Michael "Magic" McLean (born 3 March 1965) is a former professional

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 who played for the

Footscray Football Club The Western Bulldogs are a professional Australian rules football team that competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's premier competition. Founded in 1877 as the Footscray Football Club, and based in West Footscray in the ...

Brisbane Bears The Brisbane Football Club, nicknamed the Bears, was a professional Australian rules football club based in Queensland on the Gold Coast (relocated to Brisbane in 1993). The club participated in the Victorian/Australian Football League (VFL/ ...

and

Brisbane Lions The Brisbane Lions is a professional Australian rules football club based in Brisbane, Queensland, that plays in the Australian Football League (AFL). The club was formed in late 1996 via a merger of the Melbourne-based 1883 foundation VFL c ...

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 ...

(AFL).

Early life

McLean was born and raised in the

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory ...

and played both

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

and Australian football at junior levels. His father, from

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

pushed for Michael at fifteen years of age to pursue a career in rugby league, however, he decided to continue playing Australian football. McLean played his first senior league with the Nightcliff rugby league club but also played Australian football for the

Nightcliff Football Club The Nightcliff Football Club, nicknamed, Tigers, is a member club of the Northern Territory Football League, and is based in the Darwin suburb of Nightcliff. Club achievements * note: Nightcliff finished on top in the 1974/75 season after wh ...

in the

Northern Territory Football League The Northern Territory Football League (NTFL) is an Australian rules football semi-professional league operating in Darwin in the Northern Territory. The league is one of few (and the highest level) Australian Rules competitions played during ...

where he was eventually scouted by the

to play professionally.

VFL/AFL career

Footscray career

McLean moved to Victoria and debuted for Footscray in 1983. He became known as a skilful winger who went on to play 95 games and boot 23 goals with the Bulldogs before he suffered an ankle and calf

injuries An injury is any physiological damage to living tissue caused by immediate physical stress. An injury can occur intentionally or unintentionally and may be caused by blunt trauma, penetrating trauma, burning, toxic exposure, asphyxiation, or ...

that hampered his career. In response to his injuries, McLean focused on building his lean body to become one of the strongest physiques in the competition.

Brisbane career

The Bulldogs gave McLean the boot, before he was picked up in the 1991 pre-season draft as the first overall pick for the

. He resurrected his career, winning the 1991 and 1993

best and fairest In Australian sport, the best and fairest award recognises the player(s) adjudged to have had the best performance in a game or over a season for a given sporting club or competition. The awards are sometimes dependent on not receiving a suspensi ...

award at the Bears. He went on to play 87 games and kick 17 goals with the Bears, before playing the first game in 1997 with the newly merged

before constant calf injury struck him down, forcing his retirement.

Coaching career

McLean returned to Darwin to coach his former club Nightcliff, he did so for five years with limited success before resigning at the end of 2004 to coach the

Redland Football Club Redland-Victoria Point Sharks Football Club (nicknamed The Sharks) is a Brisbane based sports club. The Australian rules football team competes in the Queensland Australian Football League (QAFL) since 2021. They have previously been a part of ...

in the Queensland State League. At the end of the 2005, as Redland seemed destined for the wooden spoon, he resigned and returned to Darwin to again coach Nightcliff. In the 2005–06 season, McLean gave the Tigers an impressive season and reached the preliminary final before bowing out to eventual premiers, the

Darwin Football Club The Darwin Football Club, nicknamed, Buffaloes, is an Australian rules football club, playing in the Northern Territory Football League. It is the third oldest football club in the Northern Territory. Darwin has won the second most premiership ...

. In the 2006–07 season, McLean became coach for the

Southern Districts Football Club The Southern Districts Football Club, nicknamed the Crocs, is an Australian rules football club established in 1981. The club plays in the Northern Territory Football League at semi-professional level and represent the rural area of Litchfield ...

and won the premiership in his first year as coach with the club. In 2009, he became the head coach of the

Northern Territory Football Club Northern Territory Football Club, nicknamed NT Thunder, was a Northern Territory-based Australian rules football club that competed in the North East Australian Football League (NEAFL) between 2011 and 2019. It also competed in the VFL Women's i ...

and coached their inaugural season in the

Queensland Australian Football League The Queensland Australian Football League (QAFL) is an Australian rules football competition organised by the AFL Queensland, contested by clubs from South East Queensland. Previously known as the Queensland Football League (QFL), Queensland ...

(QAFL). In May 2016, he was announced as the new senior coach of the

Waratah Football Club The Waratah Football Club, nicknamed, Warriors or Tahs, is a member club of the Northern Territory Football League The Northern Territory Football League (NTFL) is an Australian rules football semi-professional league operating in Darwin ...

heading into the 2016–17 NTFL season.

Aboriginal activist

During his career he was a strong anti-racism advocate, and this continued post his career. He was a vital part of the Aboriginal All-Stars match up in Darwin, and was also named in the

Indigenous Team of the Century The Indigenous Team of the Century (Australian rules football) was selected to recognise the role of Indigenous Australians in the sport. It was announced in 2005 to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the first senior-level game played by an indig ...

. In 2007, McLean was working at Palmerston YMCA in Darwin as a community worker.AFL Record, Round 9, 2007.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:McLean, Michael Western Bulldogs players Brisbane Bears players 1965 births Living people Brisbane Lions players Indigenous Australian players of Australian rules football Brisbane Bears Club Champion winners All-Australians (1953–1988) Nightcliff Football Club players Australian rules footballers from the Northern Territory Allies State of Origin players