Gavin Mitchell (born 28 December 1972) is a former

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by k ...

er in the

Australian Football League The Australian Football League (AFL) is the only fully professional competition of Australian rules football. Through the AFL Commission, the AFL also serves as the sport's governing body and is responsible for controlling the laws of the gam ...

. Known for his pace and goalsneak ability, Mitchell debuted with the

Fremantle Dockers The Fremantle Football Club, nicknamed the Dockers, is a professional Australian rules football club competing in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's elite competition. The team was founded in 1994 to represent the port city of Fr ...

in 1996, a season where he played 21 matches. Despite having played for

Claremont Football Club The Claremont Football Club, nicknamed Tigers, is an Australian rules football club based in Claremont, Western Australia, that currently plays in the West Australian Football League (WAFL) and WAFL Women's (WAFLW). Its official colours are na ...

in the West Australian Football League in 1994 and 1995, the official AFL records list Mitchell as being drafted from

West Kimberley West Kimberley is a sub region of the Kimberley region of Western Australia. The region is defined according to different purposes. The area has been listed as a heritage area. Related to the heritage listing, the area has had portions that have ...

,Fremantle 1995 Drafting History
/ref> hence making him one of the few players to have been drafted from outside of the main state leagues. In 1997 he played 15 games but was traded to the

St Kilda Football Club The St Kilda Football Club, nicknamed the Saints, is a professional Australian rules football club based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, Victoria. The club plays in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's premier league. The club ...

for

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The '' Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently ...

. He performed well for the Saints, playing 23 games for 22 goals, including a haul of four.

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shootin ...

saw a further improvement from the mustachioed Mitchell, where he booted 34 goals from 20 matches. In 2000, however, Mitchell fell out of favour. After a bag of 5 goals in the Round 1 loss to Sydney, his form tapered and he averaged only 8 disposals for a total of 1 goal over the next 5 games. This saw Mitchell dropped from the side, although he was recalled in Round 15. By then, the Saints were bottom of the ladder, with the midfield unable to supply Mitchell with enough crumbing opportunities. He failed to perform in his next two games, which turned out to be his last with the club. He was delisted at the end of the 2000 season. Mitchell played three State games for Western Australia, in 1994, 1996 and 1998, all at Football Park against South Australia.

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External links

* 1972 births Living people Fremantle Football Club players St Kilda Football Club players Claremont Football Club players Indigenous Australian players of Australian rules football Australian rules footballers from Western Australia Western Australian State of Origin players {{AFL-bio-1970s-stub