Raph Clarke

[Signd Sealed Saint]

Is he just a waste of a first round draft pick or is he going to eventually put his head down and do some hard work? He's full of talent and has plenty of potiential to become an absolute star of the Saint Kilda footy club. I know he's had his fair share of injuries but he should be better than he is right now.
When he's in the side he plays a half back role, which i assume is apprenticeship for a midfield role but at the moment he's no where near ready to be an AFL footballer. His disposal is shaky at the best of times, he is one of the main culprits that consistantly turn the ball over which has been our downfall in many games throughout the season. His motor is not up to scratch and his tackling is fair but not as good as it should be. Xavier has taken a step in the right direction to becoming a star of the side, he's been struck with the injury curse again but you can see good signs especially in the round 2 match against Carlton which i thought was one of his best. But i'm still having doubts over Raph, he's had time to develop but things aren't exactly going to plan.
I hear things aren't going great for him in the VFL either. I mean i think he has potiential to be a great footballer and i dont mind him but i just wonder when hes going to hit the straps.

 

[JeffDunne]

Did you hear about his recently diagnosed medical condition?

Raph's had a fair bit to deal with this season outside of football. If he can bounce back from these setbacks then he could very well live up to the potential he showed early on in his career.

I'm still hopeful.

 

[dg102]

Doesnt he have epilepsy? Thats what i heard. I cant see how the afl can let him play football. What if he gets swug to the ground really hard and starts to have a fit. Play keeps going. Cant he die or something. They really shouldnt let him play. For his own health.

 

[JeffDunne]

You can play contact sports with epilepsy. In fact Raph is still playing for Casey.

There's players in the NFL that play with it.

People only die from seizures if they are unattended. If he did have one on the football field he could be easily treated. From the sounds of it Raphs seizures have been triggered by sleep patterns not from any contact so he should be able to manage them.

Overcoming it will be more a confidence issue than the epilepsy itself.

 

[Kildonan]

A number of players have played their entire career after being diagnosed with epilepsy. It is readily treated with drugs and may never affect him in any other way except the need to continue his treatment. Let's not overreact to this condition - it is under control now that the medical staff know about it. Raph has enough problems without having fans imposing their ill-informed restrictions on him.

 

[Persevering Saint]

I actually have epilepsy, and am on the same medication as Raph (epilim) - I last had a fit when I was 18 (over 10 years ago), so the medication is pretty darn effective. Raph identified slight drowsiness at first, but that has now faded and he's fine. Furthermore, both of our epilepsies are primarily about sleep deprivation and stress (and of course, stress often creates sleep deprivation). It is HIGHLY unlikely that a knock on the footy field would bring about a siezure, imho.

All that that means is that his epilepsy is less a physiological problem for him now, and more a psychological one... it just adds crap to yet another crappy year for the bloke. But I'm a big believer that suffering creates perseverance, and perseverance creates character (after all, look at my name ), and he's going to be one tough cookie by next year.

 

[Squizz]

Didn't they say Wally Lewis played that other "sport" with the condition? Assume if it OK for that then OK for AFL.

 

[SaintsSeptember]

My father had a mechanic working for him with epilepsy. He was never able to get a drivers license. The fits were very mild and very rare (years apart). The biggest problem was that he would fall down without warning, and a truck repair shop is probably a lot more dangerous than a footy field for that.
Also If he had a fit on the footy field there is probably a much quicker medical response than if it happened at home in his loungeroom.

 

[JeffDunne]

Didn't they say Wally Lewis played that other "sport" with the condition? Assume if it OK for that then OK for AFL.

He wasn't diagnosed until after he retired IIRC

 

[Squizz]

He wasn't diagnosed until after he retired IIRC

Even scarier for him in retrospect then.

 

[Kildonan]

Even scarier for him in retrospect then.

It is suggested that his epilepsy is a direct result of physical damage acquired during his years as a Rugby League player. This resulted in scarring that distorted the actual physical shape of his brain. He had surgery to sever the fibrous scar material and CT scans show the condition is much improved.

I doubt that Raphael's condition is even remotely similar - it appears to be triggered by sleep deprivation as Persevering Saint suggested. This may well be due to raised levels of a hormone our bodies produce when we are stressed or sleep deprived. Good habits and the epilim will go a long way to eliminating any symptoms at all.

 

[Squizz]

OK - left my medical degree at home today.

Can't you cook him up some sort of foul-smelling broth to fix it?

 

[Persevering Saint]

OK - left my medical degree at home today.

Can't you cook him up some sort of foul-smelling broth to fix it?

Oh, so YOU're the former injury management guy for the Saints under the Thomas era...

 

[Squizz]

Yeah, Goose hasn't spoken to me in ages.

 

[SaintsSeptember]

While I am sympathetic to his off field problems, I remain fairly unimpressed with his on-field performance to date (prior to his current personal problems). Every now and again he does something really nice and everyone say's what a good game he had and how much potential he has, but that has been countered by his errors. Meanwhile we are seeing players like CJ, respond to critisism of his game and improve immensly. I am not sure we could have gotten a better first round pick that year, as there were lots of duds in that draft, but we could have gotten Fergus Watts, which would have given us a better draft the following year.

 

[dg102]

Hows he been playing for the scorps? Will he be delisted at the end of the year? and if he doesnt get delisted, is it because he had epilepsy?

 

[stfan]

I think that with Raph's dad dying that both he and Xavier will in some ways be give this year off.

Raph wil however need to show a lot more in 2009, or itcould be his last year.

 

[SaintsSeptember]

I think that with Raph's dad dying that both he and Xavier will in some ways be give this year off.

Raph wil however need to show a lot more in 2009, or itcould be his last year.

He has had a horrid run ( again ) but it kills me that at the end of the year we may delist others who have served the saints better and give him yet another chance. Either that or we won't be taking on rookies which is worse.

 

[Saint77]

Doesnt he have epilepsy? Thats what i heard. I cant see how the afl can let him play football. What if he gets swug to the ground really hard and starts to have a fit. Play keeps going. Cant he die or something. They really shouldnt let him play. For his own health.

There is no reason why he can not play if he has epilepsy. It is not like he is flying an aircraft or driving a train. The worst that could happen to him is a fit. So what? Heaps of players have had fits out on the field after being knocked out and they didn't have epilepsy.

The only reason Raph should not play at AFL level is because he lacks confidence and therefore his playing abilities are shite!

 

[Rodney Dangerfield]

There is no reason why he can not play if he has epilepsy. It is not like he is flying an aircraft or driving a train. The worst that could happen to him is a fit. So what? Heaps of players have had fits out on the field after being knocked out and they didn't have epilepsy.

The only reason Raph should not play at AFL level is because he lacks confidence and therefore his playing abilities are shite!

I am a mate of Raph and Xavs older brother and wouldn't worry too much about this year,spending as much time as need be with his dad.Thought it was great from Ross lyon and Raph is keeping very fit.