Andrew Gerard Embley (born 27 June 1981) is a former

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an Australian rules football playing field, oval field, often a modified ...

er who played with the

West Coast Eagles The West Coast Eagles are a professional Australian rules football club based in Perth, Western Australia. The club was founded in 1986 and first competed in 1987 as one of two expansion teams in the Australian Football League (AFL), then known ...

in the

Australian Football League The Australian Football League (AFL) is the pre-eminent professional sports, professional competition of Australian rules football. It was originally named the Victorian Football League (VFL) and was founded in 1896 as a breakaway competition ...

(AFL). He is known for winning the

Norm Smith Medal The Norm Smith Medal is an Australian rules football award presented annually to the player adjudged the best on ground in the grand final of the Australian Football League (AFL). Prior to 1990, the competition was known as the Victorian Footbal ...

as the best player in the

2006 AFL Grand Final The 2006 AFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Sydney Swans and West Coast Eagles, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 30 September 2006. It was the 110th annual grand final of the Austral ...

. Embley was born in

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

and began his career with in the

West Australian Football League The West Australian Football League (WAFL "waffle" or "W-A-F-L") is an Australian rules football league based in Perth, Western Australia. The league currently consists of ten teams, which play each other in a 20-round season usually lasting f ...

(WAFL). 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 The AFL Rising Star is an Australian rules football award presented annually to the player adjudged the best young player in the Australian Football League (AFL) for the year. It was first presented in the 1993 season, and was won by Nathan Bu ...

nominee the following year. In 2004, he represented

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

in the

International Rules Series The International Rules Series is a senior men's international rules football competition between the Australia international rules football team (selected by the Australian Football League) and the Ireland international rules football team ...

. 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

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

, Western Australia, to parents Maurice and Anne Embley. His father is of

Anglo-Burmese The Anglo-Burmese people, also known as the Anglo-Burmans, are a community of Eurasians of Burmese and European descent; they emerged as a distinct community through mixed relationships (sometimes permanent, sometimes temporary) between the B ...

and

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

descent and was born in

Rangoon Yangon, formerly romanized as Rangoon, is the capital of the Yangon Region and the largest city of Myanmar. Yangon was the List of capitals of Myanmar, capital of Myanmar until 2005 and served as such until 2006, when the State Peace and Dev ...

, emigrating to Australia in 1964 with his family after the 1962 Burmese coup and settling in Victoria Park. His mother, originally from

Ballarat Ballarat ( ) () is a city in the Central Highlands of Victoria, Australia. At the 2021 census, Ballarat had a population of 111,973, making it the third-largest urban inland city in Australia and the third-largest city in Victoria. Within mo ...

, is of

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

and Irish descent. His father played reserves football for

, and also represented Western Australia in the 1973 national junior athletic championships in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

. Embley's brothers James (17 games) and Michael (8 games) have both played football for the

Swan Districts Football Club The Swan Districts Football Club, nicknamed the Swans, is an Australian rules football club playing in the West Australian Football League (WAFL) and WAFL Women's (WAFLW). The club is based at Bassendean Oval, in Bassendean, Western Australia, ...

. 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 Trinity College may refer to: Australia * Trinity Anglican College, an Anglican coeducational primary and secondary school in , New South Wales * Trinity Catholic College, Auburn, a coeducational school in the inner-western suburbs of Sydney, New ...

East Perth East is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fact that eas ...

, and played junior football for the Bassendean Junior Football Club. He made his WAFL debut for

Swan Districts The Swan Districts Football Club, nicknamed the Swans, is an Australian rules football club playing in the West Australian Football League (WAFL) and WAFL Women's (WAFLW). The club is based at Bassendean Oval, in Bassendean, an eastern suburb ...

in 1998,Andrew Embley
– WAFLOnline player profile. Retrieved 3 March 2012. 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 The Western Derby () is the name given to the Australian rules football matches between the West Coast Eagles and the Fremantle Dockers, who both participate in the Australian Football League (AFL) and AFL Women's (AFLW). As both teams are ba ...

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 Affiliation or affiliate may refer to: * Affiliate (commerce), a legal form of entity relationship used in Business Law * Affiliation (family law), a legal form of family relationship * Affiliate marketing * Affiliate network or affiliation platf ...

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.Andrew Embley
- AFLTables. He was nominated for the 2000 AFL Rising Star for his efforts against in round 14. With

John Worsfold John Richard Worsfold (born 25 September 1968) is a former Australian rules football coach and player. He had a long association with the West Coast Eagles as player (1987–1998) and coach (2002–2013), captaining the club to premierships in ...

having replaced

Ken Judge Ken Judge (15 January 1958 – 15 January 2016) was an Australian rules footballer and coach. Playing career East Fremantle Football Club Judge played 120 games for East Fremantle in the Western Australian Football League and was an importan ...

