Mitch Clark

Mitch Clark
Mitch Clark at Brisbane Lions pre-season training in December 2008.
Personal information
Full name	Mitchell Clark
Date of birth	19 October 1987 (1987-10-19) (age 24)
Original team	East Fremantle (WAFL)
Draft	#9, 2005 National Draft, Brisbane Lions
Height/Weight	200cm / 99kg
Position(s)	Ruckman / Forward
Club information
Current club	Melbourne
Number	-
Playing career1
Years	Club	Games (Goals)
2006–2011 2012– Total	Brisbane Lions Melbourne	82 (61) 0 (0) 82 (61)
1 Playing statistics to end of 2011 season .
Career highlights
2011 Brisbane Lions leading goalkicker

Mitchell "Mitch" Clark (born 19 October 1987) is an Australian rules footballer who plays for the Melbourne Football Club in the Australian Football League. Standing at 2 metres tall, Clark is known for his ability to take aerial or contested marks, and is a reliable kick at goal. He is considered a key figure in Melbourne's future as a full forward or, as a ruckman, after his breakthrough 2009 season in the position during his time at the Brisbane Lions.

Career

Background

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

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]

2006-2008: Injury plagued

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. Geez, 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: Breakthrough

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 Brisbane Lions 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]

2010

2011

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.

Statistics

Mitch Clark is number 11 for demons

Statistics are correct as of end of 2011 season.^[6]

Season	Team	No.	Games	Goals	Behinds	Kicks	Marks	Handballs	Disposals
2006	Brisbane Lions	1	6	3	2	32	18	17	49
2007			4	7	6	25	19	11	36
2008			12	8	7	73	48	44	117
2009			24	7	7	192	144	198	390
2010			19	9	9	166	99	118	284
2011			17	27	13	159	83	78	237
2012	Melbourne		0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Totals			82	61	44	647	411	466	1113

References

1. ^ "Phantom Draft VI: the full list", lions.com.au, 24 November 2005. Archived from the original on September 19, 2009.
2. ^ ^{a b c} 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. http://www.news.com.au/perthnow/story/0,21598,25930941-5014933,00.html. Retrieved 19 September 2009. 
4. ^ Murphy, Catherine (29 May 2007). "NAB AFL Rising Star: round 9". http://www.afl.com.au/news/newsarticle/tabid/208/newsid/44175/default.aspx. Retrieved 19 September 2009. 
5. ^ Hogan, Jesse (15 September 2009). "Unlucky Lion ruckman misses cut". Brisbane Times. http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/afl/afl-news/unlucky-lion-ruckman-misses-cut-20091124-j3ip.html. Retrieved 24 January 2011. 
6. ^ "Mitch Clark statistics". AFL Tables. http://stats.rleague.com/afl/stats/players/M/Mitch_Clark.html. Retrieved 2009-09-19. 

External links

• Mitch Clark's profile on the Official AFL Website of the Brisbane Lions Football Club
• Mitch Clark's statistics from AFL Tables

Persondata
Name	Clark, Mitch
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	19 October 1987
Place of birth
Date of death
Place of death