Clem Michael

Clem Michael
Clem Michael
Personal information
Full name	Clem Anthony Michael
Date of birth	16 July 1976 (age 48)
Original team(s)	South Fremantle (WAFL)
Debut	Round 1, 29 March 1998, Fremantle vs. Melbourne, at MCG
Height	192 cm (6 ft 4 in)
Weight	98 kg (216 lb)
Playing career1
Years	Club
1998–2000	Fremantle
	1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 2000.
Career highlights
	1999 Fremantle Football Club Beacon Award; 1997 South Fremantle Football Club WAFL Premiership;
	Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

Clem Anthony Michael (born 16 July 1976) is a former Australian Rules football player in the Australian Football League for the Fremantle Football Club from 1998 to 2000. The son of WAFL legend Stephen Michael, Clem was drafted by Fremantle in the 1997 National Draft with selection 21 after playing a key role in South Fremantle's 1997 WAFL Premiership side.

After 43 games over 3 seasons, Michael's career was cut short by a serious knee injury, which caused him to retire at the end of the 2001 season. He had an experimental surgery on the knee, in which new cartilage was grown in Scandinavia from a culture of his own cartilage.^[1] He remained on Fremantle's list for the 2002 season, and returned to train with South Fremantle but never played football again.

Legal action

After first indicating that legal action could be raised in 2002,^[2] Michael filed an action against the Fremantle Football Club doctor Ken Withers in January 2006 claiming that inappropriate medical treatment caused a permanent loss of function of the left knee and continued pain and disability.^[3] The case is to be heard in the Fremantle District Court. The main claim for negligence surrounds the treatment received following a fall in the Round 4, 2000 game against Richmond which tore the left posterior cruciate ligament. Michael missed the following two matches before playing the remaining 16 matches in the season with the assistance of local anaesthesia and hydrocortisone injections. Michael claims that these injections were excessive and have resulted in permanent loss of function of the left knee.

References

^ Reilly, S: "Windy Hill linked to Michael comeback", The Age. 22 June 2002
^ O'Donoghue, C:"Ruckman plans to sue Fremantle", The Age. 24 August 2002
^ Wilson, R and Gibson, R: "Former Freo star sues over pain-killer use", The West Australian. 6 Jan 2006

External links

Clem Michael's profile on the official website of the Fremantle Football Club
Clem Michael's playing statistics from AFL Tables
Clem Michael at AustralianFootball.com

[1] Reilly, S: "Windy Hill linked to Michael comeback", The Age. 22 June 2002

[2] O'Donoghue, C:"Ruckman plans to sue Fremantle", The Age. 24 August 2002

[3] Wilson, R and Gibson, R: "Former Freo star sues over pain-killer use", The West Australian. 6 Jan 2006

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