And Ridley, Langford and Guelfi have been important at different stages.
It’s not like they are just in the squad for development, they are playing a role.
Indeed they have, I hope Clarke/Redman/Long and co get opportunities to show their stuff.
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Yep, for some reason we are fixated with bringing in kids and then playing them in periphery roles when they need to be given far more responsibility.
Ridley is a great example of what can happen. He racked up mid 20 possessions and most of them were attacking kicks that hit targets up the ground.
I love Hurley but he comes back in and takes over that role and we go back to slow build ups from defence.
The kids are instructed to take the game on at VFL level then they are either given a different role at AFL level or in Ridleys case, smash it at senior level and then reduce his role thereafter.
Just play the farking kids they can do it.
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Clarke played a negative role at HFF against Geelong.
He looked like he had a decent head clash in the opening seconds of the VFL match versus Footscray. It was a slippery night, only one player exceeded 23 disposals. His “bad” game (ranked third of 46 for Dreamteam) dragged him down to an average of 31 VFL disposals for the year.
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Our inside mids are getting a lot of first use from Bellys taps and winning clearances and plenty of contested ball against top teams, Jake Stringer is coming good at stoppages so it would seem our need for a stoppage specialist is not as great as we once thought. Besides Myers is available now and he seems to be a walk up start in the AFL team when fit.
Based on that I don’t expect to see Clarke playing in the AFL any time soon . He hopes to get a “couple of games” in 2018, in a year when we will be playing the kids.
Clarke said he was “pretty stoked” to extend his time as a Bomber and is happy to have the contract out of the way midway through the season.
“I love this footy club, so just staying here for another year at least, (I’m) really excited,” Clarke said.
Good lad! Keep busting your backside and win your spot back through weight of numbers. I hope to see him feature regularly in the back end of the season, especially if as expected finals is out of the equation.
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Like Langford.
Id like to see Clarke back in this week add some more grunt and he would be full of confidence after signing new contract.
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He debuted early in his second season and got forced out for the reigning Rising star, just two games ago. Langford has been on the list for years and forced to fight his way back in time and again. I can’t see the comparison.
Most of the players in the AFL would have gone back to the state leagues shortly after making their debut. At this stage there’s nothing unusual about what Clarke has experienced.
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Its funny you say that, because no one knew what Gary O’Donnell would become after two seasons. Quite ironic.
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And there’s a player who started as a back pocket and ended as an A-Grade midfielder…possibly deserving of a Norm Smith.
Not that any pockets or flankers should move into the midfield.
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Gary moved into the midfield as a tagger and excelled, then improving his game to collect 25-30 touches a match. Could Clarke/McGrath do the same?
Didn’t need to win in 2016 and still barely played the kids.
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Last year Clarke was playing most of the year in the VFL as a high half forward and achieving numbers typical of that position, but not hitting the scoreboard . This year , Clarke was averaging over 30 disposals, playing as a fulltime inside mid before his AFL debut in the the Geelong game
In the Footscray VFL game he appeared to be less than full time as a mid and was playing as a defensive flanker at times. This might account for the reduced numbers ( 20).
More than likely he is being given experience in defence to round out his game because the way we rotate numbers through the midfield, he is not going to get the minutes in the midfield that other teams give to the likes of Mitchell, Oliver, Kennedy, Pendlebury et al, enabling them to average 30+ disposals when you add in their uncontested work.
The problem for Clarke is to find the best position for him when he is not on the ball. It looks to me like he will be playing minutes in defence in the VFL over the rest of the season.
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Ching!
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Frankly…I don’t see a big difference between the potential of Mutch versus Clarke…but Mutch got two more years, Clarke got one more year.
And I think it is human nature to view your own performance in a slightly better light than those around you do…so I wouldn’t be surprised if Clarke was slightly peeved at not getting a two year extension like Mutch. He didn’t seem effervescent in that video.
Pretend your Dylan Clarke and you know how good you are. What would you take?
2 x $130,000
1 x $130,000
His year next year will demand his next contract to be
3 x $250,000+
I wouldn’t be signing on for more than one year if I was him. Development over the rest of this year and next years offseason should see him getting regular game time in which case he will be worth more coin. If he dosen’t develop as we think he will, he will probably get another contract anyway.
1 year is a smart move but clarke, next year if he isn’t getting regular games he can move on or if he is ask for a bigger contract.
He should play all games after the bye, really need to fast track a quality inside mid to see what we have before the end of year trade and draft period.
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