Mark Bickley

Mark Alan Bickley (born 4 August 1969) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Adelaide Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). Bickley was a player for the Crows from 1991 until 2003, captaining the team to both the 1997 and 1998 AFL premierships. He was a media commentator, most notably with Channel 9 in Adelaide as their sports presenter. In 2011 he had a brief coaching career as caretaker coach of the Crows after the retirement of Neil Craig.

Mark Bickley
Personal information
Full name Mark Alan Bickley
Date of birth (1969-08-04) 4 August 1969
Place of birth Port Pirie, South Australia
Original team(s) Solomontown Football Club
Height 178 cm (5 ft 10 in)
Weight 82 kg (181 lb)
Playing career1
Years Club Games (Goals)
1989–1991 South Adelaide 53 (43)
1991–2003 Adelaide 272 (77)
Representative team honours
Years Team Games (Goals)
South Australia 7 (?)
International team honours
2002–03 Australia 3 (?)
Coaching career3
Years Club Games (W–L–D)
2011 Adelaide 6 (3–3–0)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 2003.
3 Coaching statistics correct as of 2011.
Career highlights

Club

Representative

Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

Career

Recruited from South Australian National Football League (SANFL) club South Adelaide, Bickley made his AFL debut in 1991 against Essendon at Windy Hill, as an inaugural member of the Adelaide Crows squad. In 1997 he was appointed captain of the Adelaide Football Club, and captained the 1997 and 1998 premiership sides.[1]

After retiring from the AFL in 2004, he began presenting the weekend sports report on Nine News Adelaide alongside Georgina McGuinness, and in 2004 he became a panellist on the Nine Network's Sunday Footy Show.

In 2009, Bickley became an assistant coach at the Crows, thus ending his career on the Sunday Footy Show and Nine News.

In 2011, Bickley took over as caretaker coach at Adelaide after Neil Craig stepped down at the end of Round 18.[2] His reign as Adelaide coach began with a convincing win over Port Adelaide in Showdown XXXI.[3] It was just their fifth win of the season, and their second since the end of April. This was followed up with a narrow 5-point victory over the Brisbane Lions at the Gabba in Round 20, for the Crows' first win outside of Adelaide this season. Overall, Bickley has coached Adelaide for three wins and three losses, the last of those a 96-point loss to West Coast.

In November 2014 Mark Bickley joined the 5AA talk radio station as a co-host of the top rating weeknight sports show.

Statistics
[4]
Legend
 G  Goals  B  Behinds  K  Kicks  H  Handballs  D  Disposals  M  Marks  T  Tackles
Season Team No. Games Totals Averages (per game)
G B K H D M T G B K H D M T
1991 Adelaide 26183716814231047190.20.49.37.917.22.61.1
1992 Adelaide 26223126524751273370.10.012.011.223.33.31.7
1993 Adelaide 262313929726656393630.60.412.911.624.54.02.7
1994 Adelaide 26112415010025034280.20.413.69.122.73.12.5
1995 Adelaide 26222421717839552420.10.29.98.118.02.41.9
1996 Adelaide 26228626320847176610.40.312.09.521.43.52.8
1997 Adelaide 2626122135119754884800.50.813.57.621.13.23.1
1998 Adelaide 2623101127016043074640.40.511.77.018.73.22.8
1999 Adelaide 26187417415232654250.40.29.78.418.13.01.4
2000 Adelaide 26205924013937961500.30.512.07.019.03.12.5
2001 Adelaide 26232528514943474620.10.212.46.518.93.22.7
2002 Adelaide 26205524218542785540.30.312.19.321.44.32.7
2003 Adelaide 26245424119143279730.20.210.08.018.03.33.0
Career 272 77 90 3163 2314 5477 886 658 0.3 0.3 11.6 8.5 20.1 3.3 2.4

References
  1. Holmesby, Russell; Main, Jim (2003). The Encyclopedia of AFL Footballers: every AFL/VFL player since 1897 (5th ed.). Melbourne, Victoria: Crown Content. p. 52–53. ISBN 1-74095-032-1.
  2. http://au.sports.yahoo.com/afl/news/article/-/9909033/neil-craig-stands-down-as-adelaide-coach/?cmp=fb
  3. Bickley opens with Showdown win | AFL | Fox Sports
  4. Mark Bickley's player profile at AFL Tables
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