Delisted #37: Dylan Clarke - End of the road, will not be offered a list spot in 2022

37 - [PLAYERCARD]Dylan Clarke[/PLAYERCARD].jpg

Contract Status: Not offered a contract for 2021
Last Game Played: Round 23, 2021 (omitted)
Injury Status: n/a
 
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Killer_Mike

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Yeah watching him at VFL I was thinking he will need to be a ball magnet and improve his kicking. Will never be an elite kick.

He looks like he could become a ball magnet. I like the way he never takes his eyes off the ball around ruck contests and is always on the move.
I'm a big fan of Langford but it's something he doesn't do. He always looking to engage his opponent which puts him off balance.
Clarke will definitely win lots of the ball so let's hope he can work on his kicking.


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BrunoV

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He's a guy I would like to develop as a run-with player. I don't see it as placing a limitation on him, it's simply about "upskilling". He's a great athlete, really strong and great around the ball and it's useful for any side to have a mid who can curb the influence of an opponent's midfield guns.
 

eDPS

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Clarke has had a solid start to his year averaging 21 touches with his last 3 games including 26 touches twice. He is averaging 80SC points with his lowest being 75 which shows his consistency. Kicking of course is a work in progress but couldn't be happier with his start to the year and I expect a few 30+ disposal games before the year is finished.
 

Kakkle

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Clarke has had a solid start to his year averaging 21 touches with his last 3 games including 26 touches twice. He is averaging 80SC points with his lowest being 75 which shows his consistency. Kicking of course is a work in progress but couldn't be happier with his start to the year and I expect a few 30+ disposal games before the year is finished.


A player like Clarke is never going to have trouble finding the ball due to his great endurance, he'll always be able to get to a enough contests to be involved, so for me if he gets it 20 times, or 30 times it's completely irrelevant and probably the last thing I'd be measuring his year against. From the 5 or so games I've seen him of this year, the positives for mine would be his tank, and his work in congestion. He really has to improve that disposal though, for a fair chunk of the time it's not barely VFL standard, his disposal under no pressure at times is really concerning.
 

eDPS

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A player like Clarke is never going to have trouble finding the ball due to his great endurance, he'll always be able to get to a enough contests to be involved, so for me if he gets it 20 times, or 30 times it's completely irrelevant and probably the last thing I'd be measuring his year against. From the 5 or so games I've seen him of this year, the positives for mine would be his tank, and his work in congestion. He really has to improve that disposal though, for a fair chunk of the time it's not barely VFL standard, his disposal under no pressure at times is really concerning.
Come on dude its his first year lets just stay positive on him for now :p Kicking can be improved and he has the desire to improve himself so im sure that will work itself out.
 

Kakkle

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Come on dude its his first year lets just stay positive on him for now :p Kicking can be improved and he has the desire to improve himself so im sure that will work itself out.



Have you actually seen him play this year? I'm not sure if his kicking is something that will just 'work itself out' from what I can see it looks technically flawed.
 

Killer_Mike

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Come on dude its his first year lets just stay positive on him for now :p Kicking can be improved and he has the desire to improve himself so im sure that will work itself out.
His kicking is some of the worst I have seen but Dodoro was aware of that. I'm sure they have a plan in place to exploit his other strengths he's going to need time.
 

eDPS

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Have you actually seen him play this year? I'm not sure if his kicking is something that will just 'work itself out' from what I can see it looks technically flawed.
Havnt seen him play this year but last year I wasn't too worried with it. Usually knew his limitations and didn't notice many howlers. Does his best work by hand anyway and feel he will be best suited feeding the ball out from a stoppage.

Edit: actually I lie I did watch his game against Collingwood this year and that was the worst I've seen his kicking at haha
 
I genuinely think there is a lot of merit to the idea of having him start from scratch using his right foot over the offseason.
This. Just teach him how to do it and hope his left can get up to a Matt Priddis standard.
 

BrunoV

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I wouldn't say that Clarke's ability to accumulate (contested possession in particular) is irrelevant.

Step one for any player is confirming that his natural game converts to the higher level.

It's definitely a problem that he butchers the ball under absolutely no pressure. From the little I've seen it's not first year problems it could only really be mechanical.

Would be a huge shame if his kicking issues can't be resolved. He's got many high quality AFL tools.
 
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AFL teams will work him out very quickly if he is a liability in space. They will allow him that space and cover his short kicks forcing him to kick longer. They will rebound off his turnovers. By not having to follow him into space, his direct opponent will be able to outnumber us forward of the ball.

In today's game turnovers are the most deflating error and easiest way for the opposition to score while you are not set up defensively. We finally seem to have largely fixed this issue and to have a player come into your set-up without his teammates confidence that he will hit his targets is a big hurdle for Clarke to overcome.
 

eDPS

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AFL teams will work him out very quickly if he is a liability in space. They will allow him that space and cover his short kicks forcing him to kick longer. They will rebound off his turnovers. By not having to follow him into space, his direct opponent will be able to outnumber us forward of the ball.

In today's game turnovers are the most deflating error and easiest way for the opposition to score while you are not set up defensively. We finally seem to have largely fixed this issue and to have a player come into your set-up without his teammates confidence that he will hit his targets is a big hurdle for Clarke to overcome.
If a team is targeting him it would mean he is dangerous enough to have their attention, Eagles came out and said they had a plan for Daniher and where did that get them? Clarke is a smart player he will work into space that would allow him to release by hand if it comes to that.
 
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If a team is targeting him it would mean he is dangerous enough to have their attention, Eagles came out and said they had a plan for Daniher and where did that get them? Clarke is a smart player he will work into space that would allow him to release by hand if it comes to that.
I'm saying they wouldn't be targeting him. They'll happily allow him space and force him to kick if it's likely to result in a turnover. I really don't want to see iffy kicks in our team unless they can prove to be so elite in other aspects that you just can't ignore them. I'm hoping Clarke possesses these attributes such as excelling in clearance work but we will need a lot of patience with him because he would be a liability in our side ATM the way our gameplan is. I can't see him getting a run this year especially if we're contending for finals.
 

Capt Hindsight

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So in summary if he becomes an 'okay' kick then he can be an AFL footballer, if he can't improve his kicking can't make it.
Get Goddard to teach him how to kick during the off-season.
 
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