Introduction
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
| Legend | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | Goals | B | Behinds | K | Kicks | H | Handballs | D | Disposals | M | Marks | T | Tackles |
| Season | Team | # | Games | G | B | K | H | D | M | T | G | B | K | H | D | M | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Totals | Averages (per game) | ||||||||||||||||
| 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 | ||