Mitchell Clark (born 19 October 1987) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the

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 ...

, Melbourne Football Club and Geelong Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL).

Junior career

Clark began his football career with

East Fremantle East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fac ...

in the

Western 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).

AFL career

Brisbane (2006–2011)

Although Clark was hit by

meningococcal disease Meningococcal disease describes infections caused by the bacterium ''Neisseria meningitidis'' (also termed meningococcus). It has a high mortality rate if untreated but is vaccine-preventable. While best known as a cause of meningitis, it can a ...

the week before the

2005 AFL Draft The 2005 AFL draft was the 2005 event of the AFL draft, the annual draft of players by Australian rules football teams that participate in the main competition of that sport, the Australian Football League. The 2005 draft consisted of a pre-se ...

, Brisbane showed their strong interest, making him their first pick, the ninth player drafted across all clubs and presenting him with their number "1" guernsey; he later made a full recovery from his illness. Clark made an impressive debut for the

in the first round of the 2006 season against Geelong, converting his first mark and subsequent kick into a goal, but his debut season was significantly hampered by injury problems, in particular

osteitis pubis Osteitis pubis is a noninfectious inflammation of the pubis symphysis (also known as the pubic symphysis, symphysis pubis, or symphysis pubica), causing varying degrees of lower abdominal and pelvic pain. Osteitis pubis was first described in pa ...

,Mitchell Clark Player Profile bio
lions.com.au, retrieved 2009-09-19. and only ended up playing a total six games that season. Clark played his first game for the 2007 season in round nine against Collingwood, after overcoming his injury problems. His five goals in that match earned him an

AFL Rising Star The AFL Rising Star is an Australian rules football award presented annually to the player adjudged the best young player in the Australian Football League (AFL) for the year. It was first presented in the 1993 season, and was won by Nathan Buc ...

nomination. However, the promising return lasted only three weeks before Clark was hit by injury again, allowing him only one more game that season. Even before the 2008 season began, Clark was already in injury strife, after injuring his quad during pre-season training. Clark played his first game for 2008 in round seven against , and lost by 27 points after falling away in the last quarter. Clark kicked three goals in the process. He managed to string together twelve consecutive games for the season, but was sidelined for the remainder after the

round 18 Round or rounds may refer to: Mathematics and science * The contour of a closed curve or surface with no sharp corners, such as an ellipse, circle, rounded rectangle, cant, or sphere * Rounding, the shortening of a number to reduce the number ...

clash with , during which he injured his quads yet again. 2009 turned out to be a breakthrough year for Clark. Season-ending injuries to

Matthew Leuenberger Matthew Leuenberger (born 7 June 1988) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Brisbane Lions and the Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). Leuenberger represented Western Australia in ...

and

Jamie Charman Jamie is a unisex name. It is a diminutive form of James or, more rarely, other names. It is also given as a name in its own right. People Female * Jamie Anne Allman (born 1977), American actress * Jamie Babbit (born 1970), American film and t ...

resulted in Clark shouldering the Brisbane ruck duties for the majority of the season. Leaving his injury prone tendencies behind, Clark played in all 24 possible games, including two finals. By the end of the season, Clark had gained acknowledgement as one of the competition's elite mobile ruckmen, was rewarded by selection in the 40-man All-Australian squad, and was considered unlucky to miss out on selection in the final team.

Melbourne (2012–2014)

At the completion of the 2011 season Clark informed the Brisbane Lions he would not be renewing his contract with the club and that he desired a move home to Perth. Fremantle Dockers were close to signing the key position player but equivocated on compensation for the Lions, and Clark was eventually swayed by a significantly better offer from the Melbourne Demons, which also provided a better result for the Lions. He was given the number 11 guernsey at the Demons, made famous by

Jim Stynes James Stynes OAM (23 April 196620 March 2012) was an Irish-born footballer who converted from Gaelic football to Australian rules football. Playing for the Melbourne Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL), he went on to become ...

, who also presented it to him. Clark starred in the first half of his debut season, kicking 29 goals in 11 games to sit equal-fourth in the Coleman Medal, before tearing his Lisfranc ligament in his foot against GWS in round 13. This injury ruled him out for the rest of the season and held him back in 2013 as well, where he played just the four games. In April 2014 Clark announced his immediate retirement from football, due to clinical depression and personal issues.

