Matthew Clarke | PUNT ROAD END | Richmond Tigers Forum
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Matthew Clarke

Core of our success
Under Wallace
Riewoldt Rance Edwards Cotchin Martin
Rookie selections
Bulter Castagna Lambert Grimes Baker Pickett MSD
2 1st rounders Rioli & Big V
Trade Caddy Prestia Nakas
Notice those players were obtained with high end draft picks when we were *smile*?

How many of those types of picks has Clark had. Guys found porcelain when others have found fossilised mammoth turds.
 
We needed a recruiters that selected kids on form not what they should be or what they can be developed into.
It's the right time. We have lost close to 5 yrs worth of kids coming through.
I cannot say today who's our next Knights
Cotchin or Turner.
Because they are sooo underwhelming.

Bear in mind that from 2017-2020 Clarke was recruiting players whose traits suited our chaos-ball gameplan. Their disposal didn’t have to be great but they had to be able to run all day, hand-pass to advantage and pressure/tackle their hearts out.

Once the stand rule was changed and our pressure/chaos gameplan had to be discarded, we were stuck with guys like Dow, Hugo etc. and now everyone looks at how they struggle to play a conventional brand of efficient-build-up footy and think that Clarke did a terrible job.

I think it’s better to judge his record from the 2021 draft onwards (Gibcus, Brown, Sonsie etc.) as he wasn’t constrained by having to recruit to that gameplan. It's early days but so far they don’t look too bad as far as I can tell – and I would have been very happy to hold on to Clarke for another couple of years to see what he could do.
 
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Not a smart move from the Eagles
He will remain in Victoria

All the recruiting managers live in melbourne i think?

Gold coasts definitely does and id imagine brisbanes, sydney and gws's would too.

adelaide, port, freo and west coast would all have senior recruiters in melbourne i think

They all put north face puffers on amd watch Hailebury every week and avoid Cal Twomany
 
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so matt clarke is gone, hopefully we dont get hardwicked by Blair, as he ( Matt ) is now doing Blairs job at West coast

If Blair goes after Clarke is gone, we are starting from square 1, all the ip we have acquired in our last 3 flags will be at other clubs

Blaire is one person we cannot lose.

We have been smart to safeguard Blair from leaving. As you remember Balmey stepped aside from GM Football to football advisor and paid outside the soft cap in 2019.

We gave Blair (and Tim Livingstone) additional responsibility and promoted him to be General Mgr - Football Talent with a direct line to the CEO.

This is different to most clubs. It means for instance he has more responsibilities and is higher up the org chart (and paid more) than a List Mgr at another club.

i.e. Compare Blair to Matt Clarke's position at West Coast. Matt reports into the GM of Football Gavin Bell - Not the CEO. A rung (and pay grade) lower.

It means Blair is almost no chance to go to another club as List Mgr as he'll take a pay cut. Only roles he would go to are GM of Football, which has more staff under it, but isn't higher in the org chart as both report to CEO.

Smart move by the club to give these heightened roles to quality leaders.
 
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Meh. With all the picks we’ve had he hasn’t hit too many out of the park. I want someone better.
 
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Notice those players were obtained with high end draft picks when we were *smile*?

How many of those types of picks has Clark had. Guys found porcelain when others have found fossilised mammoth turds.
Come on mann
5 picks in 30. Besides Gibcus the rest we are still waiting.
The decision not to draft a replacement for Riewoldt with Hooganband still there at our pick is a massive mistake.
The trade away of our 1st pick to Geelong when they used it to get Holmes is embarrassing.
Not all good players are 1st or 2nd rounders.
2016 pick 73 Larky pick 78 Mitchell Lewis.

Too many selections on PROJECT players.
Pussy-cat Talls Griffens, Miller, Samson, Coleman Jones all the same.

You might not be happy he has Gome, I'm rapt.
We didn't need to bottom out, we had picks in 17. Wasted them on Higgins and Coleman Jones.
 
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The timing of Clarke’s departure is good for us.
Under him we have recruited too many of the wrong type.
We should aggressively head hunt the best.
 
