Introduction
Mark Mercuri (born 21 February 1974) was a professional Australian rules football player for Essendon. He played in the 1993 Grand final winning team which defeated Carlton. In the 1999 AFL season, Mercuri was one of the premier players of the competition, finishing runner-up in the Brownlow Medal, and earning a lucrative and rarely heard-of 5-year contract.
Mercuri lost form late in his career, which was put down to his brother's suicide. He retired in the 2004 season, his last game being the 2004 Semi Final against Geelong, which Essendon lost by 10 points.
In 2005, there was talk of a comeback, with Mercuri contemplating nominating for the pre-season draft. This never eventuated.
In 2006 he played in the Essendon District Football League for Airport West.
Playing Statistics
| Season | Team | # | Games | G | B | K | H | D | M | T | G | B | K | H | D | M | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Totals | Averages (per game) | ||||||||||||||||
| 1992 | Essendon | 45 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 22 | 14 | 36 | 9 | 2 | 0.3 | 1.3 | 7.3 | 4.7 | 12.0 | 3.0 | 0.7 |
| 1993 | Essendon | 2 | 20 | 25 | 10 | 251 | 197 | 448 | 106 | 44 | 1.3 | 0.5 | 12.6 | 9.9 | 22.4 | 5.3 | 2.2 |
| 1994 | Essendon | 2 | 13 | 16 | 7 | 143 | 107 | 250 | 61 | 21 | 1.2 | 0.5 | 11.0 | 8.2 | 19.2 | 4.7 | 1.6 |
| 1995 | Essendon | 2 | 22 | 36 | 25 | 268 | 217 | 485 | 125 | 32 | 1.6 | 1.1 | 12.2 | 9.9 | 22.0 | 5.7 | 1.5 |
| 1996 | Essendon | 2 | 21 | 37 | 25 | 244 | 200 | 444 | 115 | 32 | 1.8 | 1.2 | 11.6 | 9.5 | 21.1 | 5.5 | 1.5 |
| 1997 | Essendon | 2 | 11 | 12 | 10 | 136 | 66 | 202 | 47 | 15 | 1.1 | 0.9 | 12.4 | 6.0 | 18.4 | 4.3 | 1.4 |
| 1998 | Essendon | 2 | 20 | 24 | 14 | 224 | 141 | 365 | 112 | 27 | 1.2 | 0.7 | 11.2 | 7.1 | 18.3 | 5.6 | 1.4 |
| 1999 | Essendon | 2 | 21 | 32 | 19 | 256 | 200 | 456 | 103 | 31 | 1.5 | 0.9 | 12.2 | 9.5 | 21.7 | 4.9 | 1.5 |
| 2000 | Essendon | 2 | 20 | 32 | 19 | 208 | 152 | 360 | 92 | 33 | 1.6 | 1.0 | 10.4 | 7.6 | 18.0 | 4.6 | 1.7 |
| 2001 | Essendon | 2 | 20 | 10 | 10 | 164 | 153 | 317 | 70 | 34 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 8.2 | 7.7 | 15.9 | 3.5 | 1.7 |
| 2002 | Essendon | 2 | 11 | 7 | 9 | 101 | 93 | 194 | 50 | 21 | 0.6 | 0.8 | 9.2 | 8.5 | 17.6 | 4.5 | 1.9 |
| 2003 | Essendon | 2 | 16 | 7 | 6 | 126 | 99 | 225 | 74 | 32 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 7.9 | 6.2 | 14.1 | 4.6 | 2.0 |
| 2004 | Essendon | 2 | 9 | 3 | 0 | 49 | 39 | 88 | 26 | 21 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 6.5 | 4.3 | 9.8 | 2.9 | 2.3 |
| Career | 207 | 242 | 158 | 2192 | 1678 | 3870 | 990 | 345 | 1.2 | 0.8 | 10.6 | 8.1 | 18.7 | 4.8 | 1.7 | ||