41 Mitchell Golby

Choose another player Adcock, Jed - [7] Banfield, Todd - [18] Bartlett, Callum - [13] Beams, Claye - [17] Bewick, Rohan - [43] Black, Simon - [20] Brown, Jonathan - [16] Buchanan, Amon - [33] Cornelius, Aaron - [44] Crisp, Jack - [47] Docherty, Sam - [1] Drummond, Josh - [39] Golby, Mitchell - [41] Green, Joshua - [6] Hanley, Pearce - [11] Harwood, Ryan - [2] Hawksley, James - [12] Hudson, Ben - [22] Karnezis, Patrick - [28] Lester, Ryan - [35] Leuenberger, Matthew - [23] Lisle, Jordan - [19] Longer, Billy - [5] Maguire, Matt - [36] McGrath, Ashley - [9] McKeever, Niall - [40] Merrett, Daniel - [21] O'Brien, Jesse - [34] Patfull, Joel - [24] Polec, Jared - [4] Polkinghorne, James - [31] Raines, Andrew - [29] Redden, Jack - [30] Retzlaff, Bryce - [8] Rich, Daniel - [10] Rockliff, Tom - [38] Sheldon, Sam - [3] Staker, Brent - [14] Stiller, Cheynee - [32] Wearden, Patrick - [37] Yeo, Elliot - [26] Zorko, Dayne - [15]

Introduction
Mitch Golby is a creative midfielder/defender who was drafted by the Lions at the end of 2009 midway through his rehabilitation from a knee reconstruction. He is a courageous left-footer who has bounced back from injury setbacks to prove a valuable addition to the Lions' squad.

Background
• Golby caught the eye of recruiters with a string of impressive performances with the Gippsland Power TAC U18 side in 2009.

• He averaged 23 disposals, eight marks and a goal in five matches with the Power and was subsequently invited to the Victorian State trials. H 

• He looked almost certain to represent Victoria Country in the U18 Championships but tragically injured his Anterior Cruciate Ligament in a trial match at Victoria Park.

• Despite his injury setback, Golby was given a chance at an AFL career when the Lions drafted him with their first selection (Pick No.16 overall) in the 2009 AFL Rookie Draft.

2010
• Golby continued his rehabilitation from knee surgery throughout the start of the 2010 season and eventually found his way back into the Lions Reserves side by May.

• But just two games into his return, he injured the same knee and required an arthroscopic tidy-up which forced him back on the sidelines for the remainder of the season.

2011
• After overcoming an interrupted debut season, Golby enjoy an incident-free pre-season and earned a place in the Lions' NAB Cup round-robin opener against Essendon/St Kilda at Etihad Stadium.  

• During a second pre-season run against the Western Bulldogs at Visy Park, Golby limped off the field and headed straight to the rooms. While some feared the worst, the knee injury required on reltaively minor surgery and around four weeks on the sidelines.   

• He returned in time for the Reserves' Round 1 loss against Morningside and was widely considered the Lions' best player.

• He continued his good form throughout the first half of the season in the NEAFL - with his run and carry across half-back a feature of his game - and earned selection in Queensland's initial State squad.

• On the eve of the Lions' Round 12 match against Carlton, Golby was elevated to the senior list in place of draftee Ryan Lester who was placed on the long-term injured list.

• He was promptly named in the Lions' Round 12 and proceeded to collect 16 disposals and lay five tackles in his senior debut against the Blues at Etihad Stadium.

• He quickly became a relatively permanent fixture of the Lions backline for the remainder of the season, playing eight of the next 12 matches and averaging 13 disposals per game.

• At the 2011 AFL National Draft, the Lions used their final selection (Pick No.69 overall) to elevate Golby permanently to the Club's senior list for 2012.