in the background. In the case of television commentary, the commentator...
and football analyst
Analyst
Analyst generally is a term for an individual of whom or which the primary function is a deep examination of a specific, limited area and may mean:* Accounting analyst, an accounting analyst evaluates and interprets public company financial statements...
for Australian rules football on Fox Sports
Fox Sports (Australia)
Fox Sports is an Australia group of sports channels. They are owned by the Premier Media Group, which is in turn owned by News Corporation, and Consolidated Media Holdings. Its main competitors are ESPN, which has little local content and the free-to-air digital channel One HD...
, a position which he held until he began his coaching career at the end of 2010. Hird also became a writer for Melbourne newspaper the Herald Sun
Herald Sun
The Herald Sun is a morning tabloid newspaper based in Melbourne, Australia. It is published by The Herald and Weekly Times, a subsidiary of News Limited, itself a subsidiary of News Corporation. It is available for purchase throughout Melbourne, Regional Victoria, Tasmania, the Australian Capital...
. Former Essendon players such as Hird, Matthew Lloyd
Matthew Lloyd
Matthew James Lloyd is a former Australian rules footballer who played for and was the captain of the Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League...
, and Scott Lucas
Scott Lucas (footballer)
Scott Lucas is a former Australian rules footballer for the Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League, and is noted as the other major forward for the Bombers, along with Matthew Lloyd...
, who had all taken up media roles since their retirements, were rumoured to be the subject of then-incumbent Essendon coach Matthew Knights
Matthew Knights
Matthew Knights is a former Australian rules football player, having played in the midfield for the Richmond Football Club from 1988 to 2002. He went on to a coaching career, most notably as head coach of the Essendon Football Club from 2008 to 2010...
's heated press conference following a win against St Kilda, in which Knights asserted that he and his players were now aware of certain people's position for or against him and the direction of the Essendon Football Club. However such comments were ultimately according to Knights, not intended towards Hird or any past player.
Honours
Hird jointly won the Brownlow MedalBrownlow Medal
The Chas Brownlow Trophy, better known as the Brownlow Medal , is awarded to the "fairest and best" player in the Australian Football League during the regular season as determined by votes cast by the officiating field umpires after each game...
with Michael Voss
Michael Voss
Michael Voss is the senior coach of the Brisbane Lions Australian Football League team and a former professional Australian rules footballer....
in 1996, the award for the fairest and best player in the Australian Football League
Australian Football League
The Australian Football League is both the governing body and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football...
. After his retirement, Hird stated that being a member of the "Brownlow Club" was a privilege.
In 1997, the Essendon Football Club named the then-triple best and fairest winner in its Team of the Century on the half-forward flank.
In 2002, the Essendon Football Club conducted a fan-voted promotion to find the "Champions of Essendon". Hird was eventually named as the number three player on the all-time list of Essendon players.
Personal life
Hird married Tania Poynton on 11 October 1997 and they have four children – a daughter, Stephanie (born April 1999) and three sons, Thomas (born March 2001), Alexander (born August 2003) and William (born February 2009). Tania is the sister of former Young Talent Time performer Greg Poynton.Hird's grandfather, the late Allan Hird, Sr., was a notable player and president for the Essendon Football Club, and his father Allan Hird, Jr.
Allan Hird, Jr.
Allan Hird, Jr. is a former Australian rules footballer who played with Essendon in the Victorian Football League .Hird joined Essendon in 1964, from Stawell, but didn't make his debut until 1966 when he came on as the 20th man in the final quarter of a game against St Kilda...
had a brief playing career with Essendon.
Hird completed a degree as a civil engineer in 1998, and in that capacity has worked as a consultant on the CityLink
CityLink
CityLink is a system of tolled urban Highways in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The company Transurban was awarded the contract to augment two existing freeways and construct two new Toll roads—labelled the Western and Southern Links—directly linking a number of existing freeways to...
project. He is now involved heavily in football-related media work, but he has also spent time working for a stockbroking firm. Hird currently co-owns a restaurant called "Red Mullet Fishcaf" located in Glenferrie road, Malvern and is an active partner in "Gemba" – a sports marketing and media consultancy firm based in Melbourne.