Mal Michael
Michael in Essendon colours
Personal information
Full name	Malcolm Roberto Michael
Date of Birth	June 24, 1977 (1977-06-24) (age 30)
Place of Birth	Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea
Recruited from	Morningside
Draft	1996 Rookie Draft
Height/Weight	190 cm / 100kg
Position	Full-back
Club information
Current club	Essendon
Number	22
Playing Career1
Years	Club	Games (Goals)
1997-2000 2001-2006 2007- Totals	Collingwood Brisbane Lions Essendon	61 (23) 140 (5) 23 (2) 224 (30)
¹ Statistics to end of Round 1, 2008 season Career highlights Brisbane Lions premiership side 2001, 2002, 2003 International Rules series 2004 AFL Queensland Team of the Century 2003

Malcolm Roberto "Mal" Michael (born June 24, 1977 in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea) is an Australian rules footballer who usually plays at full-back and currently plays for the Essendon Bombers in the Australian Football League. He is best known as a triple premiership full-back player with the Brisbane Lions. Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 298 × 599 pixelsFull resolution (448 × 900 pixel, file size: 306 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Mal Michael, Papua New Guinea born Australian rules footballer playing for Essendon in the Australian Football League. ... is the 175th day of the year (176th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Also: 1977 (album) by Ash. ... Downtown Port Moresby Port Moresby (IPA: ), or Pot Mosbi in Tok Pisin, population 255,000 (2000), is the capital of Papua New Guinea. ... Morningside Australian Football Club, also known as Morningside AFC or the Panthers, is a Brisbane-based club competing in the AFL Queensland Australian rules football competition. ... Essendons Home and Clash Jumpers Essendon Football Club, nicknamed The Bombers, is an Australian rules football club that is part of the Australian Football League. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Victoria_(Australia). ... Collingwood Football Club, nicknamed The Magpies, is an Australian rules football club involved, and playing in the Australian Football League. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Queensland. ... Brisbane Lions Australian Football Club (the trading name for the Brisbane Bears-Fitzroy Football Club) is an Australian Football League club based in Brisbane, Queensland. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Victoria_(Australia). ... Essendons Home and Clash Jumpers Essendon Football Club, nicknamed The Bombers, is an Australian rules football club that is part of the Australian Football League. ... Brisbane Lions Australian Football Club (the trading name for the Brisbane Bears-Fitzroy Football Club) is an Australian Football League club based in Brisbane, Queensland. ... International rules is a rhetoric sentence used by the governments of United States and Great Britain when pointing at countries that they regard as rogue states because of their political inclinations or because they do not voluntarily align to Washington or Londons international policies. ... AFL Queensland (AFLQ) is the governing body of Australian rules football in the state of Queensland. ... is the 175th day of the year (176th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Also: 1977 (album) by Ash. ... Downtown Port Moresby Port Moresby (IPA: ), or Pot Mosbi in Tok Pisin, population 255,000 (2000), is the capital of Papua New Guinea. ... High marking is a key skill and spectacular attribute of Australian rules football Precise field and goal kicking using the oval shaped ball is the key skill in Australian rules football Australian rules football, also known as Australian football, Aussie rules, or simply football or footy is a code of... In Australian rules football, the fullback position has traditionally been a purely defensive role, with the aim of preventing the full-forward from marking the ball and scoring. ... Essendon Football Club logo Essendon Football Club is an Australian Rules Football club that is part of the Australian Football League. ... This article is about the national league in Australian rules football. ... Brisbane Lions Australian Football Club (the trading name for the Brisbane Bears-Fitzroy Football Club) is an Australian Football League club based in Brisbane, Queensland. ...

