AFTER a year out of AFL, Mitch Clark made a memorable return for Brisbane, booting five goals against Collingwood at the Gabba and earning the round nine nomination for the NAB AFL Rising Star Award. Although the Lions didn’t take home the four points, Clark said he was happy just to be playing football again after battling the debilitating groin injury, osteitis pubis.
“It was just great to get my hands on the footy again,” Clark said.
“Unfortunately we didn’t come away with a win but it was just great to be part of it all again.
“Moving over from Perth was a bit daunting, not knowing anyone but the boys have been great and they were great again on Saturday night. They made me feel very comfortable, I felt as if they were confident in me.”
Clark was regarded as one of the most promising ruckmen/forward in the 2005 NAB AFL Draft. He was the Lions first round selection - No.9 overall - in the draft after being recruited from East Fremantle.
He made his debut for Brisbane in round one last year against Geelong, but his season was hampered by osteitis pubis.
The 19-year-old has groin surgery at the end of last year and a knee injury sustained before the NAB Pre-season Cup further delayed his return to competitive action.
He admits that coping with injury set-backs away from home is difficult.
“You don’t have the support of your family and friends around you, you do have them on the phone but you can’t just go home and chat to your mum and dad about it face to face,” he said. “But that’s part of playing AFL and I love it up here so if that’s what you’ve got to do then that’s what you’ve got to do.”
The East Fremantle recruit has also achieved success in other codes. He was offered an Australian Institute of Sport volleyball scholarship but declined to pursue his dream of playing AFL.
“It was great to be offered it (the scholarship) but footy’s where my heart is and I’ve always wanted to play AFL and I’ve been lucky enough to get the chance,” Clark said.
Clark, who stands at 198cm and weighs 91kg, said forward Jonathan Brown constantly being double-teamed helps increase his, and his teammates chances of achieving a good goal tally.
“That’s one of the great things about Browny, he sacrifices his game so that someone else can get free. Getting double-teamed obviously isn’t good for him but hopefully it means that whoever’s free in the forward line can kick a few goals,” Clark said. “He’s all about the team, that’s why he’s one of the leaders.
“He’s great to have around. He’s a great teacher and helps you out a lot and I know if I need to work on any part of my game I can go to him and he’s quite happy to help.”
Clark admits that he was more than a little anxious playing his first game of the season, after such a long spell away from the game. He was matched-up on Nick Maxwell, Harry O’Brien and Simon Prestigiacomo.
“As you could see from some of my kicking I was quite nervous. I’m still a bit rusty but hopefully I can work on that during the week,” he said.
“When the first one (goal) went through, it got my confidence up. Fortunately the boys kept looking for me and I managed to get a few more touches.”
Clark, who has played seven games for the Lions, says he still has a way to go before returning to full fitness.
“I’ll be taking it a week at a time, that’s my first game in a year so I can’t get ahead of myself,” he admitted. “This is just one game. I’m quite confident in my body at the moment but I’ve obviously got a few weeks to go to get my match fitness to where I want it to be.”
Mitchell is the Brisbane Lions’ second nomination for the AFL NAB Rising Star this season following ruckman Cam Wood in Round Two.
