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 Australian rules football playing field, oval field, often a modified ...

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. 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). Originally

rookie list The rookie list is a means for Australian Football League (AFL) clubs to maintain additional players outside the 38-man primary or senior list. Category B rookie-listed players are not eligible to play in AFL home-and-away or finals matches unle ...

ed with Hawthorn 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 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) with the

Box Hill Hawks The Box Hill Hawks Football Club is an Australian rules football club based in the Melbourne suburb of Box Hill, currently competing in the Victorian Football League (VFL) and the VFL Women's (VFLW). Since 2000, Box Hill has had a reserves a ...

. He then moved to the

Coburg Tigers The Coburg Football Club, nicknamed the Lions, is an Australian rules football club based in the Melbourne suburb of Coburg. It has been based at Coburg City Oval since 1915. Coburg's men's team currently plays in the Victorian Football Leagu ...

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

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 Austral ...

. 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, is an Australian rules football club based in the Melbourne suburb of Cranbourne East. The club, which was previously known as the Springvale Football Club (1903–2005) and the Casey Scorpions (2 ...

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