Delisted Oscar Clavarino

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Brains Trust66

Brains Trust66

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Oct 31, 2016
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St Kilda has recruited Dandenong Stingrays rebounding defender Oscar Clavarino with pick No. 35 in the Friday night's NAB AFL Draft in Sydney.

After Richmond matched the Saints' bid for Victorian midfielder Patrick Naish - the son of former Tiger Chris - St Kilda chose Clavarino with their third pick, after earlier selecting Stingrays midfielder Hunter Clark at No. 7 and Northern Knights half-back Nick Coffield at No. 8.

Clavarino was rewarded for his dominant national carnival with selection at full back in the under-18 All-Australian team, with new teammate Coffield also named in the same back six at half-back.

Renowned for his ability to read the game quicker than others and for his clean skills by foot, Clavarino represented Vic Country in seven games across the last two seasons.

Standing at 196cm, Clavarino is built like a key position player but established himself as one of the most damaging rebounding defenders in the TAC Cup this season.

Snapshot:

Height: 196cm
Weight: 85kg
D.O.B: 23/10/1999
Club: Dandenong Stingrays/ Vic Country
Position: Defender

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When the Draft finally arrived last Friday night, Oscar Clavarino felt sick. All the highly scrutinised games, interviews and testing came down to this moment.

Would a club reward him for his stellar underage career with a spot on their list?

As the picks started rolling, Clavarino’s stomach clenched, he’d never been more nervous in his first 18 years.

And then the moment arrived.

With their third selection, St Kilda snared the All-Australian key defender at pick No. 35, turning Clavarino’s home into chaos.

“I’ve never been more nervous in my life, to be honest. I was at home with all my family over – all my cousins and aunties and uncles – that was pretty exciting and we were all sitting there nervously,” Clavarino told journalists at his first press conference.

“I probably didn’t say a word all night until my name was called out just because I felt sick in the stomach.

“As soon as my name was called out it was to an extent a relief, but at the same time so exciting – I was just over the moon.”

Within moments of his fate being sealed, calls and text messages began gushing in, before Saints star midfielder David Armitage turned up on his doorstep in Berwick to welcome him to the red, white and black family.

“When he [Armitage] rocked up with the media team it was really exciting to see him and finally realise that these are the kind of guys that I will be hanging out with,” Clavarino said.
 

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Walking into an AFL club for the first time is a daunting experience for anyone, but when one of your best mates is already there, it makes the transition a little bit easier.

For new St Kilda key defender Oscar Clavarino, he hasn’t had to look far for a familiar face.

Clavarino and young mobile forward Josh Battle have grown tight over the past few years at Haileybury College, and will continue to spend day in day out together at St Kilda.

“To have someone that has been one of my best mates for the last few years at the club is just really good to have there to fall back on,” Clavarino told saints.com.au at RSEA Park.

“He’s also someone to look up to who has been in the system for a year now and starting to look really like a professional.

“So to have him by my side and living right near is really good to be honest.”

After being a dominant force a decade ago, Haileybury has returned to the top of the APS football competition in the last year or two, winning the premiership with an undefeated season this year, before having seven students drafted last week.

Two Haileyburians were taken in the first four picks – Andrew Brayshaw (No. 2) and Luke Davies-Uniacke (No. 4) – while Aiden Bonar was picked at No. 11, before Clavarino (No. 35) and Charlie Constable (No. 36) were selected in consecutive picks, as well as Hamish Brayshaw (No. 68) and Jackson Ross (No. 71), who rounded out a massive haul.

“We had Matthew Lloyd down there and the coach David Lappage and they run a really good program there,” Clavarino said.

“It was really good to have the whole team buy in this year and have a lot of Year 10’s and 11’s play.

“I think we formed a really good relationship and to come out and play some really good footy was the best part about it.”

Standing at 196cm, equipped with a strong pair of hands and sharp closing speed, Clavarino has the tools to play on the last line of defence for many years to come.