Pre-AFL

Michael was born in Papua New Guinea. His mother Alice is from Delena, Central Province a village near Port Moresby.^[1] and his father Peter is a Melbourne-born civil engineer and former Ormond Amateurs (VAFA) player.^[2] He was instrumental in developing AFL in PNGand founded the Bomana demons FC near Sogeri in Port Moresby. Michael moved to Brisbane with his parents at the age of 3 and later played junior football in Brisbane with the Kenmore Bears. This article is about the Australian city; the name may also refer to City of Melbourne or Melbourne city centre (also known as The CBD). ... The Victorian Amateur Football Association is an Australian rules football league in Victoria, Australia consisting purely of amateur players. ... For other uses, see Brisbane (disambiguation). ...

As a teenager, Michael was recruited by Queensland Australian Football League club Morningside. While at that club he was invited to train with the Brisbane Bears Australian Football League (AFL) club, with a view to potentially drafting him—an exciting prospect for him as he was a Bears supporter at the time. However, the Bears did not draft him, with Melbourne-based rival club Collingwood drafting him to their rookie list in 1996. AFL Queensland (AFLQ) is the governing body of Australian rules football in the state of Queensland. ... Morningside Australian Football Club, also known as Morningside AFC or the Panthers, is a Brisbane-based club competing in the AFL Queensland Australian rules football competition. ... Brisbane Bears were an Australian rules football Club and was the first Queensland-based club in the Victorian Football League. ... This article is about the national league in Australian rules football. ... This article is about the annual Australian rules football draft. ... This article is about the Australian city; the name may also refer to City of Melbourne or Melbourne city centre (also known as The CBD). ... Collingwood Football Club, nicknamed The Magpies, is an Australian rules football club involved, and playing in the Australian Football League. ... This article is about the annual Australian rules football draft. ...

Collingwood Football Club

Michael debuted in 1997 as the first player in the AFL to be elevated to the seniors from the rookie list. He finished eighth in the club champion voting and earned a Norwich Rising Star Award nomination, but over ensuing seasons he was tried at both fullback and full-forward and struggled for consistency. This article is about the annual Australian rules football draft. ... The E.W. Copeland Trophy is an Australian rules football award given by the Collingwood Football Club to the player adjudged Best and Fairest for Collingwood during the year. ... The NAB Rising Star award is given annually to a standout young player in the Australian Football League. ...

In 1999, he had the unfortunate honour of being the full-back playing on Sydney Swans champion full-forward Tony Lockett in the match that Lockett broke the record to become the greatest goalkicker in the game's history. Michael managed 61 games with the magpies, injuries grounding his rise in each of his five season at Victoria Park. Unfortunately, the Collingwood faithful never saw the best of him. Sydney Swans is an Australian Football League (AFL) club based in Sydney, New South Wales. ... This article is about the Australian rules football player nicknamed Plugger. ...

At the end of 2000 he was traded to the Brisbane Lions along with a draft pick for Jarrod Molloy. Brisbane Lions Australian Football Club (the trading name for the Brisbane Bears-Fitzroy Football Club) is an Australian Football League club based in Brisbane, Queensland. ... Jarrod Molloy (born May 12, 1976) was an Australian rules footballer in the Australian Football League. ...

Brisbane Lions Football Club

Michael was traded to the Brisbane Lions, debuting for them in 2001. While there, he bulked up and became one of the AFL's strongest players, and was a fearsome fullback. Michael fitted in well with the other Lions hard men, such as Chris Scott and Chris Johnson under the guidance of fearsome coach Leigh Matthews. Brisbane Lions Australian Football Club (the trading name for the Brisbane Bears-Fitzroy Football Club) is an Australian Football League club based in Brisbane, Queensland. ... In Australian rules, the backline refers to a position on the field. ... Christopher Michael Chris Scott (born May 3, 1976) is an Australian rules footballer in the Australian Football League. ... For other persons of the same name, see Chris Johnson. ... Leigh R. Matthews (born March 1, 1952) is widely regarded as one of the greatest Australian Rules footballers of all time, playing for Hawthorn in the VFL from 1969 to 1985. ...

