Michael Rischitelli (born 8 January 1986) 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 oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by k ...

er who played for the

Gold Coast Suns The Gold Coast Suns is a professional Australian rules football club that competes in the Australian Football League (AFL). The club is based on Queensland's Gold Coast in the suburb of Carrara. The club has been playing in the AFL since th ...

in the

Australian Football League The Australian Football League (AFL) is the only fully professional competition of Australian rules football. Through the AFL Commission, the AFL also serves as the sport's governing body and is responsible for controlling the laws of the gam ...

(AFL). He previously played for the Brisbane Lions.

AFL career

Brisbane Lions (2004–2010)

Rischitelli's first game in the AFL turned out to be a dream debut for the then-teenager, playing as a late inclusion in the Lions' Round 17, 2004 side against . The Lions kicked an incredible 21 goals in the second half and went on to win by a whopping 141 points making it Brisbane's biggest win in their history. Rischitelli kicked two goals. It was his only game for the season.

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...

wasn't much of an improvement for Rischitelli, and definitely wasn't for his team either. The Lions finished eleventh on the ladder, a poorer season than 2004, in which they were Grand Finalists. Mainly due to a quad injury, Rischitelli played only three games for the year, in which he made a minimal impression. Rischitelli's 2006 season ended up being his breakthrough season, finding a regular spot in Brisbane's side and playing in the first eighteen matches of the season. He started to find a lot more of the ball than in previous years, and in rounds six and

seven 7 is a number, numeral, and glyph. 7 or seven may also refer to: * AD 7, the seventh year of the AD era * 7 BC, the seventh year before the AD era * The month of July Music Artists * Seven (Swiss singer) (born 1978), a Swiss recording artist ...

his disposal count was in the twenties, earning him two Brownlow votes and a Rising Star nomination. His impressive season was further accoladed at the Lions' 2006 award night, where he was awarded the Most Improved Player award. Rischitelli had a solid 2009 season, but was shocked when he was offered up, along with Daniel Bradshaw, as a possible trade option for controversial

Carlton Carlton may refer to: People * Carlton (name), a list of those with the given name or surname * Carlton (singer), English soul singer Carlton McCarthy * Carlton, a pen name used by Joseph Caldwell (1773–1835), American educator, Presbyterian ...

full-forward

Brendan Fevola Brendan Fevola (born 20 January 1981) is a former professional Australian rules footballer. He played with the Carlton and Brisbane Lions football clubs in the Australian Football League (AFL). Fevola is regarded as one of the most effective ...

after the conclusion of the 2009 season. Although under intense public pressure to agree to be traded, Rischitelli ultimately decided that he wished to stay with Brisbane, meaning that particular trade option fell through and the Lions instead got Fevola in a trade for

Lachlan Henderson Lachlan Stuart Henderson (born 14 December 1989) is a former Australian rules footballer, who played for the Brisbane Lions, the Carlton Football Club and the Geelong Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). Junior career Hend ...

and a draft pick. Rischitelli was offered up to trade and has been suggested as a possible reason why he left to play with the Gold Coast a season later. Rischitelli's had his best season to date in 2010, becoming the most consistent player in the Lions injury-riddled midfield, playing every match and leading the club in kicks, handballs, marks, clearances and contested possessions. Due to his outstanding season he was pursued by the newly created Gold Coast Football Club and announced that he had signed with the Suns at the conclusion of Brisbane's disappointing season, where the club finished 13th. Shortly after his decision to leave Brisbane, Rischitelli won his first

Best and Fairest In Australian sport, the best and fairest award recognises the player(s) adjudged to have had the best performance in a game or over a season for a given sporting club or competition. The awards are sometimes dependent on not receiving a suspensi ...

award, ahead of club stalwarts Simon Black and Jonathan Brown.

Gold Coast Suns (2011–2019)

On 7 September 2010, it was announced that Rischitelli was joining the AFL's 17th club, the

from 2011 onwards.

Statistics

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2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...

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2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 35 , , 18 , , 8 , , 4 , , 161 , , 130 , , 291 , , 71 , , 67 , , 0.4 , , 0.2 , , 8.9 , , 7.2 , , 16.2 , , 3.9 , , 3.7 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...

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2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 35 , , 21 , , 9 , , 10 , , 218 , , 148 , , 366 , , 92 , , 92 , , 0.4 , , 0.5 , , 10.4 , , 7.0 , , 17.4 , , 4.4 , , 4.4 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 35 , , 24 , , 13 , , 9 , , 187 , , 182 , , 369 , , 88 , , 116 , , 0.5 , , 0.4 , , 7.8 , , 7.6 , , 15.4 , , 3.7 , , 4.8 , - style="background-color: #EAEAEA" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 35 , , 22 , , 7 , , 6 , , 278 , , 252 , , 530 , , 126 , , 97 , , 0.3 , , 0.3 , , 12.6 , , 11.5 , , 24.1 , , 5.7 , , 4.4 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 35 , , 21 , , 10 , , 9 , , 241 , , 256 , , 497 , , 97 , , 114 , , 0.5 , , 0.4 , , 11.5 , , 12.2 , , 23.7 , , 4.6 , , 5.4 , - style="background-color: #EAEAEA" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 35 , , 14 , , 6 , , 4 , , 89 , , 114 , , 203 , , 38 , , 59 , , 0.4 , , 0.3 , , 6.4 , , 8.1 , , 14.5 , , 2.7 , , 4.2 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

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2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 35 , , 21 , , 8 , , 10 , , 201 , , 192 , , 393 , , 70 , , 74 , , 0.4 , , 0.5 , , 9.6 , , 9.1 , , 18.7 , , 3.3 , , 3.5 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 35 , , 21 , , 8 , , 13 , , 282 , , 189 , , 471 , , 81 , , 127 , , 0.4 , , 0.6 , , 13.4 , , 9.0 , , 22.4 , , 3.9 , , 6.0 , - style="background-color: #EAEAEA" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 35 , , 6 , , 2 , , 0 , , 41 , , 75 , , 116 , , 16 , , 28 , , 0.3 , , 0.0 , , 6.8 , , 12.5 , , 19.3 , , 2.7 , , 4.7 , - class="sortbottom" ! colspan=3, Career ! 205 ! 87 ! 81 ! 1964 ! 1845 ! 3809 ! 804 ! 927 ! 0.4 ! 0.4 ! 9.6 ! 9.0 ! 18.6 ! 3.9 ! 4.5

Personal life

Michael Rischitelli was born and grew up in the Western Suburbs of

Melbourne, Victoria Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung–Taungurung language, Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the St ...

. Before being drafted into the AFL, Rischitelli completed his schooling at Victoria University Secondary College ''(formally known as Brimbank College)'' Rischitelli played for the Western Jets before beginning his AFL career. He showed great promise and potential playing for the Western junior sides,Burgo’s take: Beatson’s babes
carltonfc.com.au. Retrieved 2009-09-23. but was hindered by a bout of osteitis pubis during his year playing in their under-18 side.Michael Rischitelli Player Profile bio
lions.com.au. Retrieved 2009-09-23. He was the Lions' fifth and eventual final pick in the 2003 AFL Draft, and was the number 61 draft pick overall.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rischitelli, Michael 1986 births Living people Australian people of Italian descent Australian rules footballers from Victoria (Australia) Brisbane Lions players Gold Coast Football Club players Western Jets players Merrett–Murray Medal winners Keilor Football Club players