Australian Football

After trying out unsuccessfully with Fitzroy in 1983 Steven Clark was offered a second chance to make it in the big league by Essendon midway through the 1985 season. The Bombers lacked rovers at the time, and Clark, whose exceptional pace and energy were fuelled by an acute football brain, fitted the bill perfectly. After being used initially as a back-up to more established senior players, such as Tony Elshaug and Alan Ezard, he became a regular senior player during a 1986 season which saw him display such consistently exceptional form that he was selected for the Victorian state of origin team.

Between 1985 and 1989 Clark played 53 VFL games for the Bombers, kicking 73 goals. Towards the end of his time with the club his form fell away and after the 1989 season he was traded to Melbourne where he overcame injury problems early on to produce some good football. However, after being suspended for the Demons' 1991 finals campaign he was deemed surplus to requirements and, with 21 games and 17 goals in two seasons to his credit, was traded to St Kilda. He spent the last season of his V/AFL career with the Saints, adding a final half a dozen appearances and seven goals.

Steven Clark died prematurely, aged forty-four, in November 2005 after a two year battle with cancer.

Author - John Devaney