Michael "Mick" Conlan (born 20 February 1958 in Tasmania, son of Neil Conlan) is a former

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 who played in the

Victorian Football League The Victorian Football League (VFL) is an Australian rules football competition in Australia operated by the Australian Football League (AFL) as a second-tier, regional, semi-professional competition. It includes teams from clubs based in east ...

(VFL). Born in Tasmania, Conlan played with the

Manuka Football Club Manuka Football Club is a defunct Australian rules football club that played in the AFL Canberra from 1928–1991. The club played at Manuka Oval in the inner-south suburbs of Canberra. It merged with Eastlake Football Club in 1991. Notable pla ...

in the

Australian Capital Territory The Australian Capital Territory (ACT), known as the Federal Capital Territory until 1938, is an internal States and territories of Australia, territory of Australia. Canberra, the capital city of Australia, is situated within the territory, an ...

before being recruited to the VFL by the

Fitzroy Football Club The Fitzroy Football Club is an Australian rules football club currently competing in the Victorian Amateur Football Association (VAFA). Formed in 1883 to represent the inner-Melbourne municipality of City of Fitzroy, Fitzroy, the club is base ...

. He debuted in 1977 and played mostly at half-forward or in a

forward pocket In the sport of Australian rules football, each of the eighteen players in a team is assigned to a particular named position on the field of play. These positions describe both the player's main role and by implication their location on the gro ...

wearing the number 12 guernsey. He was noted for his explosive power, and kicked numerous '' World of Sport'' "Goals of the Week", typically on bursting runs down the flanks; a particularly notable goal of the week was a Goal of the Week in 1984 in the final home-and-away round against St Kilda, where he received a knock-on from Grant Lawrie in the right forward pocket, who tapped the ball inboard to teammate Garry Wilson, who handballed the ball over his head back to Conlan, who then took on St Kilda captain and AFL Hall of Famer

Trevor Barker Trevor Graeme Barker (7 October 1956 – 26 April 1996) was an Australian rules footballer who played for the St Kilda Football Club in the Victorian Football League (VFL). One of the VFL's pin-up boys with his teen-idol appearance, blonde hair ...

to snap a goal on his left foot from a 45-degree angle. His emphasis on strength training and muscular physique pre-empted what was to be more common in later decades. His nicknames were "the Sherman Tank" or "Crash", with his most notable moment being kicking the winning goal during the final seconds in the 1986 Elimination Final against

Essendon Essendon may refer to: Australia *Essendon, Victoria **Essendon railway station **Essendon Airport *Essendon Football Club, in the Australian Football League *Electoral district of Essendon *Electoral district of Essendon and Flemington United Kin ...

. He went on to play 210 games for 395 goals with the club until his retirement in 1989 (his final game being for the Reserves in their Premiership win over Geelong that year). During his career he represented Victoria in State of Origin on four occasions. Conlan kicked 10 goals in one game against Footscray in 1984.Fitzroy v Footscray, 1984
/ref> After retirement he went on to coach

Sandringham Football Club The Sandringham Football Club, nicknamed the Zebras, is an Australian rules football club based in the Melbourne suburb of Sandringham, Victoria, Sandringham. It currently competes in the Victorian Football League (VFL) and the VFL Women's (VF ...

in the

Victorian Football Association The Victorian Football League (VFL) is an Australian rules football competition in Australia operated by the Australian Football League (AFL) as a second-tier, regional, semi-professional competition. It includes teams from clubs based in east ...

. In March 2012, Conlan became the chief executive officer of

AFL Queensland AFL Queensland Limited (AFLQ) is the governing body of Australian rules football in Queensland formed in 2000 and based at Leyshon Park in the Brisbane suburb of Yeronga. AFL Queensland has over 216,000 participants (including Northern River ...

References

1958 births Fitzroy Football Club players Living people Victorian State of Origin players Australian rules footballers from Tasmania Sandringham Football Club coaches Manuka Football Club players 20th-century Australian sportsmen {{AFL-bio-1950s-stub