Mal Retires

[Merv]

Mal Michael announces his retirement

Friday, 15 August 2008

Cara Pelchen for essendonfc.com.au

Page 1 of 1

Three-time Premiership player, Mal Michael, today announced he would retire from football at the end of the 2008 season.
Essendon team manager, David Calthorpe, congratulated the backman on a successful career which has spanned over 12 years.
“Mal has had a long and successful career and, at 31 years of age, football is finally starting to take its toll on his body,” Calthorpe said.
“AFL forwards are developing into a taller, athletic mould, and it has made it increasingly tough for a player of Mal’s playing style which has seen him dominate the backline for a long period of time.
“The club wishes him luck with life beyond football and thanks him for providing a great defensive combination with Dustin Fletcher, and fast-tracking the development of Patrick Ryder."

Calthorpe said the defender will be sorely missed not only for his on-field achievements, but also for his warped sense of humour and change-room banter.
Michael was drafted to Essendon under controversial circumstances in the 2007 pre-season draft after earlier announcing his retirement from Brisbane.
His AFL game tally stands at 235 games – including 34 games for the Bombers – and has kicked 31 goals. Michael has also played for Collingwood and the Brisbane Lions.

A press conference featuring Mal Michael and Matthew Knights will be available on Bomber.tv soon.

http://www.essendonfc.com.au/images/08/r16-gsp-12-l.jpg

Mal Michael will retire at the end of the 2008 season.

[Jaymin]

At 12.00pm today, so it would appear that Mals career is over.

Not a huge surprise. Watching him the last few weeks, he is struggling to move at the moment. Definitely have to take a key back with our first pick at the draft.

[High Ryder]

Been good to have him on board fo his short stay. He may not have had the most successful years of his carerr with us but the knowledge and assistance he has provided for Ryder and the other young defenders has been priceless. Might be his last game tomorrow, wish i could get there and see it :(

[The Dustbin]

Been good to have him on board fo his short stay. He may not have had the most successful years of his carerr with us but the knowledge and assistance he has provided for Ryder and the other young defenders has been priceless. Might be his last game tomorrow, wish i could get there and see it :(

Agree. He has really helped with the development of Ryder and in particular last year, where he released The Dustbin to play further up the ground, resulting in a AA selection for Ken's son.

Hope he sticks around as a mentor to our young backmen.

[eth-dog]

any telecast of it? wanna see it.

[hugorune]

http://www.essendonfc.com.au/news/news.asp?nid=6018

Three-time Premiership player, Mal Michael, today announced he would retire from football at the end of the 2008 season.


Essendon team manager, David Calthorpe, congratulated the backman on a successful career which has spanned over 12 years.

“Mal has had a long and successful career and, at 31 years of age, football is finally starting to take its toll on his body,” Calthorpe said.

Nuff said, he's had a great career and been an asset to our club for the last two years, but there comes a point where you're no longer able to physically play at the level needed at AFL.

[DapperDon]

any telecast of it? wanna see it.

I'd say it would be up on BTV later today.

[The Dustbin]

Going to be interesting to hear what Knights has to say about Johns. He is bound to be asked about him...

[kelvin_sheedy]

Leaves our backline pretty thin next year.

He looked pretty good early this year before we started to get slaughtered in the middle and got exposed.

I would have been happy to see him go around again but in this day and age of youth obsessed teams I guess there's no other choice.

[The_Young_Gun]

Definitely one of my favourites at Essendon over the past 2 years.

There was so much you could have learnt from Mal, he was a sensational defender who continuously was reliable over his whole career (specially with Brisbane) and he [+ also Fletch] were just very reliable leaders down in the backline...

He's had a wonderful career and is a wonderful person (I presume), and the club will sorely miss him next year out of defence, but it would be a wonder if he could stay with the club as any role possible.

[anti.]

yeah, watching the game on the weekend...he seems somewhat disinterested i didnt think it'd be long until he would hang up the boots.

[Merv]

Mal Michael retires ... again

http://mm.afl.com.au/Portals/0/images/AFL/AFL%20P-T/Michael_retire246x316a.jpg
Mal Michael has announced his retirement, effective at the end of the season

ESSENDON defender Mal Michael will retire from senior football at the end of this season.
Michael, 31, has played 34 matches for the Bombers after playing the majority of his 235-game career at Collingwood and the Brisbane Lions.
He was a member of the Lions' three premiership teams from 2001 to 2003.
It was at the Lions that he also established himself as one of the competition's most respected backmen.