Geelong (2015–2016)

On 15 October 2014 Clark was traded to the Cats in a deal which saw

Travis Varcoe Travis Varcoe (born 10 April 1988) is a retired Australian rules footballer who played in the Australian Football League (AFL) for the Geelong Football Club from 2006 to 2014 and for the Collingwood Football Club from 2015 to 2020. He currently ...

join and Heritier Lumumba join Melbourne. At the conclusion of the 2016 season, he was delisted by Geelong.

Statistics

: , - style="background-color: #EAEAEA" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" , 2006 , , 1 , , 6 , , 3 , , 2 , , 32 , , 17 , , 49 , , 18 , , 17 , , 20 , , 0.5 , , 0.3 , , 5.3 , , 2.9 , , 8.2 , , 3.0 , , 2.8 , , 3.3 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" , 2007 , , 1 , , 4 , , 7 , , 6 , , 25 , , 11 , , 36 , , 19 , , 5 , , 8 , , 1.8 , , 1.5 , , 6.3 , , 2.8 , , 9.1 , , 4.8 , , 1.3 , , 2.0 , - style="background-color: #EAEAEA" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

, , 1 , , 12 , , 8 , , 7 , , 73 , , 44 , , 117 , , 48 , , 18 , , 49 , , 0.7 , , 0.6 , , 6.1 , , 3.7 , , 9.8 , , 4.0 , , 1.5 , , 4.1 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" , 2009 , , 1 , , 24 , , 7 , , 7 , , 192 , , 198 , , 390 , , 144 , , 94 , , 528 , , 0.3 , , 0.3 , , 8.0 , , 8.3 , , 16.3 , , 6.0 , , 3.9 , , 22.0 , - style="background-color: #EAEAEA" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" , 2010 , , 1 , , 19 , , 9 , , 9 , , 166 , , 118 , , 284 , , 99 , , 50 , , 215 , , 0.5 , , 0.5 , , 8.7 , , 6.2 , , 14.9 , , 5.2 , , 4.6 , , 11.3 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" , 2011 , , 1 , , 17 , , 27 , , 13 , , 159 , , 78 , , 237 , , 83 , , 34 , , 82 , , 1.6 , , 0.8 , , 9.4 , , 4.6 , , 14.0 , , 4.9 , , 2.0 , , 4.8 , - style="background-color: #EAEAEA" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...

, , 11 , , 11 , , 29 , , 18 , , 108 , , 31 , , 139 , , 53 , , 41 , , 21 , , 2.6 , , 1.6 , , 9.8 , , 2.8 , , 12.6 , , 4.8 , , 3.7 , , 1.9 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fa ...

, , 11 , , 4 , , 7 , , 2 , , 25 , , 10 , , 35 , , 14 , , 6 , , 2 , , 1.8 , , 0.5 , , 6.3 , , 2.5 , , 8.8 , , 3.5 , , 1.5 , , 0.5 , - style="background-color: #EAEAEA" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

, , 11 , , 0 , , — , , — , , — , , — , , — , , — , , — , , — , , — , , — , , — , , — , , — , , — , , — , , — , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" , 2015 , , 19 , , 8 , , 14 , , 6 , , 59 , , 28 , , 87 , , 35 , , 16 , , 15 , , 1.8 , , 0.8 , , 7.4 , , 3.5 , , 10.9 , , 4.4 , , 2.0 , , 1.9 , - style="background-color: #EAEAEA" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...

, , 19 , , 1 , , 0 , , 0 , , 3 , , 7 , , 10 , , 3 , , 3 , , 5 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 3.0 , , 7.0 , , 10.0 , , 3.0 , , 3.0 , , 5.0 , - class="sortbottom" ! colspan=3, Career ! 106 ! 111 ! 70 ! 842 ! 542 ! 1384 ! 416 ! 264 ! 965 ! 1.1 ! 0.7 ! 8.0 ! 5.1 ! 13.1 ! 4.9 ! 2.5 ! 9.1

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Clark, Mitch 1987 births Living people Australian rules footballers from Western Australia Brisbane Lions players Melbourne Football Club players East Fremantle Football Club players Geelong Football Club players