Michael Firrito

Michael Firrito
Personal information
Full name	Michael Firrito
Nickname(s)	Spud, The Mexican
Date of birth	(1983-11-27) 27 November 1983
Original team(s)	Box Hill Hawks (VFL)
Height / weight	189cm / 93kg
Position(s)	Defender
Club information
Current club	North Melbourne
Number	11
Playing career1
Years	Club	Games (Goals)
2003–2016	North Melbourne	275 (29)
International team honours
Years	Team	Games (Goals)
2008	Australia	2
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of Round 23, 2016. 2 State and international statistics correct as of 2008.
Career highlights
2003 AFL Rising Star nominee
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

Michael "Spud" Firrito (born 27 November 1983) is an Australian rules footballer who is a former player of the North Melbourne Football Club in Australian Football League (AFL). He made his AFL debut in round 12 on the 13 June 2003. He played 2 games that year and the following year received a Rising Star nomination. Although primarily a defender, he has been used by the Kangaroos as a tagger in the past.

Firrito had a career best year in 2007. He was the main defender for the Roos, with his bulky yet small frame attracting the big forwards of the game. After Glenn Archer's retirement, Archer handed over his no. 11 guernsey to Firrito, who wore the number instead of the no. 24 he had worn since his debut in 2004. He has played over 200 AFL matches and all for North Melbourne Football Club.

In August 2016, North Melbourne announced they would not renew Firrito's contract for the 2017 season.

International Rules Series

Michael Firrito was selected by Mick Malthouse for 2008 International Rules series for Australia against Ireland. In the first Test, Firrito played as full back and right corner back before replacing Nathan Bock as goalkeeper for the second test, when he made many good saves despite conceding 4 goals. Firrito was one of 5 North Melbourne players selected in the squad, along with Daniel Wells, Drew Petrie, Brent Harvey and Matt Campbell.

Statistics

Season	Team	No.	Games	Totals							Averages (per game)
				G	B	K	H	D	M	T	G	B	K	H	D	M	T
2003	Kangaroos	42	2	0	0	6	2	8	1	3	0.0	0.0	3.0	1.0	4.0	0.5	1.5
2004	Kangaroos	24	16	4	2	90	61	151	35	33	0.3	0.1	5.6	3.8	9.4	2.2	2.1
2005	Kangaroos	24	23	5	4	168	105	273	84	74	0.2	0.2	7.3	4.6	11.9	3.7	3.2
2006	Kangaroos	24	17	3	5	130	107	237	76	44	0.2	0.3	7.6	6.3	13.9	4.5	2.6
2007	Kangaroos	24	24	1	1	164	168	332	89	39	0.0	0.0	6.8	7.0	13.8	3.7	1.6
2008	North Melbourne	11	23	1	7	156	179	335	109	40	0.0	0.3	6.8	7.8	14.6	4.7	1.7
2009	North Melbourne	11	22	9	6	172	197	369	81	101	0.4	0.3	7.8	9.0	16.8	3.7	4.6
2010	North Melbourne	11	22	2	2	192	232	424	89	54	0.1	0.1	8.7	10.5	19.3	4.0	2.5
2011	North Melbourne	11	21	2	1	180	163	343	68	57	0.1	0.0	8.6	7.8	16.3	3.2	2.7
2012	North Melbourne	11	23	1	1	190	222	412	98	37	0.0	0.0	8.3	9.7	17.9	4.3	1.6
2013	North Melbourne	11	17	0	0	162	90	252	83	28	0.0	0.0	9.5	5.3	14.8	4.9	1.6
2014	North Melbourne	11	20	1	0	192	135	327	94	34	0.1	0.0	9.6	6.8	16.4	4.7	1.7
2015	North Melbourne	11	23	0	3	189	123	312	79	52	0.0	0.1	8.2	5.3	13.6	3.4	2.3
2016	North Melbourne	11	22	0	0	165	117	282	83	26	0.0	0.0	7.5	5.3	12.8	3.8	1.2
Career			275	29	32	2156	1901	4057	1069	622	0.1	0.1	7.8	6.9	14.8	3.9	2.3

External links

• Michael Firrito's profile on the official website of the North Melbourne Football Club
• Michael Firrito's playing statistics from AFL Tables