Mark Mercuri

For the American composer, see Mark Mercury.

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