He made his first appearance in the Black and White during the 2002 Wizard Cup, before opening his senior account in round 2 of the 2002 season, aged 19, against the West Coast Eagles at the MCG.
Following an impressive debut, Cloke went on to cement his place in the senior side as a courageous key defender who put his body on the line and specialised as the loose man across halfback, often the third man to the contest, developing the habit of swiping his fist to the ball at many contests, an action which soon became his trademark. He swiftly made a name for himself within the game, and earned an AFL Rising Star nomination in just his fifth match (round six against St Kilda at Colonial Stadium).
Cloke's heroics in defence were earning him a number of newspaper stories around Victoria, images of the number 34 standing it's ground in the face of a Matthew Lloyd onslaught on the wettest Anzac Day on memory and a gutsy dive en route to three Brownlow Votes in round seven against the Western Bulldogs becoming symbolic of the club's season.
Cloke backed up his Bulldog heroics a week later with a terrific stopping job on Brisbane Lion Jonathan Brown, ending the match in typical fashion with an awkward, gutsy grab on the siren as the Lions pushed forward one final time, the Magpies home by three points.