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Matthew Clarke
- Thread starter Harry
- Start date
i really enjoyed listening to him. I also enjoyed reading some of the comments at the start of this thread about his appointment
Take the date into account.
Richmond at the end of 2016 looked like it was heading back to the 90s.
Instead we won a flag.
I wish I’d put $10,000 on it
Matt Clarke Road to the Draft podcast now on RFC website so have attached link below:
www.richmondfc.com.au
Matt Clarke on Road to the Draft podcast
Richmond recruiting manager Matt Clarke joins AFL Media hosts Callum Twomey and Nat Edwards for this week's Road to the Draft podcast.
I'm going to pre-empt @Dyer'ere 'ere and say let's have a look at Clarke and what he's delivered since getting into the big chair in 2017.
2017:
17 Higgins
20 CJ
25 Balta
34 (matched with late picks) Naish
63 Miller
R18 Baker
Cat B Egg
Talls: CJ, Balta, Miller
Smalls: Higgins, Naish, Baker, Egg
Everyone loved Higlet until we didn't. Many cry "I said we shoulda got Oscar Allen!" Given West Coast were focused on talls, taking Allen at 17 would probably have resulted in West Coast taking Balta at 21. "We shoulda taken Balta at 20 and Sam Taylor at 25!" West Coast might have taken Taylor at 21 if we took Balta at 20. Can't second-guess that stuff.
Anyhoo, Jack's interested in smalls, or the lack thereof recruited under Clarke. Instead of Higgins we might have taken Tim Kelly, but would have lost him. Starcevich and Powell went the next two picks and are looking good - as small backs - we want mids. Go have a look - there's not a small taken after Kelly who's looking better than Liam Baker.
2018:
20 RCD
43 Ross
58 Turner
62 English
R16 Aarts
R32 Towner
R45 Chol
Talls: Chol (recycled)
Smalls: RCD, Ross, Turner, English, Aarts, Towner (recycled)
Not looking pretty, this haul. This is the draft Poort got Rozee, Butters and Duursma - all with picks before our first. We tried to trade up to get Bailey Smith - that would have been a great result but not to be.
Did we miss anyone? Pick 20: A couple of us liked Ely Smith but he hasn't got a look-in at Brisbane. FJ liked Bobby Hill, who'd walk into our side right now (he'd sprint - he's quick). Rowbottom. Jordan. Jury out. RCD looking to have levelled up in the VFL, hopefully back in the ones this week.
Pick 43: McInerney the pick after Ross - looking ouchie for us but no one else embarrassing MC yet.
58 & 62: Turner and English. Bewley flogged our twos at Willy that year and is getting a regular game at Freo, but I wouldn't be slitting my wrists over it. Idun 61, Scholl 64 the misses. Nothing in the rookie draft.
2019:
SSP Stack
Mid-season Pickett
21 Dow
43 Cumberland
44 Martyn
46 Ralphsmith
54 Nyuon
Talls: Nyuon
Smalls: Stack, Pickett, Dow, Cumberland, Martyn, Ralphsmith
The obvious one looking bad atm is the top-10 slider Robertson (pick 22) doing well for the Bears. But I like Dow. A lot of us like Dow. More gym time required. Appendix. Next year.
Did we get too smart letting Bianco go? Ralphy looks the most likely of those 40s picks. But a winger/flanker. Martyn looks another Ross. Cumberland had the knee and has shown some signs but doesn't get a lot of footy and is not a mid.
2020:
40 Ryan
54 Rioli
Cat B Colina
Talls: Ryan, Colina
Small: Rioli
Traded our first pick into this year, passing up the likes of Holmes, Poulter, O'Driscoll. Too early to judge. Ryan and Rioli show promise but a long way off for Samson and MoJu needs to work on getting a kick. Colina unseen.
2021
SSP Mansell, Egg (re-re-tread)
So, the Clarke smalls are Higgins (who?), Naish, Baker, Egg, RCD, Ross, Turner (gone), English (gone), Aarts, Stack, Pickett, Dow, Cumberland, Martyn, Ralphsmith, Rioli, Mansell.
Stack the best, Jack? Baker at this point. Followed by Pickett. Stack can leapfrog them. At this point. We need RCD and Dow to come on as we hope. Ralphy looks a future winger. Mansell looks good down back. Cumberland maybe a back-flanker or small forward. Ross and Martyn lack power and zip.
We have a good draft hand this year. We need it.
