View Full Version : Martin Clarke - The Irish wonder Kid!
I know there is a thread in the main board but since it is more relevant here I thought I'd start this thread on him and get peoples thoughts and Articles.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/northern_ireland/the_championship/5060812.stm
It's "a disaster!" That's how BBC pundit Martin McHugh reacted when he heard about the possibility of Down's underage star Martin Clarke absconding to Australian Rules.
On St Patrick's Day, Cahal O'Rourke compared him to Ronaldhino, while McHugh likened him to a young Frank McGuigan after his performance in the MacRory Cup decider.
Clarke will attend a five week trial Down under, but if he were to be offered a contract, Gaelic Football would be losing one of the games brightest prospects.
Sound like the "Judd" of Gaelic Footy , would be graet if he signs and turns out to be an AFL star.
magpies42
9 Jun 2006, 21:32
what are you trying to say?
are the pies interested? What is the deal with picking up these sort of players? do they going into the preseason draft or what?
what are you trying to say?
are the pies interested? What is the deal with picking up these sort of players? do they going into the preseason draft or what?
Here is more of the picture for those who Don't know , originally posted by Jim Stynes:http://www.bigfooty.com/forum/showthread.php?t=247893
YOUNG Down football star Martin Clarke is Collingwood-bound as a career in the AFL beckons.
Clarke, one of the stars of Down All-Ireland minor success in 2005, will spend the month of July with the Melbourne club before a final decision is made.
Clarke has been tracked since last year by a number of AFL clubs, most notably Brisbane Lions who have already brought over Laois pair Brendan Quigley and Colum Begley and tried to sign Seán Cavanagh last year.
But Collingwood, who never recruited in Ireland before, have won the race for Clarke who has already undergone extensive mental and physical testing by the club.
Former Roscommon footballer Paul Earley, who spent two years in Melbourne as an AFL recruit, was involved in brokering the deal to bring Clarke to Collingwood.
He confirmed that Clarke would link up with the Collingwood squad in July before a final decision was made. He said that unlike the quick deal that saw Quigley and Begley go to Brisbane, Clarke has been given time to weigh up his options. Clarke attended trials in Limerick last year and could have signed there and then, but with school exams looming, he decided to wait.
Earley has provided advice and scouting services to AFL clubs since establishing links there in the 1980s and again in the 1990s when he lived in Sydney for a couple of years.
In 2001 he met with Eddie Maguire, the well known AFL commentator and game show host who is now chief executive of Channel 9 and is still chairman of the Collingwood club.
"The difference between the deal to bring the Laois pair over and Martin Clarke is that Martin hasn't had to put pen to paper straight away. To be honest, I wasn't surprised to see one of the Laois lads home so soon. Everything happened too quickly," said Earley.
Earley knows that critics of the Gay links with the AFL through the International Rules will be enraged over the departure of potentially one of Gaelic football's future stars.
But he is unrepentant, saying: "I would encourage anyone who could to give it a go.
"The GAA will lose far more players to rugby and soccer and yet what are they doing about that?"
the link to the story :http://www.unison.ie/sportsdesk/stories.php3?ca=207&si=1628890 you have to register but is the same as the above found by a poster called will on Nick BB.
As for how we get him on our list if he accepts we can sign him as an International rookie and when he improves/ready put him on the senior list with a draft pick like normal rookie listed players.
magpies42
9 Jun 2006, 23:03
cheers, sounds good! anyone with skills and courage can play afl so i cant see why we wouldnt draft him if he is willing!
*Crash*
10 Jun 2006, 15:49
what are you trying to say?
are the pies interested? What is the deal with picking up these sort of players? do they going into the preseason draft or what?
There is an international rookie list I believe and the player just has to be contracted to be on that list, so whoever wins the race for them gets them, it may be possible that if they are not signed up that someone else could get them in the draft. There is another article here (http://www.worldfootynews.com/article.php?story=20060609081211600) on him
He is not an absoloute 100% chance to sign up, he has to undergo the training first and he may decide AFL is not for him.
Then there is the chance he could be Setanta Mark 2. Yes we are harsh on poor old Setanta but that's what you get when you talk him up so much (even if it only came out of 1 or two posters) ;)
vinnie_vegas69
11 Jun 2006, 11:22
Setanta and Aisake O'hAilpin are NOT like typical Irish players.
They weren't even Gaelic footballers - They came from a hurling background, so they're significantly behind even where a Gaelic footballer is starting from.
They're the equivalent of someone like David Fanning, picked solely for their physical attributes.
premier
19 Jun 2006, 19:19
Setanta and Aisake O'hAilpin are NOT like typical Irish players.
They weren't even Gaelic footballers - They came from a hurling background, so they're significantly behind even where a Gaelic footballer is starting from.
They're the equivalent of someone like David Fanning, picked solely for their physical attributes.
While you are mostly correct, in fairness to the two lads, they did actually play Football as well.
Chances are if you play Hurling, you play football. But for most hurling players you just play football to keep fit when theres no hurling matches going on.
They wouldn't have played football at the top tier and when a players does start playing hurling at the top tier they are generally not allowed to keep playing football.
vinnie_vegas69
19 Jun 2006, 23:28
While you are mostly correct, in fairness to the two lads, they did actually play Football as well.
Chances are if you play Hurling, you play football. But for most hurling players you just play football to keep fit when theres no hurling matches going on.
They wouldn't have played football at the top tier and when a players does start playing hurling at the top tier they are generally not allowed to keep playing football.
