For over 15 years, James Hird has been one of the AFL's greatest champions. He's captained Essendon to a premiership, won a Brownlow Medal, been voted his club's Best and Fairest four times, represented Australia in five International Series, and been named the third greatest Essendon player of all time. But Hird's record as a footballer is only part of his story.
In the same year he won the Brownlow he graduated as an engineer. Despite the workload and the pressures of professional football and captaining his club, he has worked as a stockbroker, an airline employee, a television executive, a media personality and a partner in a sports marketing consultancy. His perspective on the game is informed by a wealth of life knowledge, and his perspective on life is informed by an equal wealth of football experience.
Reading the Play is a fascinating account of his life and his views - both on the sport he loves and on the things he finds important, from the fundamentals of family, to self-discipline and the power of courage. It's frank, informed, entertaining and inspiring. And like Hird himself, completely unique. Canberra-born James Hird was still a teenager when picked in the 1991 draft by Essendon. Two years later the team won the AFL premiership, a feat that was repeated in 2000. Hird took over the role of captain in 1998, having already been voted the club's Best and Fairest three years running from 1994 and won the coveted Brownlow Medal in 1996. He handed over the Essendon captaincy to Matthew Lloyd for the 2006 season but continues to contribute as a senior player. Away from the footy field, James graduated with honours from RMIT. Since 2004 he has been a partner with Gemba, a sports media consultancy. James Hird lives in Melbourne with his wife Tania and their three children.
