When was the last time haircuts changed up there?
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Did anyone get a good look at the holding frees that were paid against Dylan to Sloan? I couldnât see them but had a feeling there was an umpiring directive to ban the tag as he was getting too good at it.
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No doubt they were looking for it.
At times Slone looked like he had him in an arm bar FFS, and at least once he held onto Clarke and dove after the clearance to attract the free.
They hardly play any replays on 7 of dodgy calls, and commentators donât even bring them up. Almost as if theyâve been told to zip it.
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Yep I donât reckon they showed replays of them
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That said, the post game stats show a surprisingly few amount of frees against for Clarke (3.) We certainly heard âHolding, Adelaideâ more than 3 times. What Iâm excited about is that every single one of our 22 had at least 1 tackle (Clarke equal highest with Shiel.)
Edit: Parish also had 6 tackles.
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IIRC someone had him at #24. His kicking was much worse back then.
Last year in the VFL Clarke was regularly racking up 30+ and several games in the 35 to 40 range. Obviously he was running free as a ball winner. This year opponents started tagging him prior to his AFL games and they dropped him back to around 20 to 25.
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So it wasnât even cromulent?
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His biggest strength is extracting the ball. Thatâs what makes him a good tagger for inside mids.
I like that he knows his limitations and when to handball off
Heâs actually got quite a good little shuffle on him too. Knows how to find a pocket of space.
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I really like that he is a smart footballer.
I love that when he gets the ball in close, he has the strength and willingness to find a handball. This adds real value to his play.
I love that he enjoys the hard tough parts of the game, without being a â â â â about it.
I like that he has some hops, and can take a good mark.
I like that he is dedicated to getting the most out of his footy.
I like that he enjoys his footy and is a good clubman.
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Heâs a beast.
Been impressive on the defensive side
Offensively heâs actually also very good at taking possession and side stepping tacklers, including brushing them away to get himself into space
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He may have a bit of an ugly kicking style but his kicking isnât nearly as bad as it was made out to be
In close he is very very good
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Ive been impressed with him up forward, he seems to be a better mark in AFL than what I have seen in the VFL. And his kicking inside 50 has been ok, some nice passes and a couple of chaos balls that result in goals. but its usually him winning the ball at a boundary throw in on the wing and finding a handball to a bloke in space that starts a chain of possessions from wing and back through the middle.
I think given our attacking flair from Shiel, Merrett, Heppell, Zaka,
Its good to have Defensive mids like Clarke and Parish and McGarth who run both ways.
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Yeah, thatâs actually been whatâs impressed me the most. Makes all the difference to a guy with an average kick.
Has stepped into the side as if he belongs here and is always in the action. He is a disciplined, composed, switched on team man. He is excellent defensively and is often involved in our goals.
Never drop him! Dylan âAlways Inâ Clarke.
Donât say Essendon cannot develop players. Clearly he needed to work on aspects of his game. He has done it in the VFL and come in to make an instant impact. Another example is Redman.
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Adelaide would have been in the umpires ear in the lead up saying Clarke is holding.
That just means THEY WERE SCARED
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