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 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

and 2004 finals series. He kicked 31 goals in 2003 to finish second in the Eagles' goalkicking behind

Phil Matera Phillip Matera (born 27 November 1975) is a former Australian rules footballer. Career Beginning his career in 1996, the 171 cm forward pocket was one of the Australian Football League's best small forwards. Matera is the brother of form ...

(62 goals). A 25-disposal, four-goal game against in round eight, 2003, earned him three

Brownlow Medal The Charles Brownlow Trophy, better known as the Brownlow Medal (and informally as Charlie), is awarded to the best and fairest player in the Australian Football League (AFL) during the home-and-away season, as determined by votes cast by the f ...

votes, the first of his career. Embley was named vice-captain of West Coast for the 2004 season, and also represented

in that year's

. Embley played 18 games for the Eagles in the

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

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 A wing is a type of fin that produces both lift and drag while moving through air. Wings are defined by two shape characteristics, an airfoil section and a planform. Wing efficiency is expressed as lift-to-drag ratio, which compares the bene ...

. Embley also kicked 31 goals for the season to be the club's second leading-goalkicker behind

Quinten Lynch Quinten Peter Lynch (born 24 January 1983) is a former Australian rules footballer who played with the Collingwood Football Club and the West Coast Eagles in the Australian Football League (AFL). Originally from Grass Patch, a rural farming ...

(65 goals). 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

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 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

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 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

, 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

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 In an organized sports league, a typical season is the portion of one year in which regulated games of the sport are in session: for example, in Major League Baseball the season lasts approximately from the last week of March to the last week of S ...

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 The ''Herald Sun'' is a Conservatism, conservative daily tabloid newspaper based in Melbourne, Australia, published by The Herald and Weekly Times, a subsidiary of News Corp Australia, itself a subsidiary of the American Rupert Murdoch, Murd ...

'' 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 Adam Murray Selwood (1 May 1984 – 17 May 2025) was an Australian rules footballer who played 11 seasons for the West Coast Eagles in the Australian Football League (AFL). Originally from Bendigo, Victoria, Selwood was recruited by West Coast ...

, 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

: , - style="background-color: #EAEAEA" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 32 , , 9 , , 3 , , 1 , , 41 , , 17 , , 58 , , 17 , , 4 , , 0.3 , , 0.1 , , 4.6 , , 1.9 , , 6.4 , , 1.9 , , 0.4 , , 0 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 32 , , 13 , , 10 , , 8 , , 87 , , 42 , , 129 , , 47 , , 19 , , 0.8 , , 0.6 , , 6.7 , , 3.2 , , 9.9 , , 3.6 , , 1.5 , , 0 , - style="background:#eaeaea;" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 32 , , 15 , , 15 , , 11 , , 94 , , 78 , , 172 , , 60 , , 12 , , 1.0 , , 0.7 , , 6.3 , , 5.2 , , 11.5 , , 4.0 , , 0.8 , , 0 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 32 , , 18 , , 14 , , 12 , , 122 , , 64 , , 186 , , 66 , , 34 , , 0.8 , , 0.7 , , 6.8 , , 3.6 , , 10.3 , , 3.7 , , 1.9 , , 0 , - style="background:#eaeaea;" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

, style="text-align:center;", , 32 , , 19 , , 31 , , 19 , , 237 , , 105 , , 342 , , 104 , , 28 , , 1.6 , , 1.0 , , 12.5 , , 5.5 , , 18.0 , , 5.5 , , 1.5 , , 5 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 32 , , 17 , , 14 , , 12 , , 211 , , 112 , , 323 , , 89 , , 45 , , 0.8 , , 0.7 , , 12.4 , , 6.6 , , 19.0 , , 5.2 , , 2.6 , , 4 , - style="background:#eaeaea;" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

, style="text-align:center;", , 32 , , 18 , , 24 , , 21 , , 260 , , 115 , , 375 , , 102 , , 37 , , 1.3 , , 1.2 , , 14.4 , , 6.4 , , 20.8 , , 5.7 , , 2.1 , , 8 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center;" ,

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 32 , , 23 , , 31 , , 29 , , 313 , , 130 , , 443 , , 138 , , 33 , , 1.3 , , 1.3 , , 13.6 , , 5.7 , , 19.3 , , 6.0 , , 1.4 , , 5 , - style="background:#eaeaea;" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 32 , , 13 , , 10 , , 12 , , 166 , , 100 , , 266 , , 65 , , 23 , , 0.8 , , 0.9 , , 12.3 , , 7.7 , , 20.5 , , 5.0 , , 1.8 , , 0 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

