Mal Michael

Malcolm Robert Michael (born 24 June 1977) is a Papua New Guinean-born former Australian rules footballer who played 238 games in the Australian Football League with Collingwood, Essendon and the Brisbane Lions, including three premierships playing at full-back for the Lions. Michael is recognised as being one of the best Queensland produced Australian rules footballers of all time, being named on the AFL Queensland Team of the 20th Century.

He is possibly the only Australian rules footballer who is better known in a country other than Australia, maintaining a high profile in Papua New Guinea, and he is credited by many to have inspired the boom in playing numbers of Australian rules football in Papua New Guinea. In April 2009, The Guardian described him as one of Papua New Guinea's "living national icons", along with politician Michael Somare and philosopher Bernard Narokobi.

Early life Michael was born in Papua New Guinea. His mother, Alice, is from Delena, Central Province, in Papua New Guinea. His father, Peter, is a Melbourne-born civil engineer who moved to Papua New Guinea in the 1970s and founded the Bomana Football Club. The family moved to Brisbane when Michael was 3-years-old. A fortnight later, he played his 100th game for the Lions in a six-point loss to eventual premiers .

In Round 14 of the 2006 season against Melbourne, Michael conceded a notable deliberate rushed behind with a kick between the goal posts of the opposition from over 10 metres out. This drew significant media attention and was frequently replayed.

Michael played his 200th AFL game in the penultimate round of the 2006 AFL season against Sydney, lining up on Barry Hall, who was also playing his 200th AFL game. Brisbane lost the match by 57 points.

Michael announced his retirement on 5 October 2006 at only 29 years of age.

Essendon Football Club On 24 November 2006, Michael came out of retirement and signed with the Essendon Football Club, reaching an agreement to be selected by them in the pre-season draft for the 2007 season. Michael played for Essendon in the 2007 and 2008 seasons.

On 15 August 2008, Michael announced he would retire at the season's end. In the Round 22 match, Essendon vs St Kilda, Michael was chaired off the ground by teammates at the end of the match.

Statistics

238 !! 33 !! 27 !! 1204 !! 1120 !! 2324 !! 850 !! 294 !! 0.1 !! 0.1 !! 5.1 !! 4.7 !! 9.8 !! 3.6 !! 1.2

Post AFL Following his AFL career, Michael made a switch to semi-professional country football, playing with Nilma Darnum Bombers in the Ellinbank and District Football League. The club broke a 14-year finals drought in 2009 to win the premiership.

At the end of 2009, Michael coached a combined Under 23 Pacific Islands team to victory against an Under 23 North Queensland representative side.

In 2010, Michael was appointed caretaker coach of the Papua New Guinea National Senior Team, before representing the team as a player in the pre-season campaign against AFL Cairns clubs. He played for Heywood in the Western Border Football League that year.

In 2015, Michael played for Ormond in the VAFA, helping to take the club to the grand final.

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 better known 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.

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.

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. Michael's consultancy company M&M Synergy Ltd, deals in the natural resource sector in Papua New Guinea. They represent land owner incorporated companies to help them develop their assets. M&M Synergy Ltd specialise in joint venture projects and capital raising for timber, mining and petroleum projects.

Career highlights Brisbane Lions premiership side 2001, 2002, 2003 AFL Queensland Team of the Century 2003 Rushing a behind in Round 14, 2006 International Rules series 2004 Goalkeeper Brisbane Lions Team of the (first) Decade 2006