Darren Kowal is a former Australian rules football

Australian rules football

Australian rules football, officially known as Australian football, also called football, Aussie rules or footy is a sport played between two teams of 22 players on either...

er who played with Melbourne

Melbourne Football Club

The Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed The Demons, is an Australian rules football club playing in the Australian Football League , based in Melbourne, Victoria....

 in the Australian Football League

Australian Football League

The Australian Football League is both the governing body and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football...

 (AFL) during the 1990s.

A member of Claremont's

Claremont Football Club

The Claremont Football Club, nicknamed the Tigers, is an Australian rules football club in the West Australian Football League . Its official colours are navy blue and gold....

 1991 West Australian Football League

West Australian Football League

The West Australian Football League is an Australian rules football league based in Perth, Western Australia. The WAFL is the second-most popular in the state, behind the nation-wide Australian Football League...

 premiership team, Kowal was selected by Melbourne with the third pick of the 1991 AFL Draft

1991 AFL Draft

- History :When the competition was known as the Victorian Football League , the league introduced the first incarnation of a draft system in 1981, where teams had two selections each of interstate players determined by reverse finishing position order...

, behind fellow Western Australian players John Hutton

John Hutton (footballer)

John Hutton is a former Australian rules football player in the Australian Football League with the Brisbane Bears, Sydney Swans and the Fremantle Football Club....

 and Marcus Seecamp

Marcus Seecamp

Marcus Seecamp is a former Australian rules footballer who played with Fitzroy and Melbourne in the Australian Football League during the 1990s....

. He made his AFL debut late in the 1992 season

1992 AFL season

Results and statistics for the Australian Football League season of 1992. The AFL Grand Final this year was won by the West Coast Eagles, who became the first non-Victorian club to win a Premiership.-Ladder:...

 and was a regular fixture in the Melbourne midfield in 1993. Kowal earned a 1993 AFL Rising Star

1993 AFL Rising Star

The AFL Rising Star award is given annually to a standout young player in the Australian Football League. The award is also known as the Norwich Rising Star due to sponsorship reasons...

 nomination for his 21 disposals and two goals against St Kilda. He also kicked 21 goals for the season.

Kowal however spent much of his career at Melbourne as a defender and up until 1997 was selected regularly in the seniors. His 1996 season, in which he played all 22 games, is remembered for a physical confrontation he had with a Richmond

Richmond Football Club

The Richmond Football Club, nicknamed The Tigers, is an Australian rules football club which competes in the Australian Football League. Richmond shares healthy rivalries with Carlton, Collingwood and Essendon. After winning five premierships between 1967 and 1980, the club hit the depths in 1990,...

 runner and their coach Robert Walls

Robert Walls

Robert Walls is a former Australian rules footballer and coach who now works primarily as a television commentator and newspaper columnist on the sport. On 22 June 2006 he was inducted into the Australian Football Hall of Fame.- Carlton :...

 during a match. Both Kowal and Walls were fined after the incident.

He took part in Melbourne's 1998 finals campaign and celebrated his 100th game with a win over Adelaide at the MCG

Melbourne Cricket Ground

The Melbourne Cricket Ground is an Australian sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne and is home to the Melbourne Cricket Club. It is the tenth largest stadium in the world, the largest in Australia, the largest stadium for playing cricket, and holds the world record for the highest light...

in 1999, his last season.

From 2001 to 2005, Kowal played once more for Claremont and spent a period of time as club captain.