- Banned
- #1
Neil Clarke: a special person
5:43:32 PM Fri 4 April, 2003
Kevin Sheedy
All people at Essendon would have loved Neil Clarke. He was that sort of person.
As a player, he worked harder than anyone else to succeed. When I arrived at the club, people were wondering whether he would make it. He made sure he would make it, so much so that he played in three Grand Finals and two premierships.
A lot of people don't know that Neil also ended up as an important part of our recruiting process, assisting Noel Judkins and Adrian Dodoro. He was always willing to have young recruits in his home.
As a runner, he was just fantastic the way he could calm down young players, get them back thinking about the game plan.
His premiership experience was always to the fore in these situations.
I don't think anyone at Essendon ever heard him swear or saw him have a drink. He was a fitness fanatic in the way that Tom Hafey made fitness fanaticism famous.
All in all, Neil was a dedicated Essendon person from the moment he walked in the door at Windy Hill until his sad and untimely death.
We lost a game of footy last week. You can overcome that in a short time. When you lose someone like Neil Clarke, it takes a lot longer to recover.
• Clarke, who was 45, died last weekend. The AFL Record asked Essendon coach Kevin Sheedy to pay tribute to his former premiership player and, more recently, club runner.
5:43:32 PM Fri 4 April, 2003
Kevin Sheedy
All people at Essendon would have loved Neil Clarke. He was that sort of person.
As a player, he worked harder than anyone else to succeed. When I arrived at the club, people were wondering whether he would make it. He made sure he would make it, so much so that he played in three Grand Finals and two premierships.
A lot of people don't know that Neil also ended up as an important part of our recruiting process, assisting Noel Judkins and Adrian Dodoro. He was always willing to have young recruits in his home.
As a runner, he was just fantastic the way he could calm down young players, get them back thinking about the game plan.
His premiership experience was always to the fore in these situations.
I don't think anyone at Essendon ever heard him swear or saw him have a drink. He was a fitness fanatic in the way that Tom Hafey made fitness fanaticism famous.
All in all, Neil was a dedicated Essendon person from the moment he walked in the door at Windy Hill until his sad and untimely death.
We lost a game of footy last week. You can overcome that in a short time. When you lose someone like Neil Clarke, it takes a lot longer to recover.
• Clarke, who was 45, died last weekend. The AFL Record asked Essendon coach Kevin Sheedy to pay tribute to his former premiership player and, more recently, club runner.