Michael joined Essendon in controversial circumstances, announcing his retirement from the game but then crossing to Windy Hill in the 2007 NAB Pre-Season Draft.
He played all 22 matches in his first season with the club.Michael has added another 12 games this year and will play against Adelaide at Telstra Dome on Saturday afternoon, in captain Matthew Lloyd's 250th game.
Essendon team manager David Calthorpe congratulated Michael on his contribution to the club and the game.

"Mal has had a long and successful career and, at 31 years of age, football is finally starting to take its toll on his body," Calthorpe said on Essendon's website.
"AFL forwards are developing into a taller, athletic mould, and it has made it increasingly tough for a player of Mal's playing style which has seen him dominate the backline for a long period of time.
"The club wishes him luck with life beyond football and thanks him for providing a great defensive combination with Dustin Fletcher, and fast-tracking the development of Patrick Ryder."

Michael grew up in Brisbane and was expected to be drafted by the-then Brisbane Bears when representing QAFL club Morningside.Although he had trained with the Bears, it was Collingwood that rookie-listed him.
Encouraged by Nathan Buckley, he made his debut for the Pies in 1997 and became the first player under the league's rookie system to play at senior level.
Though hampered by injuries, he played 61 games for the Magpies until he was traded to the Lions at the end of 2000 in exchange for Jarrod Molloy and draft selection No. 44.

He had a short wait for success, becoming a member of the Lions' first premiership side in his opening season with the club.
Premiership medallions followed in 2002 and 2003, both thanks to grand-final victories over his former club, but Port Adelaide ended that run a year later.
After the experience of a losing grand final, Michael openly questioned the focus of his teammates – believing they had allowed themselves to be distracted in the lead-up to the match.
Michael represented Australia in the two International Rules Series matches against Ireland in Dublin in 2004 and remained at the Lions for another two years.

He left the Gabba at the age of 29, boasting an enviably consistent record that saw him play 140 of a possible 145 games in his six years at the club.
While his time at Essendon has lacked the impact of his past achievements, his impression on the game this decade is obvious.


The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the clubs or the AFL.
Exclusive to AFL BigPond Network


http://afl.com.au/News/NEWSARTICLE/tabid/208/Default.aspx?newsId=65563

[centurion]

Not only did he contribute to the Essendon Football Club, spare a thought for his charity program. Helping disadvantaged people is a very noble thing to do. Goodluck with that.

A legend of a bloke. :thumbsu:

[dont bowl there]

Where will he be playing next season?

[centurion]

Where will he be playing next season?

At Fremantle. :thumbsu:

[dont bowl there]

Well he is leaving Essendon so he ticks all the boxes.

All jokes aside he had a great career with Brisbane, probably should have left it there though.

[anti.]

i agree DBT, he would've been more highly regarded if he ended it completely at the lions.

[Merv]

