Xavier Clarke - 'The X Factor'

Coaching in Clubland

Xavier Clarke was recruited by St Kilda with pick 5 of the 2001 National Draft from St Mary’s in the Northern Territory Football League. The man affectionately known as ‘X’ played 105 games for the Saints from 2002 to 2009 as a dashing and highly skilled midfielder, as well as a solitary game for the Brisbane Lions in 2010, in what was a playing career unfortunately plagued by injury.

After hanging up the boots, Xavier soon turned his attention to coaching, where he was the head coach of the Northern Territory Thunder in the NEAFL from 2014 to 2016, including winning the premiership in 2015. Xavier then got an opportunity to progress his coaching to the next level, having been appointed as a development coach under Damien Hardwick at the Richmond Football Club in 2017, a role he fulfilled for three seasons. Xavier would then go on to coach the Tigers VFL side in the Covid-19 interrupted seasons that have been 2020 and 2021.