Michael Mitchell (born 25 November 1961) is an

Indigenous Indigenous may refer to: *Indigenous peoples *Indigenous (ecology), presence in a region as the result of only natural processes, with no human intervention *Indigenous (band), an American blues-rock band *Indigenous (horse), a Hong Kong racehorse ...

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 for the

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 The West Australian Football League (WAFL) is an Australian rules football league based in Perth, Western Australia. The league currently consists of ten teams, which play each other in a 20-round season usually lasting from March to September, ...

(WAFL) and the

Richmond Football Club The Richmond Football Club, nicknamed the Tigers, is an Australian rules football team playing in the Australian Football League (AFL). Between its inception in the Melbourne suburb of Richmond in 1885 and 1907, the club competed in the Victo ...

in the

VFL/AFL 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 ...

. Mitchell was originally from

Carnarvon, Western Australia Carnarvon is a coastal town situated approximately north of Perth, in Western Australia. It lies at the mouth of the Gascoyne River on the Indian Ocean. The popular Shark Bay world heritage area lies to the south of the town and the Ningaloo Re ...

(WA).

Playing career

Claremont

Mitchell began his senior career with

in the

. He won the

Sandover Medal The Sandover Medal is an Australian rules football award, given annually since 1921 to the fairest and best player in the West Australian Football League. The award was donated by Alfred Sandover M.B.E., a prominent Perth hardware merchant and be ...

in 1984 before achieving

All-Australian The All-Australian team is an all-star team of Australian rules football in Australia, Australian rules footballers, selected by a panel at the end of each season. It represents a complete team, including an interchange bench, of the best-perf ...

selection in 1985 and 1986.

Richmond

In May 1986 he signed a three–year contract with

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, ...

in the

Victorian Football League 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 ...

beginning from the

1987 VFL season File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, ...

. He was regarded as one of the most exciting footballers in the VFL of the late 1980s and early 1990s, albeit during poor seasons for Richmond as a club. His play featured pace and a high leap. In 1990, Mitchell achieved both

Mark of the Year The annual Australian Football League Mark of the Year competition (currently also known as the Four'N Twenty AFL Mark of the Year) is a sporting award that celebrates each season's best mark. A mark is the action of a player cleanly catchin ...

and Goal of The Year awards in the same year, becoming, as of 2023, only the second player in the history of the competition to do so. A lightly built player, Mitchell was, however, known as a strong tackler and for his ability to chase down opponents. His career was cut short by several head injuries and

concussion A concussion, also known as a mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), is a head injury that temporarily affects brain functioning. Symptoms may include loss of consciousness (LOC); memory loss; headaches; difficulty with thinking, concentration, ...

s sustained during his later playing years.

Retirement

At the end of his AFL career, Mitchell returned to Western Australia.

References

Bibliography

* Hogan P: ''The Tigers Of Old'', Richmond FC, Melbourne 1996 1961 births Living people All-Australians (1953–1988) Claremont Football Club players Richmond Football Club players Australian rules footballers from Western Australia Western Australian State of Origin players Indigenous Australian players of Australian rules football Sandover Medal winners People from Carnarvon, Western Australia Australia international rules football team players {{AFL-bio-1960s-stub