Hunter Clark

Hunter Clark
Clark playing for St Kilda in April 2018
Personal information
Nickname(s)	Huntzy
Date of birth	(1999-03-26) 26 March 1999 (age 23)
Place of birth	Melbourne Australia
Original team(s)	Dandenong Stingrays (TAC Cup)
Draft	No. 7, 2017 national draft
Debut	Round 1, 2018, St Kilda vs.  Brisbane Lions, at Etihad Stadium
Height	186 cm (6 ft 1 in)
Weight	79 kg (174 lb)
Position(s)	Midfielder
Club information
Current club	St Kilda
Number	11
Playing career1
Years	Club	Games (Goals)
2018–	St Kilda	60 (8)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of round 7, 2022.
Career highlights
AFL Rising Star nominee: 2018
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

Hunter Clark (born 26 March 1999) is a professional Australian rules footballer with the St Kilda Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He was drafted by St Kilda with their first selection and seventh overall in the 2017 national draft. ^[1]

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. ^[2] Clark attended Padua College with fellow footballer Tom De Koning. ^[3]

AFL career

Clark made his debut in the twenty-five point win against the Brisbane Lions at Etihad Stadium in the opening round of the 2018 season. ^[4] In round 13 of the 2018 season, Clark was nominated for the AFL Rising Star after a 17-disposal performance in St Kilda's win against Gold Coast. ^[5] 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-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, 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. ^[6]

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. ^[7] 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 round 7, 2022

Legend

G	Goals	K	Kicks	D	Disposals	T	Tackles
B	Behinds	H	Handballs	M	Marks

Season	Team	No.	Games	Totals							Averages (per game)
				G	B	K	H	D	M	T	G	B	K	H	D	M	T
2018	St Kilda	11	15	3	4	121	110	231	43	42	0.2	0.3	8.1	7.3	15.4	2.9	2.8
2019	St Kilda	11	14	2	4	153	134	287	64	43	0.1	0.3	10.9	9.6	20.5	4.6	3.1
2020 [lower-alpha 1]	St Kilda	11	18	1	1	188	122	310	64	46	0.1	0.1	10.4	6.8	17.2	3.6	2.6
2021	St Kilda	11	13	2	1	154	95	249	53	40	0.2	0.1	11.8	7.3	19.2	4.1	3.1
2022	St Kilda	11	0	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
Career			60	8	10	616	461	1077	224	171	0.1	0.2	10.3	7.7	18.0	3.7	2.9

Notes

1. The 2020 season was played with 17 home-and-away matches per team (down from 22) and 16-minute quarters with time on (down from 20-minute quarters with time on) due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

References

1. Ralph, Jon (25 November 2017). "St Kilda believes it has secured future midfield stars without the million-dollar price tag". Herald Sun . News Corp Australia . Retrieved 22 March 2018.
2. "Get to know Hunter Clark". www.saints.com.au. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
3. "Rays kick on to bigger things". TAC Cup. 22 July 2017. Retrieved 3 September 2018.
4. Schmook, Nathan (21 March 2018). "Saints to unleash top-10 pick against Lions". AFL.com.au. Telstra Media . Retrieved 22 March 2018.
5. McGowan, Marc (18 June 2018). "A Saints win, then a Rising Star nomination". AFL.com.au. Telstra Media . Retrieved 19 June 2018.
6. "Star trio selected in 22Under22 team". www.saints.com.au. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
7. "Multiple jaw fractures rule Clark out". saints.com.au. Retrieved 11 September 2021.

External links

• Hunter Clark's profile on the official website of the St Kilda Football Club
• Hunter Clark's playing statistics from AFL Tables