Retired gun Clark rules out country comeback
Retired Melbourne forward Mitch Clark has ruled out making a return to playing this year after rejecting offers from several WA clubs.
Peel Football League side Mundijong Centrals made a pitch to Clark, 26, this week in a bid to convince the West Australian to agree to a low-key comeback.
Several WAFL teams, including his old club East Fremantle, have also approached him.
Centrals have a link to Clark through his former teammate and Brisbane forward Ash McGrath, whose brother Toby is playing with Mundijong.
Clark announced his decision to retire from the AFL last month after a 12-month battle with clinical depression. He played 97 games.
He is effectively a free agent after being de-listed by the Demons. AFL spokesman Patrick Keane said there was no reason why Clark could not play for a non-AFL club in WA once a settlement with Melbourne was reached.
But the forward's manager, Colin Young, said the 2005 No.9 draft pick would "not be playing any football" in 2014 while he focused on his recovery.
Clark's battle with depression is understood to have been linked to lengthy periods spent in injury rehabilitation and the pressure of being Melbourne's highest-paid player at a time when he was regularly sidelined.
He managed just 15 matches at Melbourne in three years after joining the club from Brisbane at the end of 2011 on a four-year contract believed to be worth up to $750,000 a season.
