Yes and no.
Clarke / Draper could be playing off the bench so Gown fits in fine around Stewart & Brown.
They will make it work.
And LAV will be deployed in midfield a lot more this VFL season so long as he can stay fit. Will hopefully get that year of development like Lang did with big midfield minutes.
Not Lav… Lav2.
Ah yes!
IIRC his dad was talking about them rolling him out for a local Essendon side next year initially.
From AFLPA web site Nov 30th 2018
By Zac Clarke Nov 30, 2018
(http://www.aflplayers.com.au/wp-content/themes/cr-aflpa-2017/#)](http://www.aflplayers.com.au/wp-content/themes/cr-aflpa-2017/
In my last year at Fremantle, I was hopeful that I would earn a contract extension.
The way that things transpired with my injuries, despite not being able to play a game, I thought that I would still get another year but when it didn’t fall that way I wasn’t disappointed.
I understood the situation and was optimistic that another team would give me a chance during the Delisted Free Agency period and the draft but when that didn’t happen, the reality sunk in that I would have to earn myself a spot back in the big league.
Still, there was a sense of confidence that as long as I got my body right, I would be able to give myself the best chance to get back into the AFL system.
When the opportunity presented itself with the Subiaco Football Club I knew I would be able to give myself an opportunity to continue my career.
I trusted their players and staff that they would be able to get the best out of me and that’s exactly what happened.
Thankfully, my body held up and I played every game in the WAFL without any issues.
The year off allowed me to rehab my injuries and get everything right.
It paid off in the end because I haven’t had any issues for 12 months. It’s been as good as can be expected.
I owe Subiaco everything for what they did for me this year.
They gave me an enjoyable year of football, topped off with a premiership, and reignited my passion for the game after a lean final year with Fremantle.
I also spent my year out of the game as a full-time university student after transferring into a teaching degree.
With a little bit of flexibility in my schedule I also started coaching basketball and football at Wesley College.
I really enjoyed the experience and challenge that comes with coaching your own team and seeing the game from a different perspective.
During the year, my manager and I discussed the interest in me so we went through the process and met with clubs to see where I would be the best fit to return to the AFL.
Throughout this time, we discovered the new supplementary selection period was starting and I was eligible to be signed outside of the draft.
For me, if one of the teams was interested enough and keen to go down that track that was something I would explore.
As it turned out, Essendon presented and that’s how I landed there.
Photo credit: Daniel Wilkins/WAFL
I won’t be the oldest at the club but being 29 next year I’ll be in the older bracket.
I’ll work with the younger players in a mentoring role and hopefully help to fast track their development.
After I was delisted with Fremantle I mapped out where I wanted to go in my career but with the opportunity Essendon has presented I’m ready to start the next chapter of my AFL journey.
Please move this post to the Dustin Fletcher forum please admin.
He will be adequate depth, that is it. He’s a very ordinary ruckman. Got well and truly beaten by that spud Phillips. He played exactly the way I’ve seen him play for subiaco last season. Spends far too much time worrying about where his opponent is, loses touch, then barely has time to decide where he is tapping it
Last night proved how important belly is.
FMD, there is a reason the guy was delisted a year ago, then spent a season in the WAFL before getting another crack, and one of the most interesting traits we found was that in that WAFL year he spent some of it coaching, in that we unexpectedly lost our back up ruck/mentor in Luenburger.
What the hell were you guys expecting? Simon Madden?
Uh, no. I was purely stating he is exactly what I expected…
Just about everyone is.
I do think he got better.
He’s a back-up ruck and may well be behind Draper.
We’ll have to wait and see.
Can we coax Leuenberger out of retirement?
OK, lets see how Drapes goes tomorrow. Lets try Draper in the 26 against Geelong.
Training reports always said Draper was probably better than Clarke, but is not quite ready yet.
I’d love to see Draper given a go against geelong
Draper watch tomorrow at the VFL praccy match against Richmond (Soldo ?)
WE HAVE A NEW WHIPPING BOY
Lol. Only if he plays seniors.
Typical Zac Clarke game.
I didn’t think he was as bad as some in here believe.
Clarke - 15 disposals (6 kicks, 9 hballs), 4 marks, 4 tackles, 37 hitouts, 1 goal
Phillips - 12 disposals (6k 6h), 4 marks, 2 tackles, 23 hitouts.
Phillips did most of his work early in the game whilst Clarke came into it later. He’s a definite upgrade on Leuenberger, who if he didn’t decide to retire would still be on our list, and the senior list at that. Those saying that Draper is ahead of him, they are entitled to that opinion and by the end of 2019 he might well be, but it would’ve been derelict of List Management’s duty to not have an insurance ruckman there, ready to plug and play and give us a solid 6-7/10 game if required. He’s only on the rookie list, so people expecting Simon Madden 2.0 are kidding themselves.
Can I have a listen of people who expected a guy delisted by Freo in his mid-twenties to be one of the greatest players in Essendon’s history?
I mean there’s straw men, but that’s a friggin’ straw wicker man.
Clarke is a spack filler until Draper is ready to step in and up.
Clarke is way better than Lueny who was clearly cooked. What was everyone expecting?
