One of Brett Deledio’s greatest legacies from his time at the GIANTS was the impact he had on the younger generation.
“I've still got a lot of blokes [at the GIANTS] that I would call friends, and I take a keen interest in the young blokes that were drafted when I was there,” Deledio said.
“You develop those relationships with them, you're watching them develop and grow.”
Deledio called time on his playing career in 2019, after a 15-year career in the AFL, and 275 games for Richmond and the GIANTS.
His first year of retirement was a rollercoaster. After an opportunity to work at Hawthorn as a development coach was cut short due to the pandemic salary cap cuts, Deledio turned to his former agent, Anthony McConville.
Deledio is now in his third year as a player manager for Mac’s Sports and has relished the transition.
“It allows me to impart the knowledge and experience that I've learned over years on to these young kids,” he said.
“But it also allows me to stay involved in footy, I get a real opportunity just to spend a lot of time talking about the thing that I love.”
Deledio also reflects very fondly on his time at the GIANTS.
“It was an incredible experience going up there and one that I'm grateful for having.
“Given that I was always in a bit of a bubble here in a city like Melbourne and in a big footy town, to go out there and experience the anonymity and life on the Sydney beaches.
“It was the two different sides of the coin in terms of size of the club, you know, one was one with 100,000 members versus a start-up essentially, in its infancy in terms of building its history.”
Deledio’s favourite moment at the club was his debut in the orange and charcoal, “It was memorable purely because it took me about 18 weeks to actually get a game due to injury and whatever else.”
The Giants get right around Brett Deledio as he kicks his first goal in an orange guernsey. #AFLGiantsDees pic.twitter.com/pzt2vY6n2m
— AFL (@AFL) August 5, 2017
“So that was good fun. I couldn't find a lot of the footy. But we smacked Melbourne, down in Canberra, with Mum and Dad making the trip, all my best mates were there as well.”
“I experienced my first ever Gatorade shower. I never got one of those. They didn't do them back in the day when I started.”
“And then I remember playing a game in the NEAFL, Dyl Buckley and I often speak about this, saying that we started Tom Green's career. He was a 17-year-old kid in our midfield. You knew back then that he was going to be a good player, and now he’s playing bloody well for the GIANTS.”
