Nick Malceski

Nick Malceski
Personal information
Full name	Nick Malceski
Date of birth	15 August 1984 (1984-08-15) (age 27)
Original team	Eastern Ranges (TAC Cup)
Draft	#64, 2002 National Draft, Sydney
Height/Weight	189cm / 86kg
Position(s)	Defender
Club information
Current club	Sydney
Number	9
Playing career1
Years	Club	Games (Goals)
2005–	Sydney	104 (48)
1 Playing statistics to end of 2011 season .

Nick Malceski (born 15 August 1984) is an Australian rules footballer playing for the Sydney Swans in the Australian Football League. Malceski is a Macedonian Australian, being of ethnic Macedonian heritage.

Overview

Malceski was recruited from the Eastern Rangers by the Sydney Swans in the 2002 AFL Draft. He was drafted in Sydney's 5th and last round selection at 64th overall.

In his first year at the club, the talented midfielder played in the Wizard Home Loans Cup and then followed up with a full season for the Swans Reserves, where he impressed coaching staff with his magnificent disposal skills on both sides of his body and excellent decision-making abilities in both attack and defence. After a successful first season with the Swans, Malceski and coaching staff had high hopes for him making his debut for the seniors in the 2004 premiership season. Unfortunately, Malceski ruptured his left anterior cruciate ligament during a trial game, requiring him to have a knee reconstruction, thus ruining any hopes of him making a seniors debut in 2004.

In 2005, Malceski surprised everyone by fully recovering from his knee injury both physically and mentally, and was rewarded with a seniors debut. He scored his first career goal with his first kick. Malceski went on to play another four matches for the seniors in the 2005 premiership season.

In 2006, Nick got the call up to play for the seniors in round 3, along with a new guernsey, No. 9. He played well and held his spot in the team, scoring five goals and averaged 14 possessions a game. However, Malceski pulled up with a hamstring injury during the first quarter of the Swans' round 9 clash against Hawthorn at the MCG. Scans later revealed he would miss the next 3 or 4 weeks.

In the Round 4, 2006 match against Melbourne he had the opportunity to level the scores in the dying moments but missed from 25 metres out and the Demons hung on. This was an inapt way to cap off his game which was considered to have shown a lot of promise – with several long kicks and attacking flair shown. The match marked his arrival as a promising young player.

Malceski's form earned him selection in the 2006 AFL Grand Final where he garnered 10 possessions and kicked an important goal, however his side ultimately lost in his first Grand Final appearance.

In 2007, Malceski continued to impress with exquisite disposal skills. Malceski cemented his place in the Sydney Swans team with several stand-out performances early in the season. His speed and accuracy off half-back has made him an important cog in the Sydney Swans team. In Round 5, 2007 against the Melbourne Demons, Malceski was awarded best on ground with 28 disposals and 1 goal. A great season performance in 2007 resulted Malceski to be runner-up in the clubs prestigious Skilton Medal, only second to Sydney midfielder Brett Kirk.

After his break-out year in 2007, Malceski and Swans coaching staff had high hopes for an even more successful 2008. However, their hopes were delivered a cruel blow when Malceski suffered what appeared to be a serious knee injury to his right knee after he twisted it when changing direction during the 3rd quarter of the Swans Round 1, NAB Cup clash with Hawthorn in Tasmania. It was expected that the ACL injury would rule Malceski out for the remainder of the season, however, a synthetic ligament was installed into the knee and he returned to the side in a game against Essendon midway through the season.

In 2010, after 2 years of disappointing form and recovery from his serious knee injury, Malceski returned to his best form. Returning to the half back line, his run and precision kicking were great assets for the Swans as they pushed towards the finals. He capped of his wonderful year by placing 7th in the Bob Skilton Medal and being named in the initial 40 man All-Australian squad.

In the 2011 pre-season, Malceski re-tore his ACL ligament in his right knee. It was announced he would be having LARS surgery again and he would be out for 10-12 weeks.

Season Statistics

Year	Team	Number	Games	Kicks	Handballs	Total Disposals	Marks	Tackles	Goals	Behinds	Goal Accuracy %	Brownlow Medal Votes
2005	Sydney	40	5	21	11	32	10	3	1	1	50%	0
2006	Sydney	9	17	148	57	205	68	53	9	7	56%	0
2007	Sydney	9	23	333	148	481	150	60	14	5	74%	9
2008	Sydney	9	11	110	47	157	53	19	6	1	86%	0
2009	Sydney	9	12	112	70	183	37	16	5	5	50%	0
2010	9	24	339	204	543	128	60	7	9	44%	4		Totals		92	1064	537	1601	446	211	42	28	60%	13

External links

• Sydney Swans player profile

Persondata
Name	Malceski, Nick
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	15 August 1984
Place of birth
Date of death
Place of death