Mark Eustice 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 Essendon

Essendon Football Club

The Essendon Football Club, nicknamed The Bombers, is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League...

, 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,...

 and the Sydney Swans

Sydney Swans

The Sydney Swans Football Club is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League . The club is based in Sydney, New South Wales. The club, founded in 1874, was known as the South Melbourne Football Club until it relocated to Sydney in 1982 to become the Sydney...

 in the Victorian/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...

 (VFL/AFL).

Eustice, who played his first VFL game at just 17 years of age, never played more than nine games in a season while at Essendon. He was a member of the reserves premiership winning team of 1983 and played in Essendon's 1984 night premiership, but never participated in a VFL finals series. Used in a variety of positions, he often appeared as a wingman or half forward.

He received a clearance to Richmond for the 1985 season

1985 VFL season

The 89th Victorian Football League Premiership season commenced in March 1985 and concluded on 28 September 1985 with Essendon winning their second consecutive Premiership in their third consecutive Grand Final battle with Hawthorn...

 and found himself regularly selected for the seniors. He played 18 games that year and earned the first Brownlow Medal

Brownlow Medal

The Chas Brownlow Trophy, better known as the Brownlow Medal , is awarded to the "fairest and best" player in the Australian Football League during the regular season as determined by votes cast by the officiating field umpires after each game...

 votes of his career when he kicked four goals in a win over Fitzroy

Fitzroy Football Club

The Fitzroy Football Club, formerly nicknamed The Lions, is an Australian rules football club formed in 1883 to represent the inner Melbourne suburb of Fitzroy, Victoria and was a foundation member club of the Victorian Football League on its inception in 1897...

. In 1986 he was Richmond's third leading disposal getter, averaging 20 a game. He made 18 appearances in 1987 and again found a lot of the ball, but it would be his last completed season at Richmond. Eight rounds into the 1988 season

1988 VFL season

The 92nd Victorian Football League Premiership Season commenced in April 1988 and concluded on 24 September 1988, with Hawthorn winning their seventh Premiership in their sixth consecutive Grand Final appearance.-Night Series:...

 and after serving a two week suspension for headbutting former teammate Steven Clark

Steven Clark (Australian footballer)

Steven Clark was an Australian rules footballer who played with Essendon, Melbourne and St Kilda in the Australian Football League , previously Victorian Football League ....

, Eustice was sacked by Richmond. He completed the season with Sydney, playing five games.

At Sydney he played mostly as a back pocket defender

Back pocket

In Australian rules football, the back pocket refers to a position on the field deep in defence.Back pocket players, situated in the backline, need to have good spoiling skills and usually, quality back-pockets are noted for their hardness....

 and appeared in the opening 20 rounds of the 1989 season

1989 VFL season

-Notable events:* In Round 13, horrendous conditions at Windy Hill saw Essendon and Footscray play the lowest scoring game since the 1927 Grand Final, with the teams combining for only 6.15 ....

 before a broken jaw ended his year. He spent two further years with the Swans before being delisted but remained in the city and played for North Shore in the Sydney Football League

Sydney AFL

The "AFL Sydney" is an Australian rules football League, based in metropolitan Sydney, Australia.The AFL Sydney competition comprises 21 clubs playing across 5 senior divisions with 2 under 18 competitions.-History:...

.

He was the subject of media attention in 2010 when he revealed that he had undergone rehabilitation for long term drug abuse

Drug abuse

Substance abuse, also known as drug abuse, refers to a maladaptive pattern of use of a substance that is not considered dependent. The term "drug abuse" does not exclude dependency, but is otherwise used in a similar manner in nonmedical contexts...

 and was suffering from bipolar depression.