Joe Misiti

Joe Misiti (born 9 November 1974) is a former Australian rules football player who played for the Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL).

Joe Misiti
Personal information
Date of birth	(1974-11-09) 9 November 1974
Original team(s)	Keilor Park Football Club
Debut	Round 23, 1992, Essendon vs. North Melbourne, at the MCG
Height	186 cm (6 ft 1 in)
Weight	89 kg (196 lb)
Playing career1
Years	Club	Games (Goals)
1992–2004	Essendon	236 (94)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 2004.
Career highlights
AFL Premiership Player 1993, 2000 VFL/AFL Italian Team of the Century AFL Rising Star nominee: 1993
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

Originally from Keilor Park and of Italian descent, he made his AFL debut in 1992 and retired at the end of the 2004 premiership season with 236 games to his credit. Described as a "ball-magnet", Misiti was primarily a midfielder who was known for his quick handball and his ability to find space in tight situations. After being part of Essendon's 1993 premiership side, Misiti struggled to keep his place in the side in the next two years. However, he regained form and fitness in 1996 and came second in the team's best and fairest in 1997. Misiti was also part of Essendon's 2000 premiership side; and, after retirement, he became a member of the VFL/AFL Italian Team of the Century in 2007.

Biography

Misiti grew up in East Keilor and attended Keilor Heights Primary School and Keilor Heights High School. Misiti grew up being an Essendon supporter and often got his father and uncle to take him to watch the team play. "They built me a little stool to stand on so I could watch from behind the cheer squad. They would sneak off for a couple of quiet ones and then come back and get me at the end of the day and we would have a kick on the ground," Misiti said. Noel Judkins, Essendon's then recruiting manager, witnessed Misiti playing in an Under–15 team as a centre half-back. Although Judkins was impressed with what he saw, Misiti was "a bit slack at training." Nevertheless, he continued to perform, playing for the Essendon Under–19s in the next season, and also won the best and fairest in the process. However, the under-age team was abolished in 1991, with Essendon's senior club list cut back to 45. "We kept 11 guys who were eligible for what would have been the under–19s," said Judkins. "Joey was probably the last guy we kept, because we were worried about his attitude. He had to convince [coach] Kevin Sheedy and the match committee that he was fair dinkum," something he managed to do.

It did not take long for Misiti to make his senior debut, named in the Essendon line-up in late 1992. In the same season, Misiti played in the reserves premiership, before being a part in Essendon's 1993 premiership winning team. Over the following seasons, Misiti—along with a few other teammates—lost fitness. "I thought I could carry a couple of extra kilos and that it wouldn't matter," Misiti said. "So in 1995 I had a good look at myself." His performances in 1996 and 1997 improved, coming in the top five of the best and fairest in both seasons. However, his form dipped to a new low in 1998, forcing his omission for the qualifying final. After a lean few years, Essendon became an AFL powerhouse in 1999, 2000 and 2001, winning the 2000 premiership, while they lost the preliminary final by a point in 1999 along with losing the 2001 Grand Final to Brisbane. He retired at the end of the 2004 season after playing in 236 games.

In 2005, he played in the Essendon District Football League (EDFL) for Keilor Park and became a member of the VFL/AFL Italian Team of the Century, named in 2007.

Statistics

Season	Team	No.	Games	Totals							Averages (per game)
				G	B	K	H	D	M	T	G	B	K	H	D	M	T
1992	Essendon	52	2	0	1	20	29	49	11	0	0.0	0.5	10.0	14.5	24.5	5.5	0.0
1993†	Essendon	24	23	12	13	350	212	562	90	23	0.5	0.6	15.2	9.2	24.4	3.9	1.0
1994	Essendon	24	16	6	3	199	126	325	48	16	0.4	0.2	12.4	7.9	20.3	3.0	1.0
1995	Essendon	24	22	9	11	284	207	491	88	15	0.4	0.5	12.9	9.4	22.3	4.0	0.7
1996	Essendon	24	22	9	11	292	207	499	56	30	0.4	0.5	13.3	9.4	22.7	2.5	1.4
1997	Essendon	24	18	4	4	238	203	441	69	25	0.2	0.2	13.2	11.3	24.5	3.8	1.4
1998	Essendon	24	19	6	4	214	179	393	64	29	0.3	0.2	11.3	9.4	20.7	3.4	1.5
1999	Essendon	24	18	8	4	246	191	437	64	27	0.4	0.2	13.7	10.6	24.3	3.6	1.5
2000†	Essendon	24	25	14	9	312	313	625	92	61	0.6	0.4	12.5	12.5	25.0	3.7	2.4
2001	Essendon	24	16	8	3	206	166	372	58	26	0.5	0.2	12.9	10.4	23.3	3.6	1.6
2002	Essendon	24	15	6	5	189	168	357	80	41	0.4	0.3	12.6	11.2	23.8	5.3	2.7
2003	Essendon	24	21	6	4	185	160	345	56	37	0.3	0.2	8.8	7.6	16.4	2.7	1.8
2004	Essendon	24	19	6	3	153	115	268	52	32	0.3	0.2	8.1	6.1	14.1	2.7	1.7
Career			236	94	75	2888	2276	5164	828	362	0.4	0.3	12.2	9.6	21.9	3.5	1.5

References

• Simon Matthews (2002). Champions of Essendon: ranking the 60 greatest Bombers of all time. Hardie Grant Books. ISBN 1740640810.