Question. Where do you play Jason Cloke?
He has too many weaknesses to settle in any position. Let me list them and explain his faults.
1. Kicking. He is a shocking kick. Certainly the worst kick at the club barring possibly McGough. Technically his kicking action is all wrong, which leads to errant kicks, particularly under pressure. He takes far too long to get boot to ball and it is not well worth the wait. 50% of his kicks are straight to the boundary, even when under no pressure; 30% are just hacked forward as far as he can kick it, even when he has options open to him; 25% are straight out clangers, hitting opposition players on the chest; and 5% hit a Collingwood jumper. Undebatably he is a terrible kick.
2. Running. He is a slug. The slowest player on our list (including Richo) Off the mark he is so slow, he makes the average runner look super quick. His lack of pace is such a handicap, it is playing russian roulette to put him on a forward in our defence. On the very few occasions where he has played on a man, this was exposed badly. His lack of pace really limits the positions he can play.
3. Ground skills. They are non existent. I have lost count of the number of times I have seen the ball spill to Cloke, I’ve then looked forward of the play to see what options are open to him, only to look back and see he is still coming to terms with picking up the ball. He is terrible under his knees, the worst at the club.
4. Height. Not that he can help it, but he is only 188cm. If he were 5 or 6cm’s taller his other faults would almost be bearable as at least he would then be a big man and a bigger aerial threat. As is he is not tall enough for key position.
Cloke fans will argue that he is tough, courageous, has football smarts and gives the team some grunt. It is true that he has given a bit of this and Malthouse has done well to maximise Cloke’s strengths while hiding his weaknesses. Malthouse has essentially done this by playing him as a loose man in defence. But opposition teams have realized this and the party is over. Interestingly he hardly set foot in the defence last week, seemingly pointing to the fact that Malthouse is now looking for a new position for him.
Before he ever played a game I simply could not see a position for him. Too short for key position, too slow for the back flanks, too unskilled for anywhere else. So where could he possibly play? Malthouse came up with the answer of loose man in defence and it worked. As loose man his lack of pace didn’t hurt him as he had no-one to worry about. He could run around the backline, get to contests to spoil and to force throw ins. He used his courage, toughness and football brain to full effect, while his weaknesses were well hidden. His kicking was shown up every now and then, but overall the average footy fan would not have been a fool to think that Cloke looked a likely prospect.
Unfortunately opposition teams did not remain dazed and finally woke up to Cloke. They started putting a forward on him and attacked through this forward. This not only stopped Cloke contributing as he did as a loose man, but it exposed him for his lack of pace and his inability to stop his man.
The days of Cloke playing loose in defence are over, which brings us back to the original question. Exactly where do you play him? Unless Malthouse pulls another rabbit out of the hat, the answer to that question has to be Williamstown.
He has too many weaknesses to settle in any position. Let me list them and explain his faults.
1. Kicking. He is a shocking kick. Certainly the worst kick at the club barring possibly McGough. Technically his kicking action is all wrong, which leads to errant kicks, particularly under pressure. He takes far too long to get boot to ball and it is not well worth the wait. 50% of his kicks are straight to the boundary, even when under no pressure; 30% are just hacked forward as far as he can kick it, even when he has options open to him; 25% are straight out clangers, hitting opposition players on the chest; and 5% hit a Collingwood jumper. Undebatably he is a terrible kick.
2. Running. He is a slug. The slowest player on our list (including Richo) Off the mark he is so slow, he makes the average runner look super quick. His lack of pace is such a handicap, it is playing russian roulette to put him on a forward in our defence. On the very few occasions where he has played on a man, this was exposed badly. His lack of pace really limits the positions he can play.
3. Ground skills. They are non existent. I have lost count of the number of times I have seen the ball spill to Cloke, I’ve then looked forward of the play to see what options are open to him, only to look back and see he is still coming to terms with picking up the ball. He is terrible under his knees, the worst at the club.
4. Height. Not that he can help it, but he is only 188cm. If he were 5 or 6cm’s taller his other faults would almost be bearable as at least he would then be a big man and a bigger aerial threat. As is he is not tall enough for key position.
Cloke fans will argue that he is tough, courageous, has football smarts and gives the team some grunt. It is true that he has given a bit of this and Malthouse has done well to maximise Cloke’s strengths while hiding his weaknesses. Malthouse has essentially done this by playing him as a loose man in defence. But opposition teams have realized this and the party is over. Interestingly he hardly set foot in the defence last week, seemingly pointing to the fact that Malthouse is now looking for a new position for him.
Before he ever played a game I simply could not see a position for him. Too short for key position, too slow for the back flanks, too unskilled for anywhere else. So where could he possibly play? Malthouse came up with the answer of loose man in defence and it worked. As loose man his lack of pace didn’t hurt him as he had no-one to worry about. He could run around the backline, get to contests to spoil and to force throw ins. He used his courage, toughness and football brain to full effect, while his weaknesses were well hidden. His kicking was shown up every now and then, but overall the average footy fan would not have been a fool to think that Cloke looked a likely prospect.
Unfortunately opposition teams did not remain dazed and finally woke up to Cloke. They started putting a forward on him and attacked through this forward. This not only stopped Cloke contributing as he did as a loose man, but it exposed him for his lack of pace and his inability to stop his man.
The days of Cloke playing loose in defence are over, which brings us back to the original question. Exactly where do you play him? Unless Malthouse pulls another rabbit out of the hat, the answer to that question has to be Williamstown.
