Mark McVeigh

Mark McVeigh
Personal information
Full name Mark McVeigh
Nickname(s) Spike[1]
Date of birth (1981-01-26) 26 January 1981
Place of birth Sydney
Original team(s) NSW/ACT Rams (TAC Cup)
Draft No. 9, 1998 National Draft, Essendon
Height / weight 184cm / 85 kg
Position(s) Utility
Playing career1
Years Club Games (Goals)
1999–2012 Essendon 232 (107)
International team honours
Years Team Games (Goals)
2004 Australia 2 (0)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 2012.
Career highlights

Mark McVeigh (born 26 January 1981) is a former professional Australian rules footballer for the Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League. He has also served an assistant coach of the Greater Western Sydney Giants.[2]

Football career

Early Career (1999–2004)

After having a slow start with a season high of 15 Disposals and 4 Marks, in his second season he suffered an injury and missed most of Essendons games. In McVeigh's third season however, it was clear that the game had grown on him as he stood up as an up-and-coming youngster. After playing 23 games in his third year of playing including the Grand Final against the Brisbane Lions in which Essendon lost, McVeigh had some promising stats with a consistent 11 – 18 in over half of every game he played. McVeigh also went on to play the next 3 seasons in stellar form with Essendon who reached 3 consecutive semi-finals in which McVeigh played in all.

Mid-Career (2005–2008)

In the next 3 seasons McVeigh was a stand out performer for Essendon, with a high disposal & efficiency rate he was one of the club's main contributors and eventually was to become a part of the Leadership group and a role model to his younger rookies. With disposals in the high 20's and a career high of 36 disposals, McVeigh was determined to get Essendon back on track. In 2008 McVeigh suffered an injury which sidelined him for almost half the season, nevertheless he claimed 13 Brownlow votes to his name in only 14 games, McVeigh finished in the top 20.

Personal life

On 17 October 2009 McVeigh married his longtime girlfriend, Leanne Tucker. They have a daughter, Ariana, born in March 2011.[3] Mark also had a niece, Luella (the daughter of Sydney's Jarrad McVeigh), born on 25 July 2011 but she died from heart complications barely a month later. Following Essendon's seven-point victory over Port Adelaide, its first over the side since 2004, Mark 'blew a kiss towards to the heavens' in her memory. Essendon's players wore black armbands in the match.[4]

Retirement

McVeigh retired from professional Australian Rules Football on 29 August 2012. Injuries to his hip, knee and hamstring restricted McVeigh to only three games during the 2012 season. McVeigh stated, "It's a decision that I've been to-ing and fro-ing with for about eight weeks. But I've been very fortunate to part ways with the club on really good terms," during a press conference at Windy Hill. McVeigh shared the role of Vice-Captain of the Essendon Football Club with David Hille for most of his career. McVeigh played a total of 232 games and kicked 107 goals during his successful career at Essendon.

In 2013, following his retirement, McVeigh began a media career with the Seven Network and SEN 1116. He also began taking developmental coaching roles in New South Wales and Canberra. He coached the Under-16 and Under-18 NSW/ACT Rams teams in the national championships, and took a head coaching role at the Giants Academy, then transitioned into an assistant coaching role at the Greater Western Sydney Giants from 2015, serving as the defensive coach.[5]

On 12 January 2016, McVeigh was named as one of 34 past and present Essendon players found guilty over their use of illegal supplements during the 2012 AFL season. As a result, McVeigh was suspended from involvement in football for twenty-four months, which (due to back-dating and time served in provisional suspensions) saw him suspended until November 2016.[6] The terms of the suspension meant that McVeigh was unable to continue assistant coaching role during 2016.[7]

Statistics

Statistics are correct to end of AFL career[8][9]
Season Team # Games G B K H D M T G B K H D M T
Totals Averages (per game)
1999 Essendon 10 9 2 5 44 17 61 13 4 0.2 0.6 4.9 1.9 6.8 1.4 0.4
2000 Essendon 10 1 0 1 2 0 2 1 1 0.0 1.0 2.0 0.0 2.0 1.0 1.0
2001 Essendon 10 23 18 11 173 74 247 55 57 0.8 0.5 7.5 3.2 10.7 2.4 2.5
2002 Essendon 10 24 7 13 223 68 291 73 60 0.3 0.5 9.3 2.8 12.1 4.6 2.5
2003 Essendon 10 24 9 7 210 78 288 67 64 0.4 0.3 8.8 3.2 12.0 2.8 2.7
2004 Essendon 10 18 3 1 155 104 259 55 58 0.2 0.1 8.6 5.8 14.4 3.1 3.2
2005 Essendon 10 21 7 8 211 90 301 84 53 0.3 0.4 10.0 4.3 14.3 4.0 2.5
2006 Essendon 10 21 9 11 216 91 307 77 62 0.4 0.5 10.3 4.3 14.6 3.7 3.0
2007 Essendon 10 21 20 16 270 116 386 104 60 1.0 0.8 12.9 5.5 18.4 5.0 2.9
2008 Essendon 10 14 14 7 219 96 315 61 44 1.0 0.5 15.6 6.9 22.5 4.4 3.1
2009 Essendon 10 12 5 3 110 81 191 33 35 0.4 0.2 9.2 6.8 15.9 2.8 2.9
2010 Essendon 10 18 7 4 177 92 269 52 52 0.4 0.2 9.8 5.1 14.9 2.9 2.9
2011 Essendon 10 23 5 7 252 107 359 65 75 0.2 0.3 11.0 4.6 15.6 2.8 3.3
2012 Essendon 10 3 1 0 28 11 39 15 3 0.3 0.0 9.3 3.7 13.0 5.0 1.0
Career 232 107 94 2290 1025 3315 755 628 0.5 0.4 9.9 4.4 14.3 3.3 2.7
Legend
 G  Goals  B  Behinds  K  Kicks  H  Handballs  D  Disposals  M  Marks  T  Tackles

References

  1. ↑ Timms, Daryl (29 August 2012). "Essendon's Mark McVeigh retires".
  2. ↑ "Coaching Staff". gwsgiants.com.au. Greater Western Sydney Giants. Retrieved 16 August 2015.
  3. ↑ McVeigh family welcome baby girl
  4. ↑ One from the heart – AFL.com.au
  5. ↑ "Mark McVeigh – backline coach". Retrieved 17 January 2016.
  6. ↑ Travis King (12 January 2016). "Guilty: court bans the Essendon 34 for 2016". Australian Football League. Retrieved 12 January 2016.
  7. ↑ Adam Curley (15 January 2016). "Giants scramble to cover loss of McVeigh". Australian Football League. Retrieved 17 January 2016.
  8. ↑ "Mark McVeigh statistics". AFL Tables. Retrieved 26 October 2012.
  9. ↑ "Mark McVeigh of the Essendon Bombers Career AFL Stats". footywire.com. Retrieved 26 October 2012.
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