Steven Clark (5 May 1961 – 12 November 2005) was an

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 with

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 ...

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

and St Kilda 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), previously Victorian Football League (VFL). Clark was a rover who had originally trialed with

Fitzroy Fitzroy or FitzRoy may refer to: People As a given name *Several members of the Somerset family (Dukes of Beaufort) have this as a middle-name: **FitzRoy Somerset, 1st Baron Raglan (1788–1855) ** Henry Charles FitzRoy Somerset, 8th Duke of Beau ...

but was recruited to Essendon by Kevin Sheedy midway through the

1985 VFL season The 1985 VFL season was the 89th season of the Victorian Football League (VFL), the highest level senior Australian rules football competition in Victoria. The season featured twelve clubs, ran from 23 March until 28 September, and comprised a ...

, despite being aged 24. He participated in four games that year, including the last two of the home and away season but missed out on the finals and subsequent premiership. A strong season in 1986 saw Clark picked to play for the Victorian interstate team. He kicked 33 goals for the year, the third most at Essendon. This included a career best five goals in a win over

Geelong Geelong ( ) (Wathawurrung: ''Djilang''/''Djalang'') is a port city in the southeastern Australian state of Victoria, located at the eastern end of Corio Bay (the smaller western portion of Port Phillip Bay) and the left bank of Barwon River, ...

Windy Hill Windy Hill may refer to: Places * Windy Hill, Essendon, an Australian rules football ground in the Melbourne area * Windy Hill Wind Farm, a wind power station near Ravenshoe, Queensland, Australia * Windy Hill (Pennines), a hill on the Pennines w ...

. His form wavered the following season but in 1988 he played well enough to kick 22 goals. He managed just three games in 1989 and was traded to Melbourne. While he struggled to make it onto the field for Essendon due to the strength of the team, it was looking like he would become a regular at Melbourne as he appeared in the first three games of the

1990 AFL season The 1990 AFL season was the 94th season of the Australian Football League (AFL) and the first under this name, having been known as the Victorian Football League until 1989. It was the highest level senior Australian rules football competition ...

, but he then suffered a serious knee injury. On his debut with Melbourne he had received two

Brownlow Medal The Charles Brownlow Trophy, better known as the Brownlow Medal (and informally as "Charlie"), is awarded to the " best and fairest" player in the Australian Football League (AFL) during the home-and-away season, as determined by votes cast by ...

votes for three goals and 20 disposals against

North Melbourne North Melbourne is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, north-west of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Melbourne local government area. North Melbourne recorded a population of 14,953 at the ...

. He missed the rest of the season but came back in 1991 to play 18 of a possible 22 games but wasn't picked for Melbourne's finals series. For the second time in his career, Clark was traded and ended up at St Kilda, where he spent just one season. In 2003 he was diagnosed with a growth on his pancreas, and despite being given only a few months to live, he survived for 2 more years.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Clark, Steven Essendon Football Club players Melbourne Football Club players St Kilda Football Club players Australian rules footballers from Victoria (state) 1961 births 2005 deaths Deaths from pancreatic cancer in Australia Deaths from cancer in Victoria (state) Victorian State of Origin players