Clarke

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theGav56

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Quite a bit of debate on here regarding our drafting/trading revolves around two positions; Tall Forward and 2nd Ruck. Clarke got a couple of games this year and is clearly .

How likely is he to step up in 2011?

Will an aging stop-gap ruckman set Clarke's development back?

Is he a realistic forward/ruckman, or is forward clearly his second string?
 
theGav56 said:
Quite a bit of debate on here regarding our drafting/trading revolves around two positions; Tall Forward and 2nd Ruck. Clarke got a couple of games this year and is clearly .

How likely is he to step up in 2011?

Will an aging stop-gap ruckman set Clarke's development back?

Is he a realistic forward/ruckman, or is forward clearly his second string?
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Tony Micale(clarke's coach at EP for last two yrs) believes Clarke will be spending more time with dockers than EP in 2011
 

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theGav56 said:
How likely is he to step up in 2011?
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I'm not as confident as some. He showed not that much when it came to AFL level stuff - I think time is on his side, so I'm not too worried. Who knows, maybe 2011 will be his breakout year. But I've not seen much to say that it will.

Will an aging stop-gap ruckman set Clarke's development back?
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I don't think so, it hasn't stopped rucks at other clubs in getting that development under their belt. It becomes an issue when they've got the development and you have the problem of too many rucks fighting for those 1-2 spots a week. eg. Mumford.

Is he a realistic forward/ruckman, or is forward clearly his second string?
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If I understand where you're coming from, his WAFL form suggests that he's a fwd/ruckman which is not a bad thing. It's what we need with such a dominant ruck in Sandilands. If was a Ruck who could pinch hit as a fwd then I'd say he's even less chance of making it to the big time on a regular basis.
 
You have to give the bigger blokes more time to develope.
The same things were being said about Sandilands at this age and even into his early 20's.
Kepler Bradley has had a better season with us then at Essendon.

Personally I think Zac is coming along amazingly. In his last game with us he was putting himself into great positions and took some big marks. He just needs to get a bit better overhead at AFL level.
In the WAFL final against East Fremantle he carved them up in the forward line with his leap and marking.

Give the guy 2 more seasons to show something. He will be great.
 
Not really the best comparison but one that I will resort to nonetheless.

Compare Clarke and Natanui as they are both similar ages and play the same position. One was a number 2 ruckman and the other was like 30 something.

Now if they were to play against each other who would win the battle?

Ruck Taps: I think it would be even

Clearances: Natanui has him covered here

Around the ground: Again I believe it's closer to being even here as Natanui is starting from a very low base level so for Clarke to win here it wouldn't take a lot. This being the case, I still think it's even:(

Fitness: I think Clarke has him here

Kicking: Clarke has NicNat covered

Handballing: Nic Nat wins here

So all in all, I think at similar stages of their development they are both pretty even in most regards. One has the potential to eclipse the other but then again, the other has Sandi as a mentor:thumbsu:
 
Dyslexic Emo said:
Not really the best comparison but one that I will resort to nonetheless.

Compare Clarke and Natanui as they are both similar ages and play the same position. One was a number 2 ruckman and the other was like 30 something.

Now if they were to play against each other who would win the battle?

Ruck Taps: I think it would be even (IMO NicNat has him covered ATM, probably always will)

Clearances: Natanui has him covered here (Agree)

Around the ground: Again I believe it's closer to being even here as Natanui is starting from a very low base level so for Clarke to win here it wouldn't take a lot. This being the case, I still think it's even:( (NicNat is a lot faster, Clarke has better endurance, so would improve as the game wore on)

Fitness: I think Clarke has him here (Agree)

Kicking: Clarke has NicNat covered (NicNat gets a lot more of the pill, Clarke didn't get enough to show me how good he can kick)

Handballing: Nic Nat wins here (Yep)

So all in all, I think at similar stages of their development they are both pretty even in most regards. One has the potential to eclipse the other but then again, the other has Sandi as a mentor:thumbsu:
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NicNat is more likely to become so good that he gets lazy and lets himself down, probably not as motivated to work as hard, will earn the big bucks anyway. WCE wont ever risk him being available to trade offers.
 
I think Clarke had an average year in the first half but showed some great development later on. The forward work is something that was targeted in his game in the second half of the year and he really started to show some great signs in the WAFL by leading and positioning himself much better and taking big contested marks. He kicked a couple of good tallies and started slotting goals failry regularly.

He played second string in the ruck at the Royals a lot of the year though generally contested well. I have maintained all year that he wasn;t fully fit for the first half of the year though nobody else has ever commented - he looked to get a bit propppy and developed a rolling gait towards the end of games for ther first half of the year, perhaps indicating groin soreness.

His couple of games in the AFL did not show much, but he was played as a forward in the first game when he had barely played there in the WAFL at that stage and the Hawks game was a debacle but he competed well.

A good development year for Zac. Maybe a little bit of the second year blues as he comes to terms with the reaities of being a professional footballer in early stages of development. Is still putting meat on his frame, but is bigger than he was. Another pre-season will do him well. I would expect to see more of him in the ones next year and will continue to support him as his official BF buddy, cause the lad will be a very good player in the long term.

Go the 'fro!! :thumbsu: :thumbsu:
 
A lot of people were still calling Sandi a spud when he was a year or 2 older than Zach. Needs to take a big step forward next year but there's plenty to work with.

I like the Sandilands/Johnson/Kepler combo and wouldn't be trading for a pure ruckman but think we shoud draft atleast one this year considering Sandilands age and the longterm development often required in that position.
 

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remember robert warnock? got heaps of flak from freo fans, to the point of schadenfreude, but he's had a pretty good year and turns 24 in january. clarke is 21 next year. i'd give zac a good couple of years to work on his game first.
 
There is a bit of doom and gloom about our KP players ie ageing and with tazza going(he is ageing as well) and no great backups.

However, IF clarke can continue his latter season improvement going into 2011 would release bradley(24)(provided his knee(s) are up to it) to play as a permanent forward(with a cameo in ruck) and Johnno(25) down back(provided he bulks up a bit) then all of a sudden our KP stocks don't look too bad while Sheppard(supposedly talented but injury prone) and Siba(??) develop and any other KP they draft this year.

Key is clarke holding down 2nd ruck spot- spin off would be Sandi lurking in goalsquare.
 
wehavethepassion said:
There is a bit of doom and gloom about our KP players ie ageing and with tazza going(he is ageing as well) and no great backups.

However, IF clarke can continue his latter season improvement going into 2011 would release bradley(24)(provided his knee(s) are up to it) to play as a permanent forward(with a cameo in ruck) and Johnno(25) down back(provided he bulks up a bit) then all of a sudden our KP stocks don't look too bad while Sheppard(supposedly talented but injury prone) and Siba(??) develop and any other KP they draft this year.

Key is clarke holding down 2nd ruck spot- spin off would be Sandi lurking in goalsquare.
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One guy people seem to overlook when talking about our KPPs is Joel Houghton. Seemed to do some really good work for Perth this year. Played a handful of really good games then his form tapered off a bit (was he injured?). What are people's thoughts on the kid? Is he going to be our next big thing up forward?
 
Houghton has the athleticism and endurance of a Reiwoldt, but just doesn't attack the ball like Riewoldt does. Gets his marks mostly out on the lead, however doesn't really have that additional string to his bow that Reiwoldt does where he can crash a pack and take a contested mark.

Very hard to get a good forward outside the first round. There have only been 3-4 in 20 years of the draft. All the good key forwards we have known almost inevitably are first round/father son/concessionary picks.

They started to trial him in defence in the last game before injury struck.

The thing I liked about Clarke's last few games was he really started to attack the marking contest, which is great considering he is still a rake. He is really good above his head. Can't wait until he puts the kg's on. He's still a rake though. He was drafted at 83kg and was 88kg at the start of the season. Lets hope he can get up into the mid 90's by next season, that will start to give him the confidence to really start throwing his weight around in the ruck/forward line.
 
chinggis77 said:
Very hard to get a good forward outside the first round. There have only been 3-4 in 20 years of the draft. All the good key forwards we have known almost inevitably are first round/father son/concessionary picks.
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Not easy to get one in the first round either. We have used early first round selections on Brown, Polak, Murphy, and also Drum. That investment should have netted us a decent forward. Outside of Pavlich we have never drafted/developed a decent tall forward.
 
chinggis77 said:
Houghton has the athleticism and endurance of a Reiwoldt, but just doesn't attack the ball like Riewoldt does. Gets his marks mostly out on the lead, however doesn't really have that additional string to his bow that Reiwoldt does where he can crash a pack and take a contested mark.
Very hard to get a good forward outside the first round. There have only been 3-4 in 20 years of the draft. All the good key forwards we have known almost inevitably are first round/father son/concessionary picks.

They started to trial him in defence in the last game before injury struck.

The thing I liked about Clarke's last few games was he really started to attack the marking contest, which is great considering he is still a rake. He is really good above his head. Can't wait until he puts the kg's on. He's still a rake though. He was drafted at 83kg and was 88kg at the start of the season. Lets hope he can get up into the mid 90's by next season, that will start to give him the confidence to really start throwing his weight around in the ruck/forward line.
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I see Houghton as a bit like Ashley Hansen - he can play a "Team man's" CHF and straighten up the midfield with his leading and good skills, but he is unlikely to be a gun forward. Nevertheless, I reckon he will be more than useful as Pavlich gets older but our young midfield gets better.
 
I have liked Clarke's tackling in the AFL games he played this year - seems to be better than most ruckman at it. Also seems extremely mobile and a great leap - could be an excellent ruckman imo once he has some bulk so he doesn't get pushed out (like against Mumford in the Sydney game). Also looks good on the mark, although he didn't really get many in his afl games, he looked likely and think once he grabs a couple his confidence would skyrocket. Have seen him take some good marks in telecasted games in the WAFL.
 
theGav56 said:
Not easy to get one in the first round either. We have used early first round selections on Brown, Polak, Murphy, and also Drum. That investment should have netted us a decent forward.
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To be fair Brown must be a handy player he's in his 11th season as an AFL player and is a pretty good chance to play in a Grand Final this year.


The other 3 were drafted during the Schwabbolly era where spiel and rhetoric were much more important than actual list management.
 
Ysaye said:
I see Houghton as a bit like Ashley Hansen - he can play a "Team man's" CHF and straighten up the midfield with his leading and good skills, but he is unlikely to be a gun forward. Nevertheless, I reckon he will be more than useful as Pavlich gets older but our young midfield gets better.
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I'm not disagreeing with you because neither of us know, but the on the back of some great recruiting/drafting by the club and the fact that they "reached" to secure him gives me some confidence that he'll be better than you predict. His colts form was good too, showed much more agility than Ashley Hansen ever has.
 

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