He’s known for a match-winning five-goal haul against Essendon in 2008 and being a radio personality on breakfast shows around the country.

But former Adelaide forward Nick Gill has a lesser-known talent - music. 

The handy guitar player, who was on the Crows’ list from the end of 2006 until 2009, is based in Newcastle and has started a children’s band called The Quokkas.

“It’s like the Wiggles - music for kids, not with kids,” Gill, now 39, said.

“It’s with four other Newcastle vocalists, a really talented bunch.

“We’ve just been going for about a year.

“We are trying to get some songs out there now that we in Newcastle have started coming out of lockdown and started ramping up the gigs again, which is good fun.”

The band’s aim was to entertain kids, but the father-of-two said there was a special reason behind creating The Quokkas.

“We started the band with a specific message,” Gill told AFC Media.

“Although we have a lot of pretty generic songs like ‘Choo choo goes the train’, we want to create a message of inclusivity and acceptance among kids.

“All the people in the band come from diverse backgrounds and abilities.

“We have a song called ‘Everybody’s Welcome’, talking about wherever you come from, the colour of your skin, everyone is welcome.”

Gill’s 16-game AFL career finished at the end of 2009, following stints with Melbourne, North Melbourne and Adelaide - all of which were interrupted by injuries.

He then went on to work in media, specifically on breakfast radio shows around the country.

“I kind of just started with Channel 7 while I was still playing and just got a feel for what it was like,” Gill said.

“I was about 27 by that stage but I really enjoyed it.

“I went all around the country (on radio) first.

“I used to just write parody songs and sketches for the SAFM breakfast show Rabbit, Amber and Cosi and then I moved up to Cairns for a breakfast show.

“I was then down in Hobart for a year, then I went to Adelaide for Triple M, and then moved up to Newcastle after that.

“It sounds pretty corny, but I love connecting with people on air. It’s really nice meeting so many people and speaking with so many people.”

Although his AFL career ended abruptly, Gill’s love for footy never left him.

As Gill moved around the country for his media work, he always found a football club to get involved with.

“I went back and played in Cairns for the (Cairns) Saints and won my first premiership up there which was quite nice,” Gill said.

“In Hobart, I played down there and was fairly injury-riddled, much like my AFL career.

“I came back to Adelaide and played for Adelaide Uni. I think I only played six games a season. I kind of did my hamstring, then calf, then collarbone.

“But I had a great time.

“I came to Newcastle and played a couple of seasons with Newcastle City Blues up here and then retired about three years ago.”

Gill said there was a reason he kept gravitating back to footy.

“(Footy is) so much fun,” Gill said.

“The main thing I miss about footy is the mates that you make.

“I think I was in five different states in five years at one point, and when you keep uprooting your life completely and you don’t know anybody in a new town, you immediately join a football club and you've got 40 mates of at least one common interest.”

Gill, who also played 101 SANFL games for North Adelaide, said he was grateful for his time with the Crows, despite only featuring in a handful of games.

“I had a couple of goes at it, had a bit of a bad run at the first couple of clubs I was at, through no fault of theirs, I just wasn’t very good,” Gill said.

“I was nearly 25 when I was lucky enough to be picked up by the mighty Crows.

“On my first day, I remember I did my hamstring tendon and was out for six months straight away.

“So when I finally got my chance (to debut) I was absolutely stoked and very excited.

“It’s always been the Crows for me since then.”