Michael: My time at Essendon was a privilege

http://www.essendonfc.com.au/images/spacer.gif Friday, 15 August 2008
for essendonfc.com.au
Page 1 of 1
Retiring champion Mal Michael today described his two seasons with Essendon as a ‘privilege’ and said he hoped he had played some part in aiding the development of young defenders such as Paddy Ryder and Tayte Pears. Michael spoke to his teammates this morning and told them his time was up. “It has been a privilege to have spent the past two years at Essendon. I have made many new friendships and hopefully many of them for life,” Michael told the media this afternoon.
“I have thoroughly enjoyed my last two seasons. Upon my arrival, I felt instantly accepted by the coaching staff, the administrators, the players and the supporters.
“In particular it has been a privilege to play alongside such champions as Dustin Fletcher, Matthew Lloyd, Scott Lucas, Scott Camporeale and James HIrd as well as many other fine young players at the club.
Michael said despite having made the decision to retire he had no thoughts of ending his career immediately.
“I felt that the club had been good enough to give me a two year contract to begin with, I was going to fulfil that contract,” he said.
“I also felt that I am here to develop some of the younger players and if I had left straight away, I wouldn’t have done that. I hope that by the time I do leave here, I will have left the club in a better state than when I got here.
“I have seen Paddy Ryder and Tayte Pears and Danny Chartres develop so I think my work is done here.”
Michael’s career has been a distinguished one and it includes three Premierships with the Brisbane Lions.
“I have played for 13 years and have had a pretty good run. I think if you had of told me in December of 1995 at Collingwood that I would play 13 years, had some success and played over 250 games, I would have taken that,” Michael said.
“For me the decision was quite an easy one in the end because the warning signs were there. I was getting to Friday morning pretty sore and tired from the previous week and waking up on Saturday morning hoping that I would be right for the weekend’s game.
“I think once you start doing that, it is out of your control and you have to start taking a serious look at your future. I should also say I have also received fantastic support from the trainers and medical staff at this Club.”
Michael said he felt the game had evolved to a point where it no longer suited players of his body type.
“The way that football has evolved just doesn’t suit my frame and body type anymore. It is more of a young, running-mans type of game,” Michael said.
“When I started I was 68kg and now I’m 100kg. I encourage the younger guys to be better runners than to be heavier.
“In light of my experience at the club over the past two years, I believe the club and its supporters are going to have many successful years ahead of them.”
In typical Michael style, he was quick to make light of his previous ‘retirement’ from the Brisbane Lions. He was controversially talked out of retirement by Essendon shortly afterwards.
“I was getting a little bit of deja vu when I walked in,” he quipped to the waiting media.
“I think it was harder the first time to be honest. I was 29 at that point and was battling each week to play.
“In terms of what I am going to be doing next year, it is widely known that there were many factors prompting my retirement in 2006 – my charity in New Guinea as well as some business interests.
“As you know, I am from Papua New Guinea, and next year will give me the opportunity to pursue that in more of a full-time role.
“In 2002, I returned to New Guinea after many years and I saw the trouble the country had so I wanted to help in some ways.
“With my football career drawing to a close, I wanted to spend some time up there with the charity and also my business interests and hopefully I can increase the standards of education, sport and health in the country.
Essendon coach Matthew Knights said the contribution of Michael to the Club over the past two seasons should not be under-estimated.
“We feel Mal has made a great contribution to the football club - not only through playing good football but he has also allowed Dustin Fletcher great flexibility to play good football club while aiding in the development of Patrick Ryder a young player,” Knights said.
“The body size and the strength he has had certainly given Patrick confidence over the past two years to know that he has Mal there with him.”





http://www.essendonfc.com.au/images/08/r19-gsp-04-l.jpg
http://www.essendonfc.com.au/news/news.asp?nid=6019

[Ludwig van Bertstare]

He may not have been the player he was at Brisbane, but the way he has helped Paddy Ryder develop. It was well wortth the pick up.

Congratulations and good luck, Mal.

[Lotch]

http://www.essendonfc.com.au/news/news.asp?nid=6019 (http://www.essendonfc.com.au/news/news.asp?nid=6019)

“We feel Mal has made a great contribution to the football club - not only through playing good football but he has also allowed Dustin Fletcher great flexibility to play good football club while aiding in the development of Patrick Ryder a young player,” Knights said.
“The body size and the strength he has had certainly given Patrick confidence over the past two years to know that he has Mal there with him.”


If he has helped Ryder out its been worth it...
Congrats Mal on a great career :thumbsu:

[Merv]

Interview is up on BomberTV now.

[Windas_Magic]

Interview is up on BomberTV now.
So is Cooking with Jason Johnson, pretty interesting stuff.....

Congratulations to Mal on such a great career and good luck to him for the future:thumbsu:
Don't think him retiring will hurt our backline a hell of a lot seeing that he hasn't been a perminant fixture in the side this year. We'll also have Fletch, Ryder and Pears developing so it was definitely the right move for both him and the club.

[DonMania#5]

Not surprising, Well done Mal on a great career :thumbsu:

[The dele larmer]

Great Player ! shame we did't get him a couple of years Earlier!Mal you have done every thing a player would have wanted in a career!:thumbsu:

[KaaN10]

Thanks for the 2 years of service Mal.

[ant555]

i agree DBT, he would've been more highly regarded if he ended it completely at the lions.

And im sure that comments like this are going to worry mal for the rest of his life :rolleyes: