DOB: 5 February 1957
MFC Debut: Round 8, 1979 against Hawthorn at Princes Park
Last MFC Game: Round 11, 1982 against Hawthorn at Princes Park
From: New Norfolk/Richmond
Number: 12 (1979-1982)
Games: 44 (118 total)
Goals: 18 (39 total)
Career Statistics
| Wins | Draws | Losses | Winning % |
| 9 | 0 | 35 | 20.45 |
Recruited by Richmond at 16-years-old, Clayton first attracted attention when he was named All Australian at the 1972 national school carnival. He played in a premiership in his first senior season with the Tigers, coming off the bench in the 1974 Grand Final. After a chronic thigh complaint kept him out for all of 1978, Clayton was released by Richmond in the 1979 pre-season. He contacted Melbourne administrator David Robb looking for a game, and turned back offers from Footscray and South Melbourne to join the Demons, who he said felt could play finals that year. He cleared to the Demons six weeks into the season. He received a three year contract, and after playing much of his senior career as a midfielder, he was used off the half-back line.
Clayton appeared in 13 games in his first season with Melbourne, and was the club's representative in that year's Grand Final Sprint. The next year he appeared in all 22 games, but only eight in 1981. A fractured spine in Round 12 kept him out until the second last game of the year, and Clayton restricted to one game in 1982 after injuring his hamstring in pre-season training.
In 1983, Clayton crossed to Essendon. He played in their losing Grand Final, but a knee injury in the 1984 pre-season ended his VFL career.
Clayton later returned to football to captain/coach Kingsville from 1986 to 1988, then played for Traralgon in 1989 and coached Burwood in 1993. He is a member of the Tasmanian Football Hall of Fame.
| Year | Games | Goals | Brownlow |
| 1979 | 13 | 7 | 0 |
| 1980 | 22 | 8 | 0 |
| 1981 | 8 | 3 | 0 |
| 1982 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Tribunal Record
| Match | Charge | Sanction | |
| Round 2, 1980 | Striking | Not guilty | |
Lists
Essendon
Grand Final Sprint
Interstate recruits
Richmond
Media
Inside Football - 03/05/1979, 10/05/1979, 28/08/1982, 11/03/1982, 24/04/1986
Links
Essendon FC player profile
Tasmanian Football Hall of Fame
Tigerland Archive
Wikipedia profile