Well to the same extent, David Fanning HAD played football before. I believe up until he was 15 or so he was still appearing in state football sides before switching to basketball for a few years.
It's not as though he'd never seen the game before, but he hadn't had the experience that most kids have.
If Gaelic football is 25% of the experience that Aussie rules is, then hurling is even less than that.
David Fanning, picked solely for their physical attributes.Drop the s.
Give the kid the pill, and see if he can kick the friggen thing straight after a day or two. Then see if he can kick it further than O'Bree.
Also, is he fairly hard at it and will he be able to cop a knock...and apply one??
Ball gathering, atheticism, pace and smarts in traffic would cross over fairly readily I'd suggest.
Kicking oval balls and physicallity may not translate so well.
Eitherway, attempting to use our resources and influence to lure guns from Eire and the best youngens in NSW is exactly what we should be doing. Finding ways of by-passing the rules can lead to success!
http://www.thegaelicgame.ie/newsdesk_info.php?newsPath=50&newsdesk_id=186
What was it like to have Martin Clarke involved on the same club, school and county teams as yourself in 2005?
Martin is a good friend of mine as we have known each other all our lives. I couldn't imagine playing on a team without him as he is always there. He is a great player, the most talented that I have ever played alongside, and the two of us have a great understanding on the field. We know each other’s game so well.
What about the Australian Rules training camp?
It's on this Friday in Limerick. I only received a letter inviting me to attend. Martin and myself are going down and I will look at it with an open mind, its not as if I'm going to jump on the next plane to Australia.
http://www.ulstercollegesgaa.com/uploadimages/Martin%20Clarke%20as06.jpg
Pies look abroad
1:17:07 PM Thu 15 June, 2006
Clinton Bown
exclusive to Collingwoodfc.com.au
Young Irish Gaelic football star, Martin Clarke, will travel to Melbourne in July to train with the Collingwood Football Club, with an option to make the move more permanent.
The 18-year-old, All-Ireland player will spend a month with the Magpies before a final decision is made by both the club and player.
Clarke’s arrival in Australia is part of an elite program by Collingwood’s National Recruiting Manager, Derek Hine, to identify talent both in Australia and internationally.
Clarke, a standout rising Gaelic football star in his home county of Down, will be given the opportunity to experience the Melbourne lifestyle, and training facilities at the Lexus Centre, in a month-long visit with the Pies.
It will be a period which will allow both the player and club, according to Collingwood’s Football Operations Manager, Neil Balme, the opportunity to see what each other have to offer.
“We think the best thing to do is to get Martin into our environment and let him have a look at us, and we can have a look at him and then we can make a decision a little bit down the track.
“He is a very good player, and a young lad of outstanding character. He has a lot of talent. He’s about a 184cm midfield-type player, which puts that extra pressure on him to learn our game quickly. But he is a talented kid and played exceptionally well in the 2005 and 2006 Mc Cory Cup Championship.”
http://collingwoodfc.com.au/default.asp?pg=news&spg=display&articleid=273876
I read some article where he kicked 16 overs and 1 goal in a school match.
Naturally higher goal tallys is achievable in Gaelic, but it's still a fair effort!
*Crash*
26 Jun 2006, 12:37
So when does the wonder kid arrive in town?
So when does the wonder kid arrive in town?
July sometime read the articles its all in there , they have even likened him to Rohnaldino so he is very naturally talented. He has passed all the tests we have subjected him to both physical and mental ,coming in july for 4 weeks is the last one because the club doesn't want to rush him into a decision and not want to go home in a hurry like 1 of the lions recruits.
*Crash*
27 Jun 2006, 11:20
I read the articles and they just say July, so no it is not all in there. So would that be July 3 or July 30?
*Crash*
24 Jul 2006, 14:58
So does anyone know if he is out here yet?
jimmy_clement#8
24 Jul 2006, 15:05
yep, and he is training with the boys. his nickname clevery is irish with the lads. it was in a newspaper recently
PieLebo87
24 Jul 2006, 21:32
yep, and he is training with the boys. his nickname clevery is irish with the lads. it was in a newspaper recently
Read that article, looks like hes fit in with the boys. Listening attentively to Mick M. Anyone seen if he has anything special about him?
*Crash*
25 Jul 2006, 10:08
I found nothing on Google. Do you have a link to the article jimmy?
*Crash*
25 Jul 2006, 15:37
Ok, found it here http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/footy/common/story_page/0,8033,19877676%255E19763,00.html
Woodstock..
22 Aug 2006, 18:12
Clarke has signed with the pies! :thumbsu: http://www.realfooty.theage.com.au/realfooty/articles/2006/08/21/1156012475205.html
lenny&carl
22 Aug 2006, 19:18
Congratulations to the recruitment people for thinking outside the box, and for sucessfully recruiting a player/athlete with such an impressive resume and with such afl-relevent elite skills. I hope he gets good at footy.
jimmy_clement#8
22 Aug 2006, 20:26
He was/is a freak at Gaelic, was one of those talents that comes around every now and then and takes everyones breath away. Sort of like what Judd did here. As long as he can convert to our game pretty well, we might just have ourselves a pretty decent prospect. Colm Begley looked a little akward on Sunday, but apparently going by reports, we can assume that Clarke is much better at Gaelic and athleticly than Begley, so our guy already starts in front. Basically, whatver and wherever Begley does/goes, expect a bit more out of Clarke.