Zac Clarke

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threenewpadlocks said:
Very much doubt we've made him one of the highest paid players in our team when he couldn't even get a game ahead of bloody Jack Hannath for large parts of the year.
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Hannath played three games this year...
 
Don't want not good enough for that money.
If we can't get Martin or another number 1 ruck just stick with what we have and load up next year,
 
I'm always getting Zac Clarke and Michael Johnson mixed up. I really hope the op is as well.
 

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I hope we don't do this. Don't think the 50/50 ruck split Hawthorn use (and obviously Bev is a fan of) is going to work for us. Clarke seems a type who can't carry the ruck responsibility.

Need a ruck who takes 80 - 90% of the load.
 
I've been reasonably impressed with what I've seen with Clarke, albeit limited at best.

That said, I'll back the dogs hierarchy in if they see something in him. How many mistakes have they made of late.
 
I've seen little this year but across his career I've been impressed. This is when rucks start to show their stuff too. and if Bevo can do one thing it's utilise leg speed
 


Fair leap on the lad.



Fair leg too.

You would just have to hope like hell these little glimpses of what he can do become more and more regular as he peaks.
 
Hey, if I told you Mumford was available would you be interested?
Yes!
Well how about a player that took Mumford to the cleaners this year? Would you be interested?
We've already got him on our list and his name is Will Minson.
For f&$sake Minson is a top line ruck man with presence and we're prepared to let him walk.
 
For rucks, these days it all depends on system and situation. Minson's lack of pace and anything but ruck work did not matter under McCartney. We also had terrible spread and slow build ups. I don't think Mumford would fit our system either. Zac Clarke would fit our new fast paced system as he's quick and will be able to get to contests on the wings as well as help with spread and link work. Look Back to his 2013 season where he shouldered a lot of the main rucking duties and Freo win a lot of games. He's a capable ruckman but he is a useless forward. Lyon has been trying to develop him as a forward ruck but he is almost purely a ruck.
 
Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww.

No thank you.
 

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It's hard to know with rucks. Rhys Stanley was a player who reputably disappeared all the time but he is genuinely a brilliant ruckman. I'm sure big Zac would enjoy following the ball around and as I said, Bevo utilises pace and at the very least Clarke jumps in there without being a liability in terms of team running capacity
 
Zgope1 said:
It's hard to know with rucks. Rhys Stanley was a player who reputably disappeared all the time but he is genuinely a brilliant ruckman. I'm sure big Zac would enjoy following the ball around and as I said, Bevo utilises pace and at the very least Clarke jumps in there without being a liability in terms of team running capacity
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He ticks a lot of boxes for us.

-203 cm and can jump, can compete in the ruck.
-Good pace for a man his height so will help put pressure on
-25 years old so in our age bracket
-has had good exposed form as no. 1 ruck in 2013, his best year of afl football so far
-played alongside sandi for 7 years so will have learned a bit

Consistent game time can do wonders, our coach understands this. Worth a shot, at worst he's a proven backup first ruck. 2013 averaged 14.5 touches, 4.5 marks, 22 hitouts and a goal every 2 games. That alongside the ability to run and get to contests and put on pressure I'd be more than happy with in our team. Not forgetting either that Sandi played in a few of those games as well.
 
JAMES_B_101 said:
He ticks a lot of boxes for us.

-203 cm and can jump, can compete in the ruck.
-Good pace for a man his height so will help put pressure on
-25 years old so in our age bracket
-has had good exposed form as no. 1 ruck in 2013, his best year of afl football so far
-played alongside sandi for 7 years so will have learned a bit

Consistent game time can do wonders, our coach understands this. Worth a shot, at worst he's a proven backup first ruck. 2013 averaged 14.5 touches, 4.5 marks, 22 hitouts and a goal every 2 games. That alongside the ability to run and get to contests and put on pressure I'd be more than happy with in our team. Not forgetting either that Sandi played in a few of those games as well.
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I am warming to Clarke as well .like the age for a Ruckman and those 2013 numbers are very solid.
Prefer him to all the others that have been thrown up.
 
King Harold said:
I am warming to Clarke as well .like the age for a Ruckman and those 2013 numbers are very solid.
Prefer him to all the others that have been thrown up.
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If we were paying him anything to play his current freo role we would be out of our minds but that's not the case at all, he is worth a shot with possible high reward.
 
Kennel Master said:
Dropped from Freo's team this week. Does that mean anything??

KM
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I wouldn't buy into that too much. Ross is into winning a premiership. Out of all the coaches in the league, he might be one of the last ones to drop someone because they might be leaving. He seems to be all about getting the best out of what he has at his disposal then and there.
 
Not a fan of Zac's but after doing some research I can see how he would fit Bev's worldview. I'm still not a fan but if he's the guy Bev wants, it must mean guys like Lycett and Martin are truly unavailable. I'll back Bev and team if they think Clarke has the attributes to suit our game plan.

Would prefer someone else though. Clarke had better come cheap, will our second rounder or Talia (Freo couod use him) do it?
 
Sorry to intrude but saw this thread and I thought I would share my thoughts:

Pros
- Can be a very good first ruck and showed in 2013 at 22/23yrs old (when Sandilands was out) that he could be a number #1 ruck
- Very fast around the ground and athletic
- Can bring pressure in the forward line and around the ball better than most other ruckman
- Reasonable kick
- Contrary to popular opinion, can take a contested mark. Think he even took 5 in one game this year against the Eagles.
- He has had knee issues in 2014/2015 so would take his current form line with a grain of salt

Cons
- Can struggle when playing soley as a key forward
- Intensity can be questioned, especially when struggling and down in form
- Can get pushed off in marking contests, still needs to build core strength and maybe improve intensity
- So far in his career he has struggled in big games but has never had the #1 ruck role. Brian Lake tore him apart in 2013 grand final but he was only 22 or 23 and Lake was an experienced defender.
 
  • We need a ruckman who is more mobile than the two we have.
  • We can't wait 5 years to develop one.
  • Kreuzer looks like staying at Carlton and has fitness concerns, Martin is likely to stay at Brisbane, Zac Smith may or may not be moving to Essendon, Leuenberger is probably bound for Sydney or Essendon.
  • Zac Clarke has plenty of opposition for a ruck spot at Freo, originates from Melbourne and, while he's no world beater, ticks most of the boxes for a role with us.
In summary, could be very handy at the right price.
 
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