Hunter Clark (born 26 March 1999) is a professional

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an Australian rules football playing field, oval field, often a modified ...

er with the

St Kilda Football Club The St Kilda Football Club, nicknamed the Saints, is a professional Australian rules football club based in Melbourne, Victoria. The club plays in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's premier league. The club's name originates fro ...

in the

Australian Football League The Australian Football League (AFL) is the pre-eminent professional sports, professional competition of Australian rules football. It was originally named the Victorian Football League (VFL) and was founded in 1896 as a breakaway competition ...

(AFL). He was drafted by St Kilda with their first selection and seventh overall in the 2017 national draft.

Early life

Clark is from Mount Martha on the Mornington Peninsula and played junior football with the Mount Martha Football Club. As a boy, Clark was fascinated by jungle animals and wildlife. Clark was also a budding saxophone player as a youngster, but ultimately opted for a career in football. Clark attended Padua College with fellow footballer Tom De Koning.

AFL career

Clark made his debut in the twenty-five point win against the at

Etihad Stadium The City of Manchester Stadium, currently known as Etihad Stadium for sponsorship reasons, and commonly shortened as The Etihad, is the home of Premier League club Manchester City, with a domestic football capacity of 53,600, making it the 7t ...

in the opening round of the 2018 season. In round 13 of the 2018 season, Clark was nominated for the

AFL Rising Star The AFL Rising Star is an Australian rules football award presented annually to the player adjudged the best young player in the Australian Football League (AFL) for the year. It was first presented in the 1993 season, and was won by Nathan Bu ...

after a 17-disposal performance in St Kilda's win against . He ultimately played 15 games in his debut season. The 2019 season began quietly for Clark who was left out of the senior side for the first two rounds due to form. Clark played rounds three and four, before being dropped again for two games and making a return in round seven. Clark was dropped for rounds 8-12, but returned in round 13 and played every game until the end of the season. In the second half of the season, Clark had improved considerably and averaged 20 disposals, five marks and four intercepts a game. Two standout games came in round 17 against Geelong where he had 25 disposals and laid nine tackles, and round 18 against the Bulldogs where he had 26 disposals, three clearances and two goals. In a

Covid Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

-interrupted 2020 season, Clark played largely across half-back but spent increased time in the midfield late in the season. He played 18 of a possible 19 matches for the year, including two finals. Clark was instrumental late in the game to help the Saints defeat the Suns by 4 points in round 10. Clark was one of the best players afield against the win over ladder leaders Port Adelaide in round eight, with a game-high 24 disposals and five rebounds . Clark was selected at half-back in the AFL's

22Under22 The 22 Under 22 team (stylised as 22under22) is an honorary representative Australian rules football team created by the AFL Players' Association that seeks to recognise the best young talent in the Australian Football League (AFL) and AFL Wome ...

, a fan-voted award where the AFL's best 22 players under the age of 22 are recognised annually. Clark also finished top three for his team in disposals in the regular season, as well as ground-ball-gets. Clark had an injury-affected 2021 year, managing only 13 games from a possible 22. Clark suffered multiple jaw fractures in a round 13 game against Adelaide and required surgery to repair the damage. Clark returned in Round 20 to face Carlton, but suffered a concussion in that game. The concussion ultimately ruled Clark out for the remainder of the season. Despite the frustrating season, Clark had some standout performances, in particular a 33 disposal game against Richmond in Round five, and a 26 disposal two goal and six tackle performance against Hawthorn in Round seven.

Statistics

: ''Statistics are correct to the end of 2024'' , - ,

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

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2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

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2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

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2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

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2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

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2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

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2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

, , , 11 , , 11 , , 1 , , 2 , , 132 , , 80 , , 212 , , 30 , , 46 , , 0.1 , , 0.2 , , 11.0 , , 7.3 , , 19.3 , , 2.7 , , 4.2 , - class="sortbottom" ! colspan=3, Career ! 98 !! 13 !! 14 !! 1016 !! 741 !! 1757 !! 330 !! 302 !! 0.1 !! 0.1 !! 10.4 !! 7.6 !! 17.9 !! 3.4 !! 3.1 Notes

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Clark, Hunter 1999 births Living people St Kilda Football Club players Dandenong Stingrays players Australian rules footballers from Melbourne People educated at Padua College (Melbourne) People from Mount Martha, Victoria 21st-century Australian sportsmen