“Hopefully it’s someone who can hold down a key back position for the Saints and then hopefully turn myself into a bit more of an attacking player that can intercept the ball and drive off half-back,” he said.
 
https://www.foxsports.com.au/afl/af...s/news-story/3ffdb8209092d76782a7cc58d22a8f23

A couple of interesting titbits from Oscar Clavarino pre draft,
This one,
“Since he can remember, Clavarino — a passionate Hawthorn supporter”
This I put down as another win for us from the Hawks. :p

Then we have this one,
“Clavarino happens to be best mates with (Josh)Battle, who has provided the 2017 draft prospect with invaluable tips and wisdom.”

Imagine us with three lots of best mates, all running around in the firsts together.
Billings & Sinclair:thumbsu:
Battle & Clavarino:thumbsu:
Steele & Austin:thumbsu:


Seriously can’t wait to see this young bloke showing his wares in an AFL game, if he has put a bit of muscle/weight on over the summer, it will be an advantage in quest for an early game.
Definitely has a great football brain & plenty of skills.
 
Oscar Clavarino
Q&A
Nickname: Clav
Best advice you’ve received: Be a sponge with information
Funniest teammate: Jimmy Webster
Most inspiring movie: Rocky
Best concert attended: Sam Smith
Apps you can’t live without: Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat
Hidden talent: Bowling
Life motto: Live life to the fullest
Favourite cartoon or movie character: Ace Ventura
Favourite holiday spot: Sorrento
Best piece of advice your mum gave you: If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say it at all.
——————————————————————————————————————————
Fairly straight forward and ordinary nickname, I personally would have gone for something like “Vinnie”
as in Vinnie Barbarino (rhyming with Clavarino) from the 70’s sitcom “Welcome Back Kotter”
 

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Brains Trust66 said:
still has a lot to learn


Go Saints
Click to expand...

Is it a confidence thing against older bodies or do you think he just might be a late bloomer?
In highlights from last year he was pretty good against his own age group, I thought.
 
Grav said:
Is it a confidence thing against older bodies or do you think he just might be a late bloomer?
In highlights from last year he was pretty good against his own age group, I thought.
Click to expand...

I think he is improving with every game . There is no doubt he will be a good player , he just has to bulk up a little and get the feel of the faster game that is the AFL . I would say he will be knocking down the selectors door probably next season imo.


Go Saints
 
Brains Trust66 said:
I think he is improving with every game . There is no doubt he will be a good player , he just has to bulk up a little and get the feel of the faster game that is the AFL . I would say he will be knocking down the selectors door probably next season imo.


Go Saints
Click to expand...

With Jake and Browny in the firsts and Goddard and Austin probably ahead of him in the seconds he's got a lot of time to just develop and learn his role. I don't imagine we'll see him debut for a year or two unless we have serious injury concerns.

Just have to look at a player like Tom Doedee who spent a good two years in the SANFL and has now become a pretty important piece of the Adelaide defence.

Clav looks the goods.
 
Watched a bit of Clav on the Richmond tweet today, unfortunately the small part that I got to see, it appears that he was getting lost in traffic a bit.
IMO being only lightly framed, up against bigger bodies does take its toll in a young bloke first full season.
With another pre season under his belt, he should just about be primed to step straight into the firsts next season.
Loves to handpass, has to be told to back himself kicking out of the backline, as he is a beautiful kick too.
 
Oscar Clavarino is developing nicely at VFL level, using his impressive 195cm frame to provide air support in defence and play as an interceptor.

The Vic Country product’s promising start to 2018 should see him feature in the selection conversation.


Go Saints
 
Hamill says - Oscar Clavarino 6 kicks, 3 handballs, 2 marks

Oscar’s always wanting to learn. He’s working closely with Henry Playfair and Lindsay Gilbee on the nuances of the game and to get the shape that we want behind the ball. It’s not easy for a first-year player, but we like what Oscar’s doing in the air and we like how he defends. He’s developing the right way and as we’d hoped.


