Mark Mercuri

Australian rules footballer, born 1974

Australian rules footballer
Mark Mercuri
Personal information
Date of birth (1974-02-21) 21 February 1974 (age 50)
Original team(s) Keilor Park
Debut Round 10, 23 May 1992, Essendon vs. Carlton, at Princes Park
Height 178 cm (5 ft 10 in)
Weight 77 kg (170 lb)
Playing career1
Years Club Games (Goals)
1992–2004 Essendon 207 (242)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 2004.
Career highlights
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

Mark Mercuri (born 21 February 1974) is a former professional Australian rules football player who played for the Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League.[1] He played in the 1993 premiership winning team which defeated Carlton and in the 2000 premiership team which defeated Melbourne. In the 1999 AFL season, Mercuri was one of the premier players of the competition,[1] finishing runner-up in the Brownlow Medal, and earning a lucrative and rarely heard-of 5-year contract.

Mercuri played his 200th AFL game in round three, 2004 against West Coast in the match best known for James Hird's match-winning goal which broke a 131–all deadlock with less than a minute remaining.[2] He retired following Essendon's 10-point semi-final defeat to Geelong at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

In 2005, there was talk of a comeback, with Mercuri contemplating nominating for the pre-season draft. This never eventuated.

In 2006 he played for Airport West in the Essendon District Football League.

Playing statistics

[3]
Season Team No. Games Totals Averages (per game)
G B K H D M T G B K H D M T
1992 Essendon 45 3 1 4 22 14 36 9 2 0.3 1.3 7.3 4.7 12.0 3.0 0.7
1993† Essendon 2 20 25 10 251 197 448 106 44 1.3 0.5 12.6 9.9 22.4 5.3 2.2
1994 Essendon 2 13 16 7 143 107 250 61 21 1.2 0.5 11.0 8.2 19.2 4.7 1.6
1995 Essendon 2 22 36 25 268 217 485 125 32 1.6 1.1 12.2 9.9 22.0 5.7 1.5
1996 Essendon 2 21 37 25 244 200 444 115 32 1.8 1.2 11.6 9.5 21.1 5.5 1.5
1997 Essendon 2 11 12 10 136 66 202 47 15 1.1 0.9 12.4 6.0 18.4 4.3 1.4
1998 Essendon 2 20 24 14 224 141 365 112 27 1.2 0.7 11.2 7.1 18.3 5.6 1.4
1999 Essendon 2 21 32 19 256 200 456 103 31 1.5 0.9 12.2 9.5 21.7 4.9 1.5
2000† Essendon 2 20 32 19 208 152 360 92 33 1.6 1.0 10.4 7.6 18.0 4.6 1.7
2001 Essendon 2 20 10 10 164 153 317 70 34 0.5 0.5 8.2 7.7 15.9 3.5 1.7
2002 Essendon 2 11 7 9 101 93 194 50 21 0.6 0.8 9.2 8.5 17.6 4.5 1.9
2003 Essendon 2 16 7 6 126 99 225 74 32 0.4 0.4 7.9 6.2 14.1 4.6 2.0
2004 Essendon 2 9 3 0 49 39 88 26 21 0.3 0.0 6.5 4.3 9.8 2.9 2.3
Career 207 242 158 2192 1678 3870 990 345 1.2 0.8 10.6 8.1 18.7 4.8 1.7

References

  1. ^ a b Holmesby, Russell; Main, Jim (2003). The Encyclopedia of AFL Footballers: every AFL/VFL player since 1897 (5th ed.). Melbourne, Victoria: Crown Content. p. 494. ISBN 1-74095-032-1.
  2. ^ "Magnificent Mercuri". Essendon Football Club. 12 April 2004. Retrieved 3 December 2021.
  3. ^ Mark Mercuri's player profile at AFL Tables

External links

  • Mark Mercuri's playing statistics from AFL Tables
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Essendon Football Club 1993 AFL premiers
Essendon 20.13 (133) defeated Carlton 13.11 (89), at the Melbourne Cricket Ground
Coach: Sheedy
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Essendon Football Club 2000 AFL premiers
Essendon 19.21 (135) defeated Melbourne 11.9 (75), at the Melbourne Cricket Ground
Coach: Sheedy
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Crichton Medal · Essendon Football Club best and fairest winners
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Anzac Medals were awarded from 2000 onwards, with medals for the first five matches awarded retrospectively. No Anzac Day match was played in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Italics denote winner
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Michael Tuck Medal
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1999 All-Australian team
Full-back
Half-back
Centre
Half-forward
Full-forward
Ruck
Interchange
Coach
← 1998
The position of coach in the All-Australian team began being awarded to the coach of the premiership-winning team from 1999.
2000 →
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Victorian team – 1994 State of Origin
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Victorian team – 1996 State of Origin
Coach: Austin
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Victorian team – 1998 State of Origin
Coach: Matthews