, style="text-align:center;", , 32 , , 21 , , 7 , , 13 , , 311 , , 181 , , 492 , , 156 , , 41 , , 0.3 , , 0.6 , , 14.8 , , 8.6 , , 23.4 , , 7.4 , , 2.0 , , 0 , - style="background:#eaeaea;" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 32 , , 21 , , 16 , , 12 , , 292 , , 180 , , 472 , , 102 , , 53 , , 0.8 , , 0.6 , , 13.9 , , 8.6 , , 22.5 , , 4.9 , , 2.5 , , 4 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

, style="text-align:center;", , 32 , , 20 , , 11 , , 6 , , 264 , , 200 , , 464 , , 105 , , 69 , , 0.6 , , 0.3 , , 13.2 , , 10.0 , , 23.2 , , 5.3 , , 3.5 , , 3 , - style="background:#eaeaea;" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 32 , , 24 , , 17 , , 19 , , 312 , , 206 , , 518 , , 113 , , 104 , , 0.7 , , 0.8 , , 13.0 , , 8.6 , , 21.2 , , 4.7 , , 4.3 , , 11 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 32 , , 8 , , 6 , , 2 , , 97 , , 42 , , 139 , , 31 , , 16 , , 0.8 , , 0.3 , , 12.1 , , 5.3 , , 17.4 , , 3.9 , , 2.0 , , 0 , - style="background:#eaeaea;" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 32 , , 11 , , 7 , , 3 , , 101 , , 41 , , 142 , , 34 , , 21 , , 0.6 , , 0.3 , , 9.2 , , 3.7 , , 12.9 , , 3.1 , , 1.9 , , 0 , - class="sortbottom" ! 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 and post football

Embley married Rayne Bryant, the daughter of

Kevin Bryant Kevin Ronald Bryant (born 8 January 1955) is a former Australian rules footballer who played with in the Western Australian National Football League (WANFL) and North Melbourne in the Victorian Football League (VFL). He also represented West ...

, who played for and , in December 2006. After 10 years of marriage the couple separated. The couple have three children together, a daughter and two sons. Embley co-owned restaurant, ''Beluga'', in

Claremont Claremont may refer to: Places Australia *Claremont, Ipswich, a heritage-listed house in Queensland * Claremont, Tasmania, a suburb of Hobart * Claremont, Western Australia, a suburb of Perth * Town of Claremont, Perth * Claremont Airbase, an ...

, with

Dean Cox Dean Michael Cox (born 1 August 1981) is a retired Australian rules footballer and the current senior coach of the Sydney Swans in the Australian Football League (AFL). Cox played a 290-game career with the West Coast Eagles. Originally from ...

, which opened in April 2011. He is working with Catalano's Seafood in Perth, in sales and doing regular cooking demonstrations. Embley is currently part o
Triple M Perth
Rush Hour Drive show with Katie Lamb and the Triple M Perth AFL call team with Lachie Reid,

Dennis Cometti Dennis John Cometti (born 26 March 1949) is an Australian retired sports commentator, player and coach of Australian rules football. In a career spanning 51 years, his smooth voice, dry humour and quick wit became his trademark. Until his retir ...

and

Xavier Ellis Xavier John Ellis (born 28 February 1988) is a media personality and former professional Australian rules football player who played with the Hawthorn Football Club and West Coast Eagles in the Australian Football League. Over 125 senior matche ...

and producer Tom Atkinson. Embley married Caitlyn Fogarty on 5 November 2021 in Perth. She is the daughter of businessman Brett Fogarty and 2020 West Australian Australian of the Year Annie Fogarty. Fogarty leads the family'
Fogarty Foundation
supporting education program in Western Australia. In August 2022, the couple announced the birth of their daughter Francesca Anne.

References

External links

* * *
Andrew Embley player profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Embley, Andrew 1981 births Anglo-Burmese people Australian people of Anglo-Burmese descent Australian people of Irish descent Australian people of Italian descent Sportspeople of Italian descent Australian people of Spanish descent Claremont Football Club players Living people Norm Smith Medal winners People educated at Trinity College, Perth Sportsmen from Western Australia Swan Districts Football Club players West Coast Eagles players West Coast Eagles premiership players Australian rules footballers from Perth, Western Australia Australia international rules football team players VFL/AFL premiership players 21st-century Australian sportsmen