Brody Mihocek

Brody Mihocek (born 4 February 1993) is an Australian rules footballer who plays for the Collingwood Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He was selected at pick #22 in the 2018 rookie draft.[1] He made his senior debut as a 25 year old against Fremantle in round 11 of the 2018 season, kicking 4 goals.[2]

Brody Mihocek
Mihocek playing for Collingwood in August 2018
Personal information
Nickname(s) Checkers
Date of birth (1993-02-04) 4 February 1993
Place of birth Tasmania
Original team(s) Port Melbourne
Draft No. 22 2018 rookie draft
Debut Collingwood
vs. Fremantle, at MCG
Height 192 cm (6 ft 4 in)
Weight 94 kg (207 lb)
Position(s) Forward
Club information
Current club Collingwood
Number 41
Playing career1
Years Club Games (Goals)
2018– Collingwood 43 (70)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of round 3, 2020.
Career highlights
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

Before arriving in the AFL Mihocek played for the Burnie Dockers Football Club.[3]

Early life

Mihocek played for Tasmania in the 2011 AFL Under 18 Championships, in which Tasmania were the Division 2 premiers, and was selected in the 2011 Under 18 All-Australian team at centre half-back.[4][5] However he was overlooked in the 2011 AFL draft. He then played for the Burnie Dockers, and was part of their 2012 Tasmanian State League (TSL) flag, kicking a goal in the Grand Final[6]. After this he made the move to Melbourne and started playing with Maribyrnong Park in the Essendon District Football League (EDFL) for the 2013 season in the hopes of securing a place in the Victorian Football League (VFL). Prior to the 2014 season he was offered a place at the Werribee VFL side.

VFL career

In 2014, Mihocek signed with Victorian Football League (VFL) club Werribee for 2 seasons, but when Werribee became fully aligned with Australian Football League (AFL) side North Melbourne, Mihocek sought a move. He met with Port Melbourne coach Gary Ayres, and moved to Port Melbourne searching for team success.[7]. Mihocek played 33 games for Port Melbourne over 2 seasons, being awarded the Jack McFarlane medal for the club's best and fairest in 2016, and played a key role Port Melbourne's 2017 VFL Premiership, being impressive both in attack and defence during his tenure[8]. At the conclusion of the 2017 season, the AFL side Collingwood made the move to draft Mihocek.

AFL career

Mihocek plays as a tall marking forward who possesses considerable marking and goalkicking skills. However he occasionally floats up onto a wing and plays a link-up role to send the ball inside the forward 50. Perhaps the most notable facet of his game, his work ethic, is what sets him apart as he's constantly running, applying pressure and positioning himself in the forward half.

2018

Collingwood had been watching Mihocek closely in the Victorian Football League (VFL), and chose him as pick 22 in the 2018 rookie draft. While he played primarily as a defender in the VFL, he made his debut as a tall forward against Fremantle in round 11 of the 2018 season to immediate effect, kicking 4 goals. He found himself a regular in Collingwood's best 22, playing every remaining game in the season, including the finals series and the Grand Final loss against West Coast where he kicked 1 goal. He finished the season with 29 goals from 16 games.

2019

Off the back of an impressive debut season, Mihocek was a walk-up starter for Collingwood, arguably the most important person in their forward line with his marking prowess, running and work-ethic great assets. As Collingwood struggled with injuries and suspensions to a host of their forwards, Mihocek's importance to Collingwood was underlined, as he played every game for the season, and led Collingwood's goalkicking with 36 goals. He also received 4 Brownlow Medal votes in 2019.

Statistics
Statistics are correct to the end of 2019 season[9]
Legend
 G  Goals  B  Behinds  K  Kicks  H  Handballs  D  Disposals  M  Marks  T  Tackles
Season Team No. Games Totals Averages (per game)
G B K H D M T G B K H D M T
2018 Collingwood 411629181275818579331.81.17.93.611.64.92.1
2019 Collingwood 41243626213102315141491.51.18.94.213.15.92.0
Career 40 65 44 340 160 500 220 82 1.6 1.1 8.5 4 12.5 5.5 2.1

References
  1. Gabelich, Josh (1 June 2018), "The long way to the top: Three VFL clubs, two states, one long-awaited debut for Brody Mihocek", Fox Sports
  2. Fair, Alex (4 June 2018), "Bucks' praise for Mihocek", The Advocate
  3. Fair, Alex (23 September 2019). "Preliminary pain for Magpie Brody Mihocek". The Advocate.
  4. Metro dominate AA selections Archived 10 September 2011 at the Wayback Machine – afl.com.au. Written by Jason Phelan. Published 9 July 2011. Retrieved 4 September 2011.
  5. 2011 U18 All Australian Side – contestedfooty.com. Written by James Rose. Published 13 July 2011. Retrieved 4 September 2011.
  6. https://www.tasmanianstateleague.com.au/2012-season/
  7. https://www.sen.com.au/news/2018/07/19/mature-magpie-mihocek-recalls-his-prolonged-passage-to-the-afl/
  8. https://www.portmelbournefc.com.au/brody-mihocek-set-to-make-afl-debut-with-collingwood/
  9. "Brody Mihocek". AFL Tables. Retrieved 2 April 2020.
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