Essendon Football Club is pleased to announce Luke Ball has been appointed to the role of Manager, People Performance, at the Bombers.

Ball joins the Club from the AFL, where he held a range of positions working in umpiring, match review and football operations.

He had a decorated AFL career, playing 223 games with St Kilda, which he captained between 2006 and 2007, and Collingwood, including the 2010 Magpies Premiership.

During his playing career, Ball was the President of the AFL Players Association between 2012 and 2014.

General Manager of Football, Dan Richardson, said Ball will bring a wealth of knowledge and experience to the Club.

“We are really excited to have Luke join the Club in this important role,” Richardson said.

“Luke is highly respected and brings over 15 years of AFL industry experience to the Club. His extensive knowledge of football both as a player and in many areas throughout the AFL make his appointment a significant result for the Club.”

Ball will report directly to General Manager of People and Culture, Lisa Lawry, whilst having a strong working relationship with Dan Richardson and Senior Coach, John Worsfold.

“Luke will be responsible for building and developing the leadership capability across our playing group as well as coach development, maximising the relationship between coaches and the playing group, and building the alignment between the players shared vision and the broader club values,” Lawry said.

Ball said he was excited and appreciative to have the opportunity to join the Essendon Football Club.

“The club has clearly shown great resilience over recent years to work their way through an extremely difficult period, into a position of opportunity and optimism," Ball Said.

“I look forward to working with and learning from a hungry and exciting young playing list, group of coaches and staff, who in unison have an intense desire to maximize their opportunity and potential."

Ball will officially join the Club on Monday, 15th January, 2018.