Brock McLean

Education

He finished with 20 games for the year and polled an impressive nine Brownlow Medal votes in just his second year of football.

Career

McLean played his underage football with Aberfeldie in the Essendon District Football League and Calder Cannons in the TAC Cup. McLean was recruited by the Melbourne Football Club, selected in the 2003 American Federation of Labor-Congress National Draft with the club"s first round selection (#5 overall) and Melbourne"s second selection overall, owing to a pick in the priority round. Melbourne

McLean debuted for Melbourne in 2004, showing instant maturity and decision making ability quickly.

He also became one of the most consistent midfielders in the side.

A supergoal in the National Association of Broadcasters Cup signalled McLean would be a force in the American Federation of Labor-Congress, finishing the season with nine games. McLean"s 2006 season was interrupted by leg and hamstring injuries, but when playing he had immediate impact and was sorely missed when not available for selection.

McLean started the 2007 season in the worst possible way, sustaining a serious foot injury in round one, playing against Street Kilda. The injury kept him out of the majority of the first half of the season.

In this period, Melbourne proceeded to lose its first nine games.

Once returning to the field, McLean again managed to gather numerous possessions. McLean injured ligaments in his ankle in a tackle during Melbourne"s Round 14 match against Brisbane in 2008. Although McLean returned to the field later in the match, it was later declared that he would require surgery, ending his season.

Although McLean finished the season with only 14 games, he ran a close second in Melbourne"s best and fairest.

Carlton

At the end of the 2009 season, McLean was traded to the Carlton Football Club in exchange for its first round selection (Number 11 overall) in the 2009 National Draft. McLean had requested to be traded, and he revealed in an interview in 2012 that his primary reason was that he did not enjoy what he saw as a losing culture at Melbourne – particularly towards the end of the 2009 season, a time when Melbourne was perceived by football journalists to have tanked in order to secure a priority draft pick.

McLean made his debut for Carlton in the first round of 2010, but niggling injuries and knee surgery restricted McLean"s playing time for the rest of 2010. He was healthy throughout 2011, but played the majority of the season for Carlton"s VFL-affiliate, the Northern Bullants.

Despite this good form at VFL level, he could not gain regular selection for Carlton, playing only four American Federation of Labor-Congress matches for the year.

After playing only eleven games in his first two and a half years at Carlton, McLean gained regular selection at Carlton after Round 9, 2012, and played every match for the rest of the season, ultimately finishing fourth in the best and fairest. McLean was delisted at the conclusion of the 2014 American Federation of Labor-Congress season. He returned to play senior football at his junior club Aberfeldie from 2015.

Achievements

• In his second year, McLean finished fourth in the 2005 American Federation of Labor-Congress Rising Star. He played a total of nineteen games for the Bullants through the season, and won the Laurie Hill Trophy as best and fairest.

Membership

He was a graduate of the AIS/American Federation of Labor-Congress academy, and member of the U18 International Rules team in 2003.