How can you be 203cm and only 83kg’s? Crikey! You’d blow over in the wind! I’m only 195cm and I’m battling to drop under 100kg’s.
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If they’ve gone with him, it stands to reason they see enough in him and believe they can work with him to at least make him adequate back up.
I’ll back their judgement, … it’s been pretty good of late.
Hard to believe he;s only 83 kegs, … that can’t be right, surely?
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Harvey is a big fan and we chased at the time we signed leunberger.
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I think the Tim Kelly situation is a little different - you also need to have been on a previous list (retired or delisted)
… with the AFL ruling him eligible to sign with the Bombers under new rookie rules.
AFL.com.au reported on Tuesday night that Clarke and Essendon were waiting on AFL approval to enable the 101-gamer, who played in the WAFL this year, to join the club and avoid the draft.
The rules mean any player who previously nominated for the draft or retired, delisted himself or was delisted and spent a year out of the AFL becomes a free agent of sorts.
It is a similar arrangement that will allow Shane Mumford to come out of retirement and rejoin Greater Western Sydney without the risk of a rival team swooping in the draft.
They have the opportunity to sign as Category A rookies in the pre-season supplemental selection period between December 1 and March 15, after next week’s drafts are over.
Clarke, 28, doesn’t qualify as a delisted free agent because he spent a season out of the AFL, but the new rules are effectively an extension of that status.
Any player delisted in a previous year qualifies to sign with any club in the SSP, but teams cannot cut a footballer then re-recruit them via this method in the same year.
The only scenario where that could happen is if that player goes undrafted before the SSP.
That means clubs still risk losing a player when they delist them with a promise to re-rookie them.
What will likely become known as the Mumford rule allows the same luxury for a retired footballer and/or a player that delisted himself and has not been on an AFL list for at least one year.
A player that retires cannot sign in the SSP in the same year unless they nominate and are overlooked in the drafts.
However, a player that nominated for and was not selected in the National Draft and committed for a further year as a 19-year-old in a Northern Academy or Next Generation Academy is not eligible for SSP selection.
Clarke chose the Bombers over at least two other clubs, both of which he had either undergone a medical or had organised to.
Essendon preferred the 203cm giant over Western Bulldogs discard Tom Campbell, who, like Clarke, completed a medical at Tullamarine.
The Bombers entered the mature-age ruck market after Matthew Leuenberger decided to retire despite having a one-year offer.
Clarke would give them an experienced back-up to Tom Bellchambers and allow 20-year-old Sam Draper to continue his development in the VFL without as much pressure to perform.
The Dockers cut Clarke at the end of the 2017 season after two surgeries and related complications with the patella in his left knee ruined his last year out west.
But he bounced back this past season to star with eventual WAFL premier Subiaco.
Clarke made 20 WAFL appearances and kicked 28 goals in the 2018 season, while averaging 15.7 disposals, 4.6 marks and 39 hit-outs.
He had at least 50 hit-outs in his last three matches this past season, including the Lions’ Grand Final triumph over West Perth, and managed the feat twice more before that.
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Last post of previous thread. Relevant.
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Was just thinking about this. So by those rules, a player like Hayden Schloithe (or Tim Kelly last year) can be picked up because they previously nominated for the draft and/or spent time on an AFL list? If so, that takes some players out of the draft pool. Also, a part of this nomination process is those players can negotiate a contract better than the rookie contract, essentially making them free agents for a rookie spot. I don’t mind it, but I think it could (and eventually will) be exploited in a manner for which it was not intended. Clearly a club like Hawthorn will be looking very closely at this you’d assume.
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He should be back before too long.
I feel like it Xmas at the aunties and she’s given you a pair of socks and a $10 tool set.
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Worked out a sweet legal loophole and we’ve smuggled in 10 grams of actual sherbet.
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It’s a typical AFL try and “fix” something to get the result they want without actually considering the implications.
The Grigg one is obvious. Anyone wants to sign him now can sign him. But the “Rioli plays for Essendon in 2020” one will have them shutting the rule down very quickly.
Perfect. Best ruck on the market.
I mean, who knew Vardy would end up a premiership player?
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Zac Clarke is probably thinking the same thing. If he chose us over 2 other clubs, there’s a fair chance it’s because he sees the opportunity for success. He only needs TBell to get injured and Draper not to explode and he could be playing finals.
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So Josh Kelly retires from footy and delists himself post 2019.
1 December 2020
Welcome to Essendon Josh Kelly
What’s not to like about this rule!
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At first when I read Zac Clarke I thought they meant Ricky Mott with me thinking blitz has done it again.
But no.
Fark me, those draft rules are way, way, waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too complicated.
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Yep, … and the chance of that opportunity may well see him perform at a level he never has prior.
Question, … were Freo ever in finals contention when he was playing for them? (available to play / uninjured) And if so, … how did he go in that/those years?
The older you get the more you understand the practicality
Played in the GF.
5 possessions
No scores
8 hit outs
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This is an extremely specific analogy
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