Matthew Clarke

Personal information
Birth	18 September 1973 (1973-09-18) (age 36)
Recruited from	West Gambier, South Australia
Height and weight	200cm / 99kg
Playing career¹
Debut	Round 1, 1993, Brisbane Bears vs. North Melbourne, at Melbourne Cricket Ground
Team(s)	Brisbane Bears (1993-1996) 69 games, 6 goals Brisbane Lions (1997-1999) 61 games, 13 goals Adelaide (2000-2006) 118 games, 19 goals St Kilda (2007) 10 games, 0 goals
¹ Statistics to end of 2007 season
Career highlights
Brisbane Lions Best & Fairest 1997

Matthew Clarke (born 18 September 1973) was a professional Australian rules footballer whose career in the Australian Football League spanned four clubs and a total of 258 games between 1993 and 2007. He was known as one of the most effective "tap ruckmen" in the modern era.

[edit] Brisbane Bears/Lions career

Clarke was drafted by the Richmond Football Club from Mount Gambier in 1991 but did not play a senior game, spending the year playing for the Richmond Under 19s'. He was delisted at the end of 1992, but was picked up by the Brisbane Bears at pick 43 in the 1993 pre-season draft.

Debuting in 1993 with the Bears, "Doc" Clarke was a promising young Ruckman under coach Robert Walls and was particularly decisive with his tap work.

After being runner up in the Brisbane Bears Club Champion award in 1994 and 1996, he took out the Merrett-Murray Best & Fairest award in 1997 for the Brisbane Lions and consolidated his position as one of the league's best ruckmen.

[edit] Adelaide career

Clarke moved to the Crows in 2000.

In 2005 in the absence of suddenly emerged number one ruckman Ben Hudson, Clarke was surprisingly recalled from the South Adelaide side in the SANFL to play a part in the Crows' run to the finals. He showed he was still an effective player, being labelled as one of the most effective "tap ruckmen" by commentator Robert Walls.

He played on during 2006, with 18 games, and after ruckman Rhett Biglands had an anterior cruciate ligament injury in the Crows' last game of 2006 (sidelining him for most if not all of the 2007 season), there was talk that Clarke may continue for another season. However, he soon quit the Crows after an AFL Career of 248 games over 13 seasons. [1]

[edit] Return To football - St Kilda

There had been some speculation in December 2006 that Clarke may be drafted by St Kilda Football Club for the 2007 season, and although this was initially denied, on December 12 - 2006, he was taken by the Saints with their selection in the 2007 Pre Season Draft. Clarke signed on with the club for one season only, but trained strongly over the pre season and was selected for the first game.

He performed strongly as the side's primary ruckman, displaying his usual ruckwork dexterity.

On the 1st September 2007, Clarke, along with fellow veteran teammates announced their retirement.

[edit] Other

Clarke is a qualified Veterinarian (like his father) and is currently studying for an MBA. He was previously engaged to Adelaide radio personality Alison Carle, who also appeared on Fox Footy's "Living With Footballers". The pair have now separated but remain friends.

Clarke now works with his former football club (Adelaide Crows) as a ruck coach.

[edit] External links

• Matthew Clarke (Australian rules footballer) profile on the Official AFL Website of the Adelaide Football Club
• Matthew Clarke (Australian rules footballer)'s statistics from AFL Tables

This article includes a list of references, related reading or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations. Please improve this article by introducing more precise citations where appropriate. (February 2008)