Michael Rix (born 8 January 1981) is a former 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 oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by k ...

er who played for the

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

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). Originally rookie listed with

Hawthorn Hawthorn or Hawthorns may refer to: Plants * '' Crataegus'' (hawthorn), a large genus of shrubs and trees in the family Rosaceae * ''Rhaphiolepis'' (hawthorn), a genus of about 15 species of evergreen shrubs and small trees in the family Rosace ...

for the 2004 season, Rix did not play a game for the club but continued to be an important ruckman in the

Victorian Football League The Victorian Football League (VFL) is an Australian rules football league in Australia serving as one of the second-tier regional semi-professional competitions which sit underneath the fully professional Australian Football League (AFL). It ...

(VFL) with the

Box Hill Hawks Box Hill Hawks Football Club is an Australian rules football club playing in the Victorian Football League. It has an alliance with the Hawthorn Football Club, which plays in the Australian Football League. Early Australian rules football in B ...

. He then moved to the

Coburg Tigers The Coburg Football Club, nicknamed the Coburg Lions, is an Australian rules football club based in Coburg, a northern suburb of Melbourne, and currently playing in the Victorian Football League (VFL). It is based at Coburg City Oval since 191 ...

in 2005, showing continued form. This form saw him recruited as the number 49 draft pick in the

2005 AFL Draft The 2005 AFL draft was the 2005 event of the AFL draft, the annual draft of players by Australian rules football teams that participate in the main competition of that sport, the Australian Football League. The 2005 draft consisted of a pre-seas ...

from Coburg to the

, a side that had problems in the ruck department with usual second-stringers

Cain Ackland Cain Jed Ackland (born 16 March 1982) is an Australian rules football player formerly in the Australian Football League (AFL). Originally from South Australian National Football League (SANFL) club Port Adelaide Magpies, Ackland was drafted ...

and Jason Blake shouldering huge responsibility. A mature age recruit at 25, Rix was drafted in a bid to improve St Kilda's ruck stocks; however, it was not until Round 11 his first season in 2006 when he made his debut against the

Sydney Swans The Sydney Swans are a professional Australian rules football club based in Sydney, New South Wales. The men's team competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), and the women's team in the AFL Women's (AFLW). The Swans also field a reser ...

. He played a tough game in wet conditions, considered not ideal for a ruckman (however, he kicked a goal with his first kick in the AFL). Rix then went on to play 11 matches in his first season, being used occasionally at centre-half back when required. He played in the losing Elimination Final against Melbourne in 2006. Rix started the 2007 season as a back-up ruckman to new recruits Matthew Clarke and Michael Gardiner. However, he ended up playing 17 games. Despite only one game in 2008, he was one of the better performed players with St Kilda's affiliate team

Casey Scorpions The Casey Football Club, nicknamed the "Demons" and formerly the "Scorpions", is an Australian rules football club based in Cranbourne East, Victoria. The club, which was known until 2005 as the Springvale Football Club and the Casey Scorpions ( ...

and passed 100 games at VFL level. Rix was delisted from St Kilda at the end of the 2008 season and played four seasons with Subiaco before retiring. Rix currently resides in the United States, where he spends his time writing love letters for friends, befriending local celebrities and captaining an exclusive run club, West Village Athletic.

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* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rix, Michael 1981 births Living people St Kilda Football Club players Box Hill Football Club players Casey Demons players Australian rules footballers from Victoria (state) Subiaco Football Club players Coburg Football Club players People educated at Carey Baptist Grammar School