Mitch McGovern

Mitchell Gordon McGovern (born 11 October 1994) is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the Carlton Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He was drafted with the forty-third selection in the 2014 national draft by the Adelaide Football Club from West Australian Football League (WAFL) club Claremont.

AFL career Adelaide In 2015, McGovern's first season at AFL level was interrupted by injuries, but he showed promise in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL), kicking 15 goals in 11 games for Adelaide's reserves side. He made his AFL debut in round 1, 2016 against North Melbourne.

During the last quarter of the Round 3 Showdown in 2017, McGovern injured his hamstring and had to leave the ground for the rest of the match.

In Round 19 2017, McGovern took a large pack mark with approximately two seconds left in the last quarter and goaled after the final siren to draw with despite his team at one stage being 50 points down during the match. McGovern's hamstring worries continued early in Adelaide's 2017 finals series, and as a result missed out on their preliminary final against and the following 2017 Grand Final against .

Carlton After the 2018 season, McGovern informed the Crows he would like to be traded, despite having two years left on his contract. After requesting a trade to , McGovern was traded on 10 October. Battling through consistent injuries, McGovern played only five games in 2021 and seven games in 2022. McGovern overcame his injury woes and reinvented himself as a footballer, moving down to defence under new coach Michael Voss.

In a 2024 grudge match against , McGovern had an opportunity to kick a goal after the siren to win the match for with his team down by three points. However, McGovern failed to kick a score.

In round 1 of the 2026 AFL season McGovern made a return to the forward line. After having a career-best goalkicking season, McGovern extended his contract for another year to the end of 2027.

Personal life Mitch is the younger brother of former player Jeremy McGovern, and the son of former and player Andrew McGovern. Mitch McGovern, after being tutored by Cam Ellis-Yolmen, is proficient at the didgeridoo.

McGovern is the father of two children with wife Kirsten. Their names are Margot and Hamish.

Statistics Updated to the end of round 23, 2026.

167 !! 154 !! 91 !! 1561 !! 510 !! 2071 !! 768 !! 338 !! 0.9 !! 0.5 !! 9.4 !! 3.0 !! 12.4 !! 4.6 !! 2.0 !! 4