[citation needed] Emerton was a product of the Australian Institute of Sport and started his career with Sydney Olympic in the National Soccer League in August 1996.

[5] He won a UEFA Cup winners medal in May 2002[6] (although Emerton himself was banned for the final)[7] and being named the 2002 Oceania Footballer of the Year.

[15] However, the club preserved their Premiership status following a change of manager and reached the FA Cup semi-finals, where they lost to Arsenal.

It was revealed on 2 February that he had damaged his cruciate ligament, which meant he would miss the remainder of the season, 6 to 9 months being his expected recovery time.

[citation needed] On 25 July 2010, he replaced Morten Gamst Pedersen in the 60th minute in the 2–1 defeat to Rangers in the Sydney Festival of Football tournament held in Australia, but could not prevent the team from losing.

He was made captain for his final match for Blackburn against Everton at Ewood Park on 27 August 2011, playing the full 90 minutes.

[24] On 25 August 2011, it was announced that Emerton had signed with two time A-League champions, Sydney FC on a three-year deal after terminating his contract with Blackburn Rovers by mutual consent returning him to his homeland after 11 years abroad.

He made his début at Etihad Stadium against A-League giants Melbourne Victory, where he had a 33rd-minute penalty saved by Ante Covic and came off in the 84th minute in front of 40,000 people in attendance in the 0–0 draw.

He scored his first goal in the round 7 game against the Central Coast Mariners from a free kick, but Sydney slumped to a 3–2 defeat.

[26] On 23 March 2013, Emerton was shown a red card against Western Sydney Wanderers for a studs-up challenge on left-back and former teammate Shannon Cole.

[34] He played in the team that comprehensively beat England 3–1 at the Boleyn Ground in February 2003, scoring the final goal to seal an impressive win.

He also scored two goals against Qatar on 15 October in Brisbane, one from the penalty spot and the other a right foot finish from a flowing Australian move.

Emerton scored a late winner against Oman in the 2011 Asian Cup Qualifying fixture to give the Socceroos a 2–1 win.

Emerton started and scored the winner in a 1–0 victory for the Socceroos against Hong Kong in East Asian Cup qualification.