2017:
17 Higgins
20 CJ
25 Balta
34 (matched with late picks) Naish
63 Miller
R18 Baker
Cat B Egg
Talls: CJ, Balta, Miller
Smalls: Higgins, Naish, Baker, Egg
Everyone loved Higlet until we didn't. Many cry "I said we shoulda got Oscar Allen!" Given West Coast were focused on talls, taking Allen at 17 would probably have resulted in West Coast taking Balta at 21. "We shoulda taken Balta at 20 and Sam Taylor at 25!" West Coast might have taken Taylor at 21 if we took Balta at 20. Can't second-guess that stuff.
Anyhoo, Jack's interested in smalls, or the lack thereof recruited under Clarke. Instead of Higgins we might have taken Tim Kelly, but would have lost him. Starcevich and Powell went the next two picks and are looking good - as small backs - we want mids. Go have a look - there's not a small taken after Kelly who's looking better than Liam Baker.
2018:
20 RCD
43 Ross
58 Turner
62 English
R16 Aarts
R32 Towner
R45 Chol
Talls: Chol (recycled)
Smalls: RCD, Ross, Turner, English, Aarts, Towner (recycled)
Not looking pretty, this haul. This is the draft Poort got Rozee, Butters and Duursma - all with picks before our first. We tried to trade up to get Bailey Smith - that would have been a great result but not to be.
Did we miss anyone? Pick 20: A couple of us liked Ely Smith but he hasn't got a look-in at Brisbane. FJ liked Bobby Hill, who'd walk into our side right now (he'd sprint - he's quick). Rowbottom. Jordan. Jury out. RCD looking to have levelled up in the VFL, hopefully back in the ones this week.
Pick 43: McInerney the pick after Ross - looking ouchie for us but no one else embarrassing MC yet.
58 & 62: Turner and English. Bewley flogged our twos at Willy that year and is getting a regular game at Freo, but I wouldn't be slitting my wrists over it. Idun 61, Scholl 64 the misses. Nothing in the rookie draft.
2019:
SSP Stack
Mid-season Pickett
21 Dow
43 Cumberland
44 Martyn
46 Ralphsmith
54 Nyuon
Talls: Nyuon
Smalls: Stack, Pickett, Dow, Cumberland, Martyn, Ralphsmith
The obvious one looking bad atm is the top-10 slider Robertson (pick 22) doing well for the Bears. But I like Dow. A lot of us like Dow. More gym time required. Appendix. Next year.
Did we get too smart letting Bianco go? Ralphy looks the most likely of those 40s picks. But a winger/flanker. Martyn looks another Ross. Cumberland had the knee and has shown some signs but doesn't get a lot of footy and is not a mid.
2020:
40 Ryan
54 Rioli
Cat B Colina
Talls: Ryan, Colina
Small: Rioli
Traded our first pick into this year, passing up the likes of Holmes, Poulter, O'Driscoll. Too early to judge. Ryan and Rioli show promise but a long way off for Samson and MoJu needs to work on getting a kick. Colina unseen.
2021
SSP Mansell, Egg (re-re-tread)
So, the Clarke smalls are Higgins (who?), Naish, Baker, Egg, RCD, Ross, Turner (gone), English (gone), Aarts, Stack, Pickett, Dow, Cumberland, Martyn, Ralphsmith, Rioli, Mansell.
Stack the best, Jack? Baker at this point. Followed by Pickett. Stack can leapfrog them. At this point. We need RCD and Dow to come on as we hope. Ralphy looks a future winger. Mansell looks good down back. Cumberland maybe a back-flanker or small forward. Ross and Martyn lack power and zip.
We have a good draft hand this year. We need it.
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Rewind the clock back to the end of 2019 and you would have argued that Ross & Stack were on their way to being A Graders. One got ahead of himself and the other one (Ross) has been thrown around all over the ground. The inside bull mid we craved for but we decided to make him lose weight and now we are re-training him on the half back. WTF? That isnt Clarkes problem. Its our development team now looking like fools.
I still think Dow will be the pick of the bunch. A Grade qualities. Pity about the appendix. Lets hope we dont re-train him to be something he aint.
I still think Dow will be the pick of the bunch. A Grade qualities. Pity about the appendix. Lets hope we dont re-train him to be something he aint.
We turning on Matty Clarke now? Alright, let’s do this!
So, in say the last 5 years he’s brought in Bolton, Graham, Baker, Balta and Pickett. All best 22. He’s also presumably had a hand bringing in Prestia, Caddy, Lynch and Nankervis. Couple of other kids on our list look promising too.
Considering we haven’t used a draft pick higher than 17 and won 3 *smile* premierships in 4 years, is this a good result or bad?
