Clem Michael
Encyclopedia
Clem Anthony Michael 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. He remained on Fremantle's list for the 2002 season, and returned to train with South Fremantle but never played football again.
. 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.
Australian Football League
The Australian Football League is both the governing body and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football...
for the Fremantle Football Club
Fremantle Football Club
The Fremantle Football Club, nicknamed The Dockers, is an Australian rules football team which plays in the Australian Football League . The club is based in the port city of Fremantle at the mouth of the Swan River in Western Australia...
from 1998 to 2000. The son of WAFL
West Australian Football League
The West Australian Football League is an Australian rules football league based in Perth, Western Australia. The WAFL is the second-most popular in the state, behind the nation-wide Australian Football League...
legend Stephen Michael
Stephen Michael
Stephen Albert Michael in Kojonup, Western Australia is a former Australian rules footballer.-Playing career:A Noongar Australian Aborigine, Michael played in the WAFL between 1975 and 1985 with the South Fremantle Football Club, playing 243 games and kicking 231 goals. He played in South's 1980...
, Clem was drafted by Fremantle in the 1997 National Draft
1997 AFL Draft
The 1997 AFL Draft was held at the conclusion of the 1997 Australian Football League season. A pre-season draft was also held prior to the 1998 season....
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. 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, 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. 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 ligamentPosterior cruciate ligament
The posterior cruciate ligament is one of the four major ligaments of the knee. It connects the posterior intercondylar area of the tibia to the medial condyle of the femur...
. 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.