Michael Polley (born 14 September 1976) 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 who played for

Melbourne Football Club The Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed the Demons, is a professional Australian rules football club that competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's elite competition. It is based in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, ...

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

Originally from

Hadfield Football Club The Essendon District Football League (EDFL) is a professional Australian rules football league competition based in Essendon, Victoria, consisting of teams based in the north-west suburbs of Melbourne. Founded in 1930, the men's competition ...

in the

Essendon District Football League The Essendon District Football League (EDFL) is a professional Australian rules football league competition based in Essendon, Victoria, consisting of teams based in the north-west suburbs of Melbourne. Founded in 1930, the men's competition c ...

, Polley was selected to play for

TAC Cup The NAB League Boys (also referred to as simply the NAB League and formerly known as the TAC Cup) is an under-19 Australian rules football representative competition held in Australia. It is based on geographic regions throughout country Victo ...

side,

Northern Knights The Northern Knights is an Australian rules football club playing in the NAB League, the top statewide under-18 competition in Victoria, Australia. They are based in Preston, representing the northern suburban area of Melbourne. The Knights a ...

. Along with playing for the Knights, in 1994 Polley also played six games for

Prahran Football Club Prahran Assumption Football Club (), nicknamed The Two Blues, is an Australian rules football club based at Toorak Park in Orrong Road between High Street and Malvern Road, Armadale, in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The club is currently in D ...

in the

Victorian Football Association The Victorian Football League (VFL) is an Australian rules football league in Australia serving as one of the second-tier regional semi-professional competitions which sit underneath the fully professional Australian Football League (AFL). It ...

. In the lead-up to the 1994 National Draft, Melbourne coach

Neil Balme Neil Allen Balme (born 15 January 1952) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Richmond Football Club in the Victorian Football League (VFL), as well as for the Subiaco Football Club in the Western Australian National Footba ...

stated the Demons were looking for "the best available but with a bit of an emphasis on speed and midfield players". Polley, a midfielder known for his speed, was subsequently draft by Melbourne with the 34th selection in the draft.

AFL career

An 18-year-old at the time he was drafted, Polley spent his first season with Melbourne developing in the reserves. For the last match of the 1995 home and away season, Polley was named as an emergency in the squad, but was not required to play. After a season's development, Polley was one of several young players at Melbourne that were expected to "take the next step" in 1996. Due to the Demons need for pace, Polley was named to make his AFL debut in the second round of the season, but was ultimately not selected. After being suspended for one week and injuring his hand in May, Polley finally made his AFL debut against

Essendon Essendon may refer to: Australia *Electoral district of Essendon *Electoral district of Essendon and Flemington *Essendon, Victoria **Essendon railway station **Essendon Airport *Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League United King ...

in round 9. Despite having 15 disposals, Polley was dropped back to the reserves the following week. He was recalled for Melbourne's round 12 clash with 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/A ...

and retained his place in the side for four consecutive matches, until a poor performance against

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

. Polley failed to play another senior match for the rest of the year and, at season's end, he was delisted by Melbourne. After being delisted, Polley trained with Essendon in the hope of being drafted by the Bombers. Instead, it was Collingwood that selected Polley with the 54th selection in the 1997 Rookie Draft. Polley was unable to break into Collingwood's senior team and was delisted by the Magpies after only one season at the club.

References

External links

Michael Polley's profile
at the Official AFL Website of the Melbourne Football Club * {{DEFAULTSORT:Polley, Michael 1976 births Australian rules footballers from Victoria (Australia) Living people Melbourne Football Club players Northern Knights players Prahran Football Club players