Deledio done a calf injury.
OK…its an article by SWMNBN, but this is a great outcome for Emma and a big loss for football fans who want articles written with intelligence, empathy and insight.
The Age journalist Emma Quayle breaks AFL barrier in recruiting role for GWS Giants
The women’s revolution that has engulfed the AFL over the summer has broken another barrier with the appointment of Emma Quayle as the game’s first female club recruiter.
And as Greater Western Sydney unveiled its new prize off-field recruit the club did so with a sense of pride that not only had they chosen Emma, but that the award-winning Fairfax Media football journalist had chosen them.
“We feel like we’re a club that likes to do things differently,” said Giants football boss Wayne Campbell. "We’re really proud but we now need to make a success of it and we are partly proud because Emma in a way half chose us.
“It’s no secret that several clubs had spoken to her about crossing over from journalism but she believes in us and our future and even though she gets on well with (GWS recruiters) Craig Cameron and Adrian Caruso she is plunging into the unknown in a way.”
“We need to make this work. It’s a legitimate role and we didn’t want it to be part of a game directive we wanted to own it - it’s coming out of our football budget.”
The transforming of yet another gender dynamic in clubs was championed by Gillon McLachlan but was ultimately driven and funded by the Giants for purposes of timing also. The club, said Campbell, has been forced to expand its recruiting resources and potential talent pools due to the AFL’s changes to the academy rules.
“We need to spread our wings a bit across Australia,” he said, "because of the restrictions placed on our academy talent and if our points go early in the next few drafts we will need to look at playersat the back end of the draft.
"Emma’s worked with young talent for a long period of time and she’s passionate about that work but to be honest we need to see whether that eye for talent can work critically and not just positively.
“What we know she will be very good at is interviewing the young players because she has a great skill at putting people at ease while taking them out of their comfort zone.”
As football clubs intensified their focus on recruiting not only great players of the future but also sold young men the Giants football chief believed that there was a gap in recruiting which could be filled not only by an expert communicator but also one with a different perspective.
“Given the combination of her skills and the fact that she’s a woman -and women see things differently to men - we think she’ll bring something to our team. Seeing Eleni (Glouftsis) come into the AFL umpiring department…it changes the dynamic and that is a good thing.”
On a personal note, having worked alongside Emma for almost two decades, it has been a joy to witness her empathy with young footballers and her passion for not only their promise but also their personal histories. These skills have made her without question the go to journalist in the lead up to each national draft.
Listening to her negotiate stories over the years is to understand that many club recruiters and football managers also interrogate her, asking as many questions about certain players as she is asking them.
Memorable award-winning articles still resonate years after they were written. Notable among them was ‘The Street Named Desire’ (2008) which told of three young boys - Nick Naitanui, Michael Walters and Chris Yarran - growing up as neighbours in Western Australia through to last year’s remarkable feature on Essendon’s Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti.
Also notable among her 18-year Fairfax file is that Emma broke the story of Adelaide’s under-the-table dealings with Kurt Tippett and the subsequent AFL investigation, is the author of two unique football books and will venture into this new role with as much good will from her colleagues as is conceivably possible given the sad nature of any ending.
But Emma’s compassion, communication and subtle analytical skills should serve her and the AFL’s newest club well in their quest for the Giants’ first premiership as she works to sort the wheat from the chaff as their recruiting frontiers expand.
It’s made footy journalism a much worse place, but good for her on getting the gig.
Probably a safer long term line of work to be in than print media too, so smart career move too.
Will really miss reading her stuff though. Quite literally nobody else in footy journalism is capable of producing that level of insight, quality, & humanity.
Nooooooooooooooo.
Congrats to Emma!
Massive loss for a dying profession. No more so in football.
Also an opportunity lost for our footy club.
Escaped from Alcatraz (Fairfax).
Emma has just landed the world’s easiest job.
All part of a grand plan for our Emma.
Infiltrate the AFL love child.
Stay a few years and help recruit some young guns,
Move over to Essendon once Dodoro departs
Convince young GWS guns that she previously help recruit to that club to head over to her beloved Bombers (and send their scraps to Silvagni at FC).
Help decimate the Giants list whilst strengthening ours at the same time.
Many flags follow for Essendon whilst GWS are forced to fold in a few years time leaving the AFL with an insurmountable debt.
After her work is complete at Essendon, and were back to our God given postion of power at the top of the comp, she joins the AFL as Umpires Director and we start getting a “Free Kick Hawthorn”- like free ride from the umps in all of our matches.
Ingenious but a devilishly cunning plan by Emma to help right the wrongs that have been perpetrated against the club over the past five years.
2 Likes
The long game
Team of players who have left GWS
B: Frost (Melb), Lachie Plowman (Carl), Jack Hombsch (PA)
HB: Kristian Jaksch (Carl), Caleb Marchbank (Carl), Tom Bugg (Melb)
C: Jack Steele (STK), Taylor Adams (Coll), Anthony Miles (Rich)
HF: Will Hoskin-Elliott (Coll), Tom Boyd (WB), Jono O’Rourke (Haw)
FF: Liam Sumner (Carl) Josh Bruce (STK), Cam McCarthy (Fre)
Foll: Andrew Phillips (Carl), Adam Treloar (Coll), Dom Tyson (Melb)
I/C: Jacob Townsend (Rich), Jonathan Giles (WCE), Jarrod Pickett (Carl), Curtly Hampton (Adel)
No Edwards, Aylett, stewart
2 Likes
Holy crap.
That’s a legit AFL team.
They’d beat Carlton.
1 Like
Oooooooh baby…
Suddenly that is looking like the move of the offseason. Saw the crumbling finances of The Age and jumped to a lifelong gig of watching footy and going on AFL funded junkets.
Where do I sign?
1 Like
Half of them play for Carlton.
1 Like
Sounds like GWS are pushing to play a home game against Richmond in Mumbai in 2019.
I thought we were looking at some sort of initiative with India but looks like we have been beaten to it
McNeice for Kelly pls.
Might as well, it’s not like anyone in Australia gives a ■■■■ about them.
GWS colours are close to the Indian flag.
What’s the bet they tweak them a little for marketing purposes?
I have a GWS conspiracy theory…because we’ll I like tin foil hats.
Sheedy was a plant to endear GWS to essendon fans dis enchanted by his sacking.
The AFL estimated when the giants would be flag ready so they lined up the norm smith presso with Hird.
At the very least they will be hoping we buy some gf tickets to a granny where half the seats threaten to be empty unless a Vic team makes it.