Michael Clark

Michael J. Clark (born 15 July 1981) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Melbourne Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL) and for East Perth in the West Australian Football League (WAFL). Early life Clark is the son of former Melbourne player, Denis, who played 113 matches for the Demons in the 1960s and '70s. Clark's father did not allow him to play competitive football until he was 11; once he was old enough, he played junior football for Warrandyte and then Beverley Hills. Clark then went on to play for the Eastern Ranges in the TAC Cup competition, finishing in the top three of the best and fairest in both of the seasons that he played for Ranges. AFL career Clark was drafted by the Melbourne Football Club, the same club his father had played for, with Melbourne's fourth selection, 42nd overall, in the 1999 AFL draft. Clark missed the majority of the 2000 season due to injury. He did, however, play for Sandringham, Melbourne's VFL-affiliate, in their winning VFL reserves Grand Final. Clark spent the first three-quarters of the match playing on the wing and was moved to full-forward for the last quarter. Clark played his first match for Melbourne in an exhibition match against Adelaide at the Oval in London. The match was played in wet conditions, and Clark acquitted himself well in a match that the Demons won, although he was almost seriously injured when he slid over the boundary line and hit the interchange bench. Clark played his second match for Melbourne in the 2001 pre-season, against Richmond. Despite this, Clark was unable to break into Melbourne's senior side throughout the 2001 season, though he was regularly named as an emergency.