Andrew Embley

DOB

27/6/1981

Height

189cm

Weight

91 kg

Junior club

Swan Districts/Bassendean JFC

Arrived

Pick 57 in the 1998 national draft

Number

32

Debut

Round 1 1999 vs Fremantle
(117th Eagles player)

Games

250

Goals

216

Honours

Premiership medal (2006)
Norm Smith Medal (2006)
Best Clubman (2005)

B&F Top 10

6 (2003, 2004, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011)

Best Finish

4th (2008)

Last app.

Round 23 2013 vs Adelaide

Departed

Retired at the end of the 2013 season

Other clubs

Swan Districts (WAFL) 1998, 2000-2013
Claremont (WAFL) 1999
Maddington (WAAFL) (2014)
Trinity-Aquinas (WAAFL) 2015

Talented wingman Andrew Embley played 250 games for the club but will be remembered primarily for his Norm Smith Medal-winning effort in the 2006 Grand Final.

West Coast career[]

Drafted late in the 1998 draft as a 17-year-old, Embley made his debut in the opening round of 1999 and held his spot for six of the first seven games of his rookie season. He played nine games for year but spent the latter part of the year at Claremont under the host club arrangement.

Back at his junior club Swan Districts in 2000, Embley added another 13 games and showed his potential with a four-goal haul against Port Adelaide which earned him a Rising Star nomination. Generally playing off a half-forward flank, he continued to improve over the next couple of years. Embley's real break-out year came in 2003 when he kicked 31 goals for the year, more than anyone bar Phil Matera. His performances that season included a career-best five goals against Carlton as well as a best-afield four goal effort against Collingwood, and resulted in a fifth-place finish in the Club Champion award.

In 2004 Embley was added to the leadership group as a vice-captain to Ben Cousins. He also began to move into the midfield, making a name for himself as a hard-running wingman. Along with Michael Braun and Chad Fletcher he became an important foil to the star midfield trio of Cousins, Judd and Kerr. Despite missing a handful of games in the middle of the year with a knee injury, Embley again finished in the top 10 of the best and fairest, and was one of the Eagles' best in the bad elimination final loss.

Injury again struck in 2005. One round after turning in the best game of his career, a three-goal, 35-disposal performance against Melbourne, he suffered a broken foot that kept him out for a couple of months, though he was able to return in time for the finals.

Embley was at his best in 2006, equalling his 2003 effort with 31 goals. A shoulder injury late in the year caused him to miss the first final, but he was back for the semi-final and turned in a fantastic finals series. His efforts in the Grand Final, which hincluded two goals, 26 disposals and a couple of critical marks late in the game, earned him a Norm Smith Medal.

Groin and hamstring injuries limited him to just 13 games during 2007, and he was controversially dropped from the leadership group at the end of the year. He also hit the headlines for the wrong reasons, with a dressing-room clash with teammate Daniel Chick one of a number of unsavoury stories to come out during the Eagles' annus horribillus. To his credit Embley responded well the following season, with a shift to a halfback role resulting in a fourth-place finish in the B&F, the best result of his career.

Embley was a reasonable performer during West Coast's poor run between 2008 and 2010, playing 62 of a possible 66 games and finishing in the top 10 of the Club Champion countdown each season, but with the club looking to rebuild its playing list it seemed he may be phased out. He then had a renaissance season in 2011, setting a career high for disposals and playing a major role in the side's sudden turnaround from wooden spooners to preliminary finalists.

As with so many other veterans, when the end came it came quickly. Embley missed the majority of the 2012 season with a shoulder injury and found himself in Swan Districts' colours for the first time in a decade. He then bounced between the seniors and Swans for much of 2013, with hamstring and foot injuries contributing to his poor form. Stranded on 249 games and left out of the senior side late in the season, he announced his retirement and, with the Eagles out of finals contention, was recalled for his 250th and final game in the last round along with fellow retiree Adam Selwood.

Post-AFL career[]

Embley appears on Channel Seven's WAFL coverage and co-owned a seafood restaurant with Dean Cox.^[1] He also took on an assistant coaching role at Claremont.^[2] Late in 2018, he was announced as an assistant coach for West Coast's inaugural AFL Women's side, scheduled to join the national competition in 2020.^[3]

Stats[]

AFL	Gm	G	B	K	M	H	D	T	Cl	WAFL	Gm	G	B	K	M	H	D	T
1999	9	3	3	41	17	17	58	4	11	Clar	13	9
2000	13	10	8	87	47	42	129	19	19	SD	3	5
2001	15	15	11	94	60	78	172	12	9		3	3
2002	18	14	12	122	66	64	186	34	12		3	5
2003	19	31	19	237	104	105	342	28	33		0
2004	17	14	12	211	89	112	323	45	36		0
2005	18	24	21	260	102	115	375	37	18		0
2006	23	31	29	313	138	130	443	33	13		0
2007	13	10	12	166	65	100	266	23	12		0
2008	21	7	13	311	156	181	492	41	20		0
2009	21	16	12	292	102	180	472	53	35		0
2010	20	11	6	264	105	200	464	69	52		0
2011	24	17	19	312	113	206	518	104	50		0
2012	8	6	2	97	31	42	139	16	15		2	2	1	24	13	12	36	0
2013	11	7	3	101	34	41	142	21	9		6	10	10	89	43	41	130	6
Tot	250	216	182	2908	1229	1613	4521	539	344
Avg		0.9		11.6	4.9	6.5	18.1	2.2	1.4