Australian Football

AustralianFootball.com Celebrating the history of the great Australian game

 

Key Facts

Full name
Clement Michael

Known as
Clem Michael

Born
16 July 1976 (age 47)

Ethnicity
Indigenous Australian

Age at first & last AFL game
First game: 21y 256d
Last game: 24y 20d

Height and weight
Height: 192 cm
Weight: 98 kg

Senior clubs
Fremantle

Jumper numbers
Fremantle: 16

Family links
Stephen Michael (Father)

Clem Michael

Advanced stats
ClubLeagueCareer spanGamesGoalsAvgWin %AKIAHBAMKBV
FremantleAFL1998-200043110.2637%4.196.352.424
Total1998-200043110.2637%4.196.352.424

AFL: 10,852nd player to appear, 4,667th most games played, 4,874th most goals kickedFremantle: 61st player to appear, 116th most games played, 122nd most goals kicked

Son of former South Fremantle champion Stephen Michael, Clem Michael was himself no mean footballer, but his highly promising career was ultimately ruined by injury. He commenced that career in 1997 with South Fremantle, for whom he would end up playing 26 games and scoring 15 goals over three seasons. Included among his appearances was the 1997 grand final, in which the Bulldogs overcame their principal rivals East Fremantle, with Michael among the best players on view.

Not long after the grand final Clem Michael was taken by Fremantle with pick 21 in the 1997 National Draft. He would play just 43 AFL games for the Dockers before a serious knee injury brought his career to a premature end. During those 43 games he gave strong hints that he had the makings of a champion, in the same mould as his father: explosively dynamic, high leaping and the perfect amalgam of aggression and skill. He underwent surgery in an effort to resurrect his career, but to no avail.

Author - John Devaney

Sources

Full Points Publications

Footnotes

* Behinds calculated from the 1965 season on.
+ Score at the end of extra time.