Go Saints
 
Starting to get a few touches at the end of the season, which has been really a learning curve for him.
Of course can’t walk away without mentioning against Casey he had a few touches with one resulting in a .....
2C1443DE-5FE1-4415-ACD7-243F4A1E421C.gif
Well done young man, another season in the gym and we’ll see you ready to take on the big boys.:thumbsu:
 
Hamill says -
Oscar Clavarino (1.0) 6 kicks, 7 handballs, 4 marks, 1 tackle

Oscar’s starting to get a fair bit of belief in terms of his strengths. In his first year, he’s picking up a lot, he’s developing really well, he’s got really good nous of where to position himself. He wants to learn a lot about the game, and he’s heavily invested into being the best he can be. There’d be no reason why he can’t have an influence over hopefully a long and illustrious career at the St Kilda Football Club.


Go Saints
 
He’s yet to don the red, white and black, but first-year player Oscar Clavarino is another young talent amid a pool of gifted youngsters who will be pressing for a senior spot in 2019.

Although just one of two listed Saints yet to make their AFL debut – alongside rookie Doulton Langlands – the tall defender nevertheless made sound progress in his first year at Moorabbin.

Recruited from the Dandenong Stringrays alongside teammate Hunter Clark, the 19-year-old pieced together a solid debut season for Sandringham, starring down back with his effective rebound play.


It’s a trait that held him in good stead during his time with Vic Country, with his natural ability to read the play earning him under-18 All Australian selection in 2017.

Clavarino’s efforts haven’t gone unnoticed at RSEA Park, with the pick No. 35 at last year’s NAB AFL Draft rewarded with a two-year contract extension, tying him to the Saints until 2020.


Oscar Clavarino (R) is set to push for a senior berth in 2019.

Director of Coaching Danny Sexton has seen the potential in Clavarino and believes the developing youngster is just at the beginning of a promising career.

“Oscar has been a very consistent performer at VFL level,” Sexton said.

“He is a tall guy with good leadership attributes, he’s athletic and he reads the play really well.”

Surprisingly mobile given his 196cm frame, Clavarino averaged 11 disposals across 17 matches for Sandringham, with his strong marking ability another defining feature of his game.

Clavarino notched up four games with over five marks, with his six-mark display against Richmond the pick of the bunch – a game in which he racked up a season-high 18 disposals.

His work off the field has been just as impressive in the eyes of Sexton, who praised the youngster’s efforts to increase his size and strength throughout the year.

“The thing he’s done well is make changes to his body. He came in as a skinny 18-year-old kid, and he’s worked really diligently on his shape and on his strength,” Sexton said.

“His body is quickly taking the form of an AFL player.”

Clavarino’s season with Sandringham forced him to focus on his contested play and man-on-man defensive work, with the slender defender often playing on much bigger bodies.

But with added mass and increased endurance, Clavarino could potentially take the step in evolving into a key position backman in the coming years; his already established intercept marking ability and rebound plays important weapons for a defender of such calibre.

Although he still has room to develop from a physical perspective, the now 19-year-old is nevertheless a mature head on young shoulders who will hope to be a mainstay in the St Kilda line-up.

The departure of stalwart defender, Sam Gilbert, may present the emerging talent with such an opportunity to make his AFL debut in Season 2019.

“With Oscar’s ability to read the play and with his diligence and professionalism – now that his body is catching up – we expect season two of Oscar’s career to be pretty exciting,” Sexton said.

Alongside the likes of fellow youngsters Nick Coffield, Bailey Rice and Brandon White, Clavarino has all the attributes and talents to grow into an influential and important cog in St Kilda’s future back six.


Go Saints
 
Young Oscar is starting to bulk up nicely going by this pic (below) from training Nov. 8th.
We tend to forget that he doesn’t turn 20yrs old until March next year, so another summer in the gym, just might see him getting a couple of games next year, with him expected to be a regular in 2020.

FED54C7C-575B-4171-9847-4DE4A78E521F.jpeg
 
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