FORMER Essendon player and coach James Hird has joined Greater Western Sydney as a leadership advisor.
The Giants announced on Tuesday that Hird would take up a part-time role at the club.
It will be the 1996 Brownlow Medalist's first official role in football since leaving the Bombers at the end of 2015 after the fallout from the club's supplements scandal.
Hird said the opportunity arose through connections both on and off the field at GWS.
"It probably came about through Matt de Boer actually," Hird said on Tuesday.
"I had got to know him quite well through some work away from the club and he invited me to come down and have lunch with the players while the team were in Melbourne last year,"
"Mark McVeigh then asked if I would come and speak to the group about playing football in Melbourne, my experiences in the AFL, and impart some of my life journey. For younger players it's good to hear, but also for senior players.
"Getting to know Leon (Cameron), I've had a huge amount of respect for him over a very long period of time, so getting the chance to work with him was something I was really looking forward to.
"It's a part-time role, and very much around the leadership group, but also around the emerging leaders and sharing my experiences in football and trying to get them to lead and encourage and work hard on that side of things."
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Giants general manager of football Jason McCartney said the club was excited to get someone with Hird's football pedigree on board.
"An opportunity presented to work with James in a leadership consultancy role in 2022 and given how successful James has been in the game, we knew he would have a lot to offer our club.
"It's fantastic to have someone of James' calibre join our program and work with our leadership group and emerging leaders' group.
"We welcome James' insights from both his storied football career and his work in the business world."