So, in say the last 5 years he’s brought in Bolton, Graham, Baker, Balta and Pickett. All best 22. He’s also presumably had a hand bringing in Prestia, Caddy, Lynch and Nankervis. Couple of other kids on our list look promising too.
Considering we haven’t used a draft pick higher than 17 and won 3 *smile* premierships in 4 years, is this a good result or bad?
Spook, I tend to agree and there is a lot of hindsight comments on Higgo. From memory, he was touted as a top 10 pick (expected to go to GWS at 9 I think) then slipped to us. In his 1st year he looked every bit of that high pick. Everyone loved him, was playing very good football. Then the brain injury hit. Massive, massive impact on him and his football defo went down hill. Something clearly went on between he and the playing group, potentially it was just that the club and the players stuck with him, yet despite not being out of contract, decided he didn't want to return the favour.
For all we know Allen would have requested to go back west anyway. Higgins wasn't a bad pick and never was, IMO was more an unlucky pick due to the undiagnosed brain injury but hardly something we should be holding against Clarke.
Ross is being retrained because he can't get a kick, SA. No zip at the fall (compare to Dow or RCD). He was precocious in his first year. A man-child. Heavy-footed.
Clarke took over in 2017, so he doesn't get Bolton and Graham. Blokes from other clubs is Blair, always has been.
We're not turning on Clarke, we're examining his record.
Actually it was November 2016 according to his own LinkedIn profile. Also, you saying that the head recruiter wouldn’t be consulted at all when it came to trading draft picks for players? I’d find it very hard to believe that Blair didn’t at least have a chat with Clarke about the prospect of trading pick 6 for Prestia?
Blair: “Hey Matty, GCS want pick 6 for Prestia. Whatdya reckon?”
Clarke: “*smile*, I’d throw in our our second rounder too just to get the deal done. The whole draft pool is a complete cluster *smile* this year except for a couple of kids I’ve got an eye but they’ll go much later. If we don’t trade pick 6 I’ll probably end up calling out Setterfield or Petrovski-Setton and both of would struggle to get a game ahead of Lennon and Ellis”
*laughing*
Blair: “good to know, thanks… By the way, those two kids you had your eye on, where do you think they’ll go in the draft?”
Clarke: “mid second round and third round. Why?”
Blair: “no reason. It’s just that Lids wants out and I reckon I can get Caddy from Geelong and some ruck from Sydney called Nanklevoss, Mankervus or something like that. Anyway, your first pick won’t be until around 30. You good with that?
Clarke: “it’s Nankervis and I wanted to take him 3 years ago. And yes, I can work with that”
I'm not putting words in Jack's mouth, but it's about the midfield. Cotchin, Martin, Prestia, Edwards were all drafted over a decade ago. Lambert should have been. Bolton and Graham are the only players we have drafted since 2009 getting a regular gig in our midfield. KMac and Pickett on the wings.
Smalls drafted 2010-16 (Frank in charge): Conca, Batchelor, Helbig, MacDonald, Houli, Jakobi, Hislop (3x re-tread), Ellis, Arnot (3 spots ahead of L.Neale), O'Hanlon, A.Maric, Verrier, G.Turner, KMac, McDonough, Petterd, Lonergan, Williams, Lennon (what was he? a slow flanker? one of Frank's worst), Gordon, Lloyd, Banfield, Miles, Thomas, Ellis, Menadue, Drummond, Short, George, Lambert, Rioli, Markov, Marcon, Graham, Bolton, Stengle.
Grigg and Yarran traded in.
Then the rest I've listed above.
Smalls drafted 2010-16 (Frank in charge): Conca, Batchelor, Helbig, MacDonald, Houli, Jakobi, Hislop (3x re-tread), Ellis, Arnot (3 spots ahead of L.Neale), O'Hanlon, A.Maric, Verrier, G.Turner, KMac, McDonough, Petterd, Lonergan, Williams, Lennon (what was he? a slow flanker? one of Frank's worst), Gordon, Lloyd, Banfield, Miles, Thomas, Ellis, Menadue, Drummond, Short, George, Lambert, Rioli, Markov, Marcon, Graham, Bolton, Stengle.
Grigg and Yarran traded in.
Then the rest I've listed above.
Okay, so we’ve gone from 2017 to straight after the 2016 draft?
Even so, Frank didn’t just read out a bunch of names on draft night then drop the mic and walk off into the sunset. There was clearly a succession plan in place and I’d find it very hard to believe Clarke wasn’t heavily involved in all aspects of recruiting that off-season.
Give Clarke his due credit.
