Mitch Clark (Australian footballer)

Mitchell Clark (born 19 October 1987) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Brisbane Lions, Melbourne Football Club and Geelong Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL).

Mitch Clark
Clark with the Brisbane Lions in December 2008
Personal information
Full name Mitchell Clark
Date of birth (1987-10-19) 19 October 1987
Original team(s) East Fremantle (WAFL)
Draft No. 9, 2005 National Draft
Height 200 cm (6 ft 7 in)
Weight 103 kg (227 lb)
Position(s) Forward, ruckman
Playing career1
Years Club Games (Goals)
2006–2011 Brisbane Lions 082 0(61)
2012–2014 Melbourne 015 0(36)
2015–2016 Geelong 009 0(14)
Total 106 (111)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 2016.
Career highlights
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

Junior career

Clark began his football career with East Fremantle in the Western Australian Football League (WAFL).

AFL career

Brisbane (2006–2011)

Although Clark was hit by meningococcal disease the week before the 2005 AFL Draft, Brisbane showed their strong interest, making him their first pick, the ninth player drafted across all clubs and presenting him with their number "1" guernsey; he later made a full recovery from his illness.[1] Clark made an impressive debut for the Brisbane Lions in the first round of the 2006 season against Geelong, converting his first mark and subsequent kick into a goal, but his debut season was significantly hampered by injury problems, in particular osteitis pubis,[2] and only ended up playing a total six games that season.

"He's going to be dangerous. Jeez, you'd love to be able to run like that."

Jonathan Brown[3]

Clark played his first game for the 2007 season in round nine against Collingwood, after overcoming his injury problems. His five goals in that match earned him an AFL Rising Star nomination.[4] However, the promising return lasted only three weeks before Clark was hit by injury again, allowing him only one more game that season.

Even before the 2008 season began, Clark was already in injury strife, after injuring his quad during pre-season training.[2] Clark played his first game for 2008 in round seven against Geelong, and lost by 27 points after falling away in the last quarter. Clark kicked three goals in the process. He managed to string together twelve consecutive games for the season, but was sidelined for the remainder after the round 18 clash with North Melbourne, during which he injured his quads yet again.[2]

2009 turned out to be a breakthrough year for Clark. Season-ending injuries to Matthew Leuenberger and Jamie Charman resulted in Clark shouldering the Brisbane ruck duties for the majority of the season. Leaving his injury prone tendencies behind, Clark played in all 24 possible games, including two finals. By the end of the season, Clark had gained acknowledgement as one the competition's elite mobile ruckmen, was rewarded by selection in the 40-man All-Australian squad, and was considered unlucky to miss out on selection in the final team.[5]

Melbourne (2012–2014)

At the completion of the 2011 season Clark informed the Brisbane Lions he would not be renewing his contract with the club and that he desired a move home to Perth. Fremantle Dockers were close to signing the key position player but equivocated on compensation for the Lions, and Clark was eventually swayed by a significantly better offer from the Melbourne Demons, which also provided a better result for the Lions. He was given the number 11 guernsey at the Demons, made famous by Jim Stynes, who also presented it to him.[6]

Clark starred in the first half of his debut season, kicking 29 goals in 11 games to sit equal-fourth in the Coleman Medal, before tearing his Lisfranc ligament in his foot against GWS in round 13.[7] This injury ruled him out for the rest of the season and held him back in 2013 as well, where he played just the four games.

In April 2014 Clark announced his immediate retirement from football, due to clinical depression and personal issues.[8]

Geelong (2015–2016)

On 15 October 2014 Clark was traded to the Cats in a deal which saw Travis Varcoe join Collingwood and Heritier Lumumba join Melbourne.[9] At the conclusion of the 2016 season, he was delisted by Geelong.[10]

Statistics
[11]
Legend
 G  Goals  B  Behinds  K  Kicks  H  Handballs  D  Disposals  M  Marks  T  Tackles  H/O  Hit-outs
Season Team No. Games Totals Averages (per game)
G B K H D M T H/O G B K H D M T H/O
2006 Brisbane Lions 16323217491817200.50.35.32.98.23.02.83.3
2007 Brisbane Lions 147625113619581.81.56.32.89.14.81.32.0
2008 Brisbane Lions 1128773441174818490.70.66.13.79.84.01.54.1
2009 Brisbane Lions 12477192198390144945280.30.38.08.316.36.03.922.0
2010 Brisbane Lions 1199916611828499502150.50.58.76.214.95.24.611.3
2011 Brisbane Lions 1172713159782378334821.60.89.44.614.04.92.04.8
2012 Melbourne 11112918108311395341212.61.69.82.812.64.83.71.9
2013 Melbourne 1147225103514621.80.56.32.58.83.51.50.5
2014 Melbourne 110————————————————
2015 Geelong 1981465928873516151.80.87.43.510.94.42.01.9
2016 Geelong 1910037103350.00.03.07.010.03.03.05.0
Career 106 111 70 842 542 1384 416 264 965 1.1 0.7 8.0 5.1 13.1 4.9 2.5 9.1

References
  1. "Phantom Draft VI: the full list", lions.com.au, 24 November 2005. Archived from the original on 19 September 2009.
  2. Mitchell Clark Player Profile bio, lions.com.au, retrieved 2009-09-19.
  3. Sheahan, Mike (14 August 2009). "Mitch Clark of the course". Herald Sun. Retrieved 19 September 2009.
  4. Murphy, Catherine (29 May 2007). "NAB AFL Rising Star: round 9". Archived from the original on 1 October 2012. Retrieved 19 September 2009.
  5. Hogan, Jesse (15 September 2009). "Unlucky Lion ruckman misses cut". Brisbane Times. Retrieved 24 January 2011.
  6. "Clark handed Stynes' No.11". afl.com.au. 5 December 2011. Retrieved 5 December 2011.
  7. "Demon Clark out for season". The West Australian. 25 June 2012. Retrieved 21 June 2020.
  8. "Mitch Clark retires due to ongoing battle with depression". www.abc.net.au. 8 April 2014. Retrieved 21 June 2020.
  9. Clark a Cat, three-way deal sees Varcoe join Magpies, AFL.com.au official website, 15 October 2014
  10. Cherny, Daniel (24 October 2016). "Mitch Clark delisted by Geelong Cats, AFL career looks finished". The Age. Fairfax Media. Retrieved 21 October 2016.
  11. "Mitch Clark". AFL Tables. Retrieved 19 September 2009.
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