LEADING player agent Marty Pask will be stepping out of the management game after 15 years, with the former Brisbane and Western Bulldogs player leaving prominent stable Kapital Sports.
Pask, who has managed the likes of former Essendon captain Dyson Heppell, Richmond premiership heroes Dylan Grimes, Dion Prestia and Brandon Ellis and who helped broker Caleb Daniel's recent trade from the Western Bulldogs to North Melbourne and Jack Graham's free agency move from Richmond to West Coast this off-season, informed clubs this week of the decision to step away.
Pask, a managing director and part owner of Kapital Sports, finished his player management chapter of an impressive football resume this week as he looks for his next challenge.
"I have been blessed with so many wonderful experiences with so many amazing people. I think the thing I enjoyed the most was working with so many great people," Pask said.
"Some of the people in the industry I have known since I was 17 coming through the AFL system – right through to former teammates now doing great things in the industry.
"And then there's the families and the players I have represented, and I'll have lifelong connections with them."
Daniel is among his current cohort of clients, with North Melbourne's Tristan Xerri, Port Adelaide's Ryan Burton, Collingwood's Isaac Quaynor and Essendon's Ben Hobbs also in that group.
Pask told clubs this week of the decision and said taking a draftee through the under-18 system onto AFL success would remain a huge highlight.
"The calls and texts I have received over the past 48 hours has been incredible from past players, mums and dads, industry people. It’s been very much appreciated. It’s nice to know you made an impact," he said.
"To take a young player on and his family was always a great experience. As an agent you execute all the roles in football, from talent ID, to welfare, to contract negotiation and list management when trying to find the right situation for a player. You watch a lot of football to know what trends and situations may suit your player at different clubs."
After dealing with clubs on contracts and trades over the course of his management stint, Pask will now assess his next step in footy.
"The time now is for me to recharge. I would like to look at what is next and how I can make an impact with something new. I've got 20 years of AFL industry experience plus 10 years running a business so I've experienced a lot," he said.
"Kapital Sports has been a wonderful professional experience building the business to what it is now and I wish Peter (Lenton), John (Meesen) and 'Maxy' (Mark Kleiman) all the very best as it enters its next phase under new leadership. The players are in good hands."