He played fullback in each of the Lions' three successive premierships in 2001, 2002 and 2003, achieving his first premiership in his first year with the club.

Surprisingly during these years, despite being unanimously regarded as the most consistent fullback in the competition, he was unlucky to miss All-Australian selection. It is widely believed that this is due to the majority of his work being one percenters not generally credited by umpires or the stat sheets as much as actual possessions. Michael played 140 out of a posiible 145 games for the Lions during his six years with the club, as well as all pre-season competition games and two International rules series games against Ireland in 2004. The All-Australian Team is an all star team of Australian rules footballers, selected by a panel at the end of each season. ... A one percenter, (1%er) is a statistic kept in Australian football, and relates to a variety of actions which benefit the team, but are infrequent or defensive. ...

2006 season

In the Round 14, 2006 game against Melbourne, Michael conceded a rushed behind in an unorthodox and notable fashion. He is not the first player to deliberately rush a behind with a kick between the goal posts, however his emphatic kick from over 20 metres out was quite remarkable. This attracted wide scrutiny in the media and was oft-replayed. Australian Footballat the Melbourne Cricket Ground. ...

The next week, a leak in the media speculated that Michael was "burnt out" and disillusioned at the club, and was considering retirement. However, coach Leigh Matthews later spoke out saying he had convinced Michael to stay on until the end of the season. Leigh R. Matthews (born March 1, 1952) is widely regarded as one of the greatest Australian Rules footballers of all time, playing for Hawthorn in the VFL from 1969 to 1985. ...

Michael did stay on until the end of the season, but announced his retirement on October 5 at only 29 years of age. Earlier in the year, he had cited the reason he was considering walking away from the game was to help out the Papua New Guinean community. ^[3]

Michael announced his retirement shortly after the end of the 2006 season after failing to negotiate a reduced training schedule so he could pursue his personal interests.^[4]

However, on 24th November, 2006, Essendon Football Club indicated that Michael had reconsidered his decision to retire, and that they have come to an agreement whereby he will be selected by them in the pre-season draft for the 2007 season.^[5] He will wear jersey No.22, the number vacated by Tristan Cartledge, who was delisted by the Bombers at the end of season 2006. This was seen as a betrayal by Brisbane players who weren't given any sort of compensation for the loss of Michael. Essendons Home and Clash Jumpers Essendon Football Club, nicknamed The Bombers, is an Australian rules football club that is part of the Australian Football League. ...

Papua New Guinean celebrity

Michael was the first Papua New Guinean to play senior AFL football, acting as an ambassador for the game when he visits his homeland. He is possibly the only AFL player who is more famous in a country other than Australia. He has appeared on a series of biscuit commercials in PNG as "the secret of Mal's success". In 2004, he hosted a popular football segment on a weekly PNG television show. ^[6] This article is about the national league in Australian rules football. ...

In early 2006, he established the Mal Michael Foundation, aimed at raising money to help give young Papua New Guineans the opportunity to play Aussie rules. Malcolm Roberto Mal Michael (born June 24, 1977 in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea) is an Australian rules footballer who usually plays at full-back and currently plays for the Essendon Bombers in the Australian Football League. ...

In 2007 Michael made a strategic deal with mining company Hannans Reward (ASX:HNR) aimed at appealing the company to the Papua New Guinea market.^[7] Michael's consultancy company M&M Synergy Ltd, deals in the natural resource sector in Papua New Guinea. They represent land owner incorperated companies to help them develope their assets. M&M Synergy Ltd spealise in joint vent projects and capital raising for timber, mining and petrolium projects. The Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) is the primary stock exchange in Australia. ...

See also

• Australian rules football in Papua New Guinea

Australian rules football in Papua New Guinea is a popular team sport which was once the most popular winter sport but is now second in popularity after rugby league. ...

References

External links

• Mal Michael's profile on essendonfc.com.au
• Mal Michael's statistics from AFL Tables

• Mal wants to help PNG