Travis Cloke

[bresker]

Sorry for the intrusion to your board, I come in peace. I am a big fan of Grundy and although I don't like any other team Collingwood are well down the list of my most hated.

Anyway, let's get down to business. Halfway through the season I'm firmly in the 'Cloke is cooked' camp. He does not fit in with our gamestyle at all. His forward pressure isn't enough. He can't take enough grabs to link our attacking chains or help our (frankly pathetic) forward 50 entries. He's no better a back up ruck than players 5cm smaller. He might kick 2 goals a game here and there but they'll be spectacular bombs outside 50 that lift the crowd but don't do much else. His second efforts are weak, he looks like he'd rather someone else did the work.


The reason I'm here is to ask what went wrong ? How did a bloke go from AA premiership forward to cooked before his 30th birthday without serious injury?

I really want to him to play VFL the rest of the year. Nothing personal, seems like a lovely bloke , but footy has passed him by.

Would any of you have him back at the Pies? That's a serious question Btw, I realise we aren't going to get a refund after 30 days

 

[TW Sherrin]

Sorry for the intrusion to your board, I come in peace. I am a big fan of Grundy and although I don't like any other team Collingwood are well down the list of my most hated.

Anyway, let's get down to business. Halfway through the season I'm firmly in the 'Cloke is cooked' camp. He does not fit in with our gamestyle at all. His forward pressure isn't enough. He can't take enough grabs to link our attacking chains or help our (frankly pathetic) forward 50 entries. He's no better a back up ruck than players 5cm smaller. He might kick 2 goals a game here and there but they'll be spectacular bombs outside 50 that lift the crowd but don't do much else. His second efforts are weak, he looks like he'd rather someone else did the work.


The reason I'm here is to ask what went wrong ? How did a bloke go from AA premiership forward to cooked before his 30th birthday without serious injury?

I really want to him to play VFL the rest of the year. Nothing personal, seems like a lovely bloke , but footy has passed him by.

Would any of you have him back at the Pies? That's a serious question Btw, I realise we aren't going to get a refund after 30 days

yeah funny that most of your posters felt Bevo had he magic potion and they wouldn't be told.

have a look at all the players we've let go over the past 5 years. none have played up to their level except H Shaw. the clubs hasn't got many wrong.

 

[Soups]

Sorry for the intrusion to your board, I come in peace. I am a big fan of Grundy and although I don't like any other team Collingwood are well down the list of my most hated.

Anyway, let's get down to business. Halfway through the season I'm firmly in the 'Cloke is cooked' camp. He does not fit in with our gamestyle at all. His forward pressure isn't enough. He can't take enough grabs to link our attacking chains or help our (frankly pathetic) forward 50 entries. He's no better a back up ruck than players 5cm smaller. He might kick 2 goals a game here and there but they'll be spectacular bombs outside 50 that lift the crowd but don't do much else. His second efforts are weak, he looks like he'd rather someone else did the work.


The reason I'm here is to ask what went wrong ? How did a bloke go from AA premiership forward to cooked before his 30th birthday without serious injury?

I really want to him to play VFL the rest of the year. Nothing personal, seems like a lovely bloke , but footy has passed him by.

Would any of you have him back at the Pies? That's a serious question Btw, I realise we aren't going to get a refund after 30 days

Really hard to say. He was so durable with us you would have thought he was going to play well into his 30's. Maybe the game his just gone past him. He was such and strong runner in the past he could beat his player up the ground, get back into the forward 50 and use his strength to out muscle them. Those days are gone unfortunately.

Honestly would rather him than Mayne. So count your lucky stars you don't have it our way.

 

[Brad Goodman]

Would any of you have him back at the Pies?

Lord no.

 

[Wooljay]

I don't think anything really happened with Cloke other than the game, or rather the current 'zeitgeist', has passed him by a bit.

I genuinely want to see him do well at the Dogs, but I never really thought going to the Bullies was going to be the career axis shift he was hoping for. In a team stacked with genuine key forward talent I just don't see why you'd be playing him.

 

[Timmy from Thomastown]

Nothing wrong with Cloke given he's nearing the end....except for choosing the wrong team to be traded to.

Re "would we have him back" ... well no....but yes....

I'd prefer him on our list for one year if it meant we didnt pick up Mayne for four years.

 

[robertg22]

Travis isn't a particularly smart footballer and relied on his major weapon, his strong contested marking. In addition to that he was pretty good at getting up and down the wing/flank. Watching him over the last couple of years he's become ineffective because he's no longer outbodying his opponents in 1on1 marking contests and he's not getting up the ground as much to provide a linking option.

