Justin Clarke (born 18 November 1993) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for Brisbane Lions in the Australian Football League (AFL) from 2012 to 2016. Clarke grew up in the small town of Booleroo Centre in the southern Flinders Ranges region of South Australia.^[1] Throughout his childhood Clarke had a strong interest in aviation, but his application to join the Air Force was denied as he was too tall. He completed high school with an ATAR of 99.95.

He was recruited from the Booleroo Centre/Melrose/Wilmington (BMW) Lions in the Northern Areas Football Association (NAFA) with the 4th selection in the 2012 Rookie draft. Clarke spent his first year at the Brisbane Lions on the rookie list and the three years following as a consistent member of the senior team's backline. Clarke announced his retirement on 31 March 2016 after suffering a severe concussion during a preseason training session. Multiple doctors had advised Clarke to completely abandon contact sport.

Since his retirement, Clarke has been involved as an ambassador for the Queensland Brain Institute, and has worked as an assistant coach at QAFL team Western Magpies. Upon graduating from The University of Queensland with a Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) (Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering) and a Bachelor of Science (Mathematics) he was selected as a Rhodes Scholar for 2021 and will complete a Doctor of Philosophy at Oxford University in Engineering Science.

Clarke grew up on his family's farm just outside of Booleroo Centre, located in the southern Flinders Ranges region of South Australia.^[2] He attended Booleroo Centre District School, graduating in 2011. In 2009 he submitted an essay for the Premier's Anzac Spirit School Prize and was one of six students selected for a two-week trip to Europe, where he attended a number of ANZAC services, commemorations and memorials in Belgium, France and the United Kingdom.^[1]  He was school vice president in his penultimate year of high school and SRC president in his final year. He achieved an ATAR of 99.95, the highest possible score.^[1]

Clarke had an interest in aviation from a young age. At the age of around 15, Clarke began studying aviation, and flew his first solo flight before obtaining his driver's licence.^[2] Clarke has described flying as providing an "awesome sense of freedom, being able to leave the bounds of the Earth".^[2] Clarke applied to be a pilot in the Air Force, and despite passing his aptitude tests, he was told he was too tall.^[2]

Clarke has stated that throughout his younger years he identified as more of an "academic person", and only began to seriously consider a career in the AFL at 18.^[3] Clarke's performances for his local club, Booleroo Centre/Melrose/Wilmington (BMW), impressed scouts at North Adelaide Football Club, who attempted to convince Clarke to move away from his family farm to play SANFL games in Adelaide.^[1] Clarke eventually played one game for North Adelaide in the SANFL reserves, before returning to Booleroo Centre to continue playing for his local club. His performance for North Adelaide attracted scouts from a number of clubs to the Northern Areas Football Association (NAFA) semi-final, in which Clarke and BMW faced Crystal Brook.^[1]

Clarke's performances in the NAFA drew comparison to Dustin Fletcher, due to Clarke's ability to maintain a low centre of gravity. North Adelaide coach Josh Francou noted Clarke's resilient attitude, stating that "he copped a whack in the face and got a blood nose but he just got on with it" after Clarke's first training session with the club.^[1]

During a preseason training session on 18 January 2016, Clarke was left unconscious for fifteen seconds after a collision in training.^[27][28] His forehead collided just above the knee of an onrushing teammate, with Clarke falling towards the ground after being lightly shoved in a marking contest. He left the session in an ambulance, but was discharged from hospital that same night, after scans found no break or fractures to his neck.^[29] Clarke continued to suffer severe concussion symptoms, with the footballer having "lost all memory of the incident and the succeeding three weeks, as he was all but confined to his house".^[28][30] Symptoms persisted for months, with Clarke citing an incident where he found himself lost on his route to university as the most confronting, stating "I didn't know how to get there, and that scared me a lot".^[28]

After being forbidden from playing contact sport, Clarke took up rowing, which he admitted was "a very different sport for a kid growing up in a farm three hours north of Adelaide, where there's not a lot of water".^[3] Clarke was a member of the winning Men's 8 team for the Queensland State Rowing Championship in 2017.^[36] He also returned to cricket, as a fast bowler for Surfers Paradise Cricket Club.^[36]

Despite Clarke's injury he maintained a passion for Aussie Rules, Clarke noting the inevitability of knocks as "part and parcel of the game that we love".^[34] After his injury, Clarke struggled to be around football clubs, stating that "I would enjoy it while I was there, but then I would head home and think about how they were all doing something that I would really love to be doing".^[36] He later joined QAFL team Western Magpies as an assistant coach, where he primarily focused on developing key position players in their knowledge of the game. Clarke also coached the players in correct body positioning during aerial ball contests.^[37]

Soon after Clarke arrived in Oxford to read his DPhil in late 2021, it was announced that he had been appointed Head Women's Coach of the Oxford University Australian Rules Football Club (OUARFC) for the 2021/2022 season.^[38] OUARFC is the oldest AFL Club outside of Australia.

In June 2022, Clarke led the Magdalen ‘Badgers’ cricket team to their first Cuppers win in over two decades. Since arriving at Oxford, Clarke has rowed in Magdalen College Boat Club's first boat in both Torpids and Summer Eights.

During his time at the Brisbane Lions, Clarke studied a Bachelor of Electrical Engineering, attending university part-time.^[2] After the severe concussion ended his footballing career, Clarke made a gradual return to full-time university, and began studying aerospace engineering at the University of Queensland in 2016.^[39]

During his time at the University of Queensland he received multiple Dean's Commendations for Academic Excellence and completed a Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) (Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering) and a Bachelor of Science (Mathematics) in 2020.^[36] Clarke was selected as a 2021 Rhodes Scholar and will begin his study at Oxford University in October 2021.^[36][37] At Magdalen College, he formed an integral part of the cricket team ("The Badgers"), helping them to Cuppers glory in 2022.

Clarke plans to undertake a Doctor of Philosophy Engineering Science at the University of Oxford, where he will be modelling hypersonic pulse tunnels at Oxford's Thermofluids Institute.^[36]