It's a damn shame. I was convinced he was going to play 300 games for us. In reality he signed that big contract at the end of 2012, had a magnificent 2013 and has gone backwards every year since then. Father time has caught up with him. Backup key forward at best.

 

[Bad Horse]

The reason I'm here is to ask what went wrong ? How did a bloke go from AA premiership forward to cooked before his 30th birthday without serious injury?

The game changed and Cloke was not able to change with it. Whether that was inability or lack of interest in changing, is moot by now.

 

[unplugged]

Sorry for the intrusion to your board, I come in peace. I am a big fan of Grundy and although I don't like any other team Collingwood are well down the list of my most hated.

Anyway, let's get down to business. Halfway through the season I'm firmly in the 'Cloke is cooked' camp. He does not fit in with our gamestyle at all. His forward pressure isn't enough. He can't take enough grabs to link our attacking chains or help our (frankly pathetic) forward 50 entries. He's no better a back up ruck than players 5cm smaller. He might kick 2 goals a game here and there but they'll be spectacular bombs outside 50 that lift the crowd but don't do much else. His second efforts are weak, he looks like he'd rather someone else did the work.


The reason I'm here is to ask what went wrong ? How did a bloke go from AA premiership forward to cooked before his 30th birthday without serious injury?

I really want to him to play VFL the rest of the year. Nothing personal, seems like a lovely bloke , but footy has passed him by.

Would any of you have him back at the Pies? That's a serious question Btw, I realise we aren't going to get a refund after 30 days

I think it's more so that he was never that good. Basically, he was always an elite contested mark... that is, until certain gloves got banned. See what he did last year against GWS when he tried to sneak his illegal glove back on.

But he could never kick goals consistently when within 40 metres. You're right, he might be good for 2 goals here and there, mostly from outside 50. And if he's not kicking for goals, he's doing a truck uturn and is bombing it to the hot spot without even assessing the play.

 

[Shaneprice97]

Honestly wish we kept him, and i think we would be better with him.

His 2 best seasons were 2011 when he dominated as a CHF and in 2013 when he dominated deeper at FF.

He honestly should be playing deep right now trying to aim for 2 goals a game(which i think is currently is a good return for a key forward in the modern game), he averaged that in 2014/15 whilst copping criticism, but i think thats still possible for him, he just wont be kicking 5-7 goals a game anymore.

I think in our side deep, he could kick 1-2 a game maybe kicking 30-35 a season, which right now would be great.

 

[Apex36]

I thought we'd let go of Cloke too early. I was wrong. He's cooked, that's all there is to it. Not sure how it happened so quickly, particularly given his durability over the course of his career. Dogs supporters should just be happy they're only stuck with him for a couple of years on a cheap salary. Better than being stuck with Mayne long term on big $$$....

 

[Ulahoopski]

Sorry for the intrusion to your board, I come in peace. I am a big fan of Grundy and although I don't like any other team Collingwood are well down the list of my most hated.

Anyway, let's get down to business. Halfway through the season I'm firmly in the 'Cloke is cooked' camp. He does not fit in with our gamestyle at all. His forward pressure isn't enough. He can't take enough grabs to link our attacking chains or help our (frankly pathetic) forward 50 entries. He's no better a back up ruck than players 5cm smaller. He might kick 2 goals a game here and there but they'll be spectacular bombs outside 50 that lift the crowd but don't do much else. His second efforts are weak, he looks like he'd rather someone else did the work.


The reason I'm here is to ask what went wrong ? How did a bloke go from AA premiership forward to cooked before his 30th birthday without serious injury?

I really want to him to play VFL the rest of the year. Nothing personal, seems like a lovely bloke , but footy has passed him by.

Would any of you have him back at the Pies? That's a serious question Btw, I realise we aren't going to get a refund after 30 days

Weren't you listening to Daddy David? This is all Buckleys's fault

 

[Baltimore Jack]

The game changed and Cloke was not able to change with it. Whether that was inability or lack of interest in changing, is moot by now.

Bingo

 

[swiftdog]

There definitely seemed to be a pretty steep decline last year. I was thinking last year that he just didn't fit into Collingwood's structures any more and hence why he was getting dropped. We certainly seemed to look more dangerous without him in the side (GWS game excepted).

Nothing much more to add that hasn't already been said. I feel that his contested leading marking was his biggest strength. Seemed to resort to wrestling in his last few years with us. Possibly due to our ball use more than anything. I've felt bad for him from 2014, he'd had the hardest job of any key forward in the comp in my opinion. So much pressure on his shoulders while constantly having to beat 2+ defenders. I still maintain that he has been the most infringed on forward in the comp without getting free kicks over the last few years, usually supplemented with getting justifiably fed up, rag-dolling a defender then having a free called against him.

Can never question his effort and commitment I think, one player who always seems to give it all every game. As for where he's at now, I think the modern game is getting faster and he just might not be able to keep up. Not the first great player it's happened to and won't be the last.

Hopefully it doesn't tarnish his reputation and legacy at Collingwood. He's held down the number 1 key position post in a side that played in 8 finals series in a row. There's no doubt in my mind that he's been a fantastic player over the journey.

 

[DaVe86]

I think Cloke's had a few niggling back injuries in the latter part of his career. He has had to deal with 2 or 3 opponents most of his career and has always played in a taxing game. I think it's caught up with him a bit.

Rumour has it we told Cloke to shed weight mid last year, but his father as of the firm belief that he was a power forward and needed the size. So he refused to slim down . I can't see any major transformations to his body size this year either.

The issue with him is that he really doesn't have that high half forwards game anymore, so he realistically needs to just stay close to home and play as an anchor. The counter-problem to this is that he is a terrible kick for goal. So you don't really want him having too many shots.

I don't this the game has entirely passed him. I think he is a confidence player that is just devoid of all confidence. I think he has some big games in him, and still think he could play a role for the Doggies in a dour final where he can be a handy target. Doggies could have done with Cloke if the GF last year when Grundy was picking them off.

In the end, for pick 70+, he wasn't a bad recruit for the dogs. It was also worthwhile for us getting his money off the books.

 

[jackcass]

Cloke had 2 major strengths, contested marking, and gut running capacity. The gut running evaporated following some (apparent) knee tendonitis a couple of seasons ago and the contested marking (which has also waned) just isn't enough in modern footy.

 

[Cousin of Daicos]

I'm surprised. I admit I thought he'd KILL it at the Bulldogs.

Maybe he really just is done with footy. I don't thin kit's that the game has passed him by, Hawkins still does ok and he's basically the same type of player.

 

[SpongePie]

The reason I'm here is to ask what went wrong ? How did a bloke go from AA premiership forward to cooked before his 30th birthday without serious injury?

Hip injury... wallet was too full of cash, weighed him down.

 

[barrackers]

I'm surprised. I admit I thought he'd KILL it at the Bulldogs.

Maybe he really just is done with footy. I don't thin kit's that the game has passed him by, Hawkins still does ok and he's basically the same type of player.

Likewise I thought the dogs structures and fast ball movement would suit Cloke. With us he'd reverted to a stay at home forward and our ball use and style wasn't conducive to getting him one on one footy.

Sadly with a diminished ability to gut run his opponents into the ground the game looks to have passed him. Zones and rotating defenders probably hasn't helped him here either.

 

[Scodog10]

It's really shocked me how poorly he's worked in the Bulldogs system.

The rib injury definitely set him back, but it doesn't appear that he has the confidence in their ball movement to press up to the wings and provide that linking option between defense and attack. One point though his two senior matches since returning from injury have been on grounds that make that connecting role a challenge.

I'm not yet prepared to stick a fork in him, but on the surface it appears yet another case of the grass not always being greener on the other side.

 

[bresker]

His 2 best seasons were 2011 when he dominated as a CHF and in 2013 when he dominated deeper at FF.

He honestly should be playing deep right now trying to aim for 2 goals a game(which i think is currently is a good return for a key forward in the modern game).

We just can't afford to stick a player deep. Everyone has to play their part in multiple roles and attack starts with forward press. My hope was that Cloke would cut off rebound kicks from the opposition and be a link up man taking contested grabs on the wing or edge of forward 50. A bit like Easton Wood but in attack. Give us extra options. I thought his tank meant he could chase and harry and find space. I wasn't expecting 50 goals a year.

But he has the turning circle of a truck and no separation, he can't take a contested mark and adds no special point of interest that warrants a place in our side.

I feel your pain with Mayne. Sometimes list managers make weird decisions. Matt Suckling gives me the shits too. Develop the kids you have, play the long game.

 

[Howezat]

The reason I'm here is to ask what went wrong ? How did a bloke go from AA premiership forward to cooked before his 30th birthday without serious injury?

His greatest strength was always going to be his greatest liability as he got older, a Nick Riewoldt isn't carrying around the same mass as Cloke does so he's faster and more flexible, he may not have the same strength in a marking contest as Cloke but he suits the modern game far better.

 

[TradeDraft]

Cloke was Finished last year. That why he could not get a Game with us Last Year

 

[bucksisbest]

He moves and has the agility of a mack truck these days.

 

[Brad Goodman]

Maybe he really just is done with footy. I don't thin kit's that the game has passed him by, Hawkins still does ok and he's basically the same type of player.

Similar but I think Hawkins has much more game sense.