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Of course it is, just need to have the right criteria and method of grabbing and interpreting the data.
Yeah but how do you interpret via “data” a person’s desire (or not) to go back with the flight of the ball at a pivotal moment …or commit to that front on collision when the game is on the line..or all those extra things in a game or during a pre season training spell that push them over the line ? A lot of that is not measurable.

How do you analyse by “data” if a player is a good team mate that will sacrifice their own game … or get on with their team mates ? Again, subjective interpretation that can’t be measured simply by “data”.

How, by data, do you measure the impact on team performance of all those selfless acts that Grimes, Astbury, Rance etc performed over the years ? Where does the Cotchin-Shiel incident fit into the “data” ?

This isn’t baseball which I’ve followed most of my life where scientific analysis over a period of time based solely on numeric output or production is king. Pitcher pitches. Batter hits. Data result. Great. Works in that sport. Maybe. Plenty of disasters still. Basketball too.

It’s about the balance between “data” and personal assessment of unmeasurable factors that allow a TEAM … not an individual…to succeed.
 
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Any intel on who his replacement might be ?
We should have enough cash to have multiple recruiters around the country.
Let's put all our efforts in drafting and developing then always thinking about putting money into things outside the football department.
 
All very well to have a data nerd on the team. I still want a judge of horseflesh in charge though.
Agree, question is who makes the final vsll, the nerd or the horseflesh judge. The nerds are winning in my view.
 
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Agree, question is who makes the final vsll, the nerd or the horseflesh judge. The nerds are winning in my view.
The nerd or scientific data mode is not as impactful now in more progressed overseas sports. If AFL goes down that path without some balance, there’s gonna be some train wrecks.

Moneyball was 20 plus years ago. It’s a balance between that and aggressive spending, getting guys who fit on and off the field, big moment producers etc. Horseflesh plus science.

Last time I checked, the Oakland A’s and Billy Beane (the founder of Sabremetrics decades ago), hadn’t won Jack *smile*.
 
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Come on mann
5 picks in 30. Besides Gibcus the rest we are still waiting.
The decision not to draft a replacement for Riewoldt with Hooganband still there at our pick is a massive mistake.
The trade away of our 1st pick to Geelong when they used it to get Holmes is embarrassing.
Not all good players are 1st or 2nd rounders.
2016 pick 73 Larky pick 78 Mitchell Lewis.

Too many selections on PROJECT players.
Pussy-cat Talls Griffens, Miller, Samson, Coleman Jones all the same.

You might not be happy he has Gome, I'm rapt.
We didn't need to bottom out, we had picks in 17. Wasted them on Higgins and Coleman Jones.
Yep. 5 picks inside 30. pick 9, pick 17, pick 28, 29, 30. Hardly a lot of top end Cotchin and Martin style picks available out of that.
Cotchin 2
Martin 3
Rance 19
Reiwoldt 13
Edwards 26
Vlaustin 9
Rioli 15
1 pick outside the top 20.

Clark's picks since taking over:
2017: 17, 20, 25, 34
2018: 20, 43
2019: 21 43
2020: 40, 51
2021: 9, 17, 28, 29 30
3 picks inside the top 20.

We've had this discussion before, Higgins was fine to pick. He's not a bad player. Not the recruiters fault the kid left.
He's played 102 games and kicked 120 goals as mostly a small forward. That's a decent return.
Pick 17 on average gets you a player that plays 73 games. Given this fella has played 102 games, and will likely get to 200 I'd say. It's a good pick.
Coleman Jones looked like he had potential, but has turned out to be a bust.
Ben Griffiths - 2010. That's a frank pick.
Ben Miller - Pick 63. Unlikely to mine gold here, but he was underexposed given not much u18 training, and had very very good athletic traits for a tall. Nothing wrong with this type of pick
Samson - Jury out. Might be a bust. However of the kids after him. Jack Carroll (5 games), Phoenix Spicer (6), Harry Sharp (7), Beau McCreery (60) , Tom Highmore (delisted - 16 games), Tyler Brockman (26), Nick Stevens (0), Henry Smith (0) , Ollie Lord (13) and Brandon Walker (45). Not a huge amount of talent in there. Some have been delisted already.

I'm not happy or sad he's gone. It just is. I think if we rely on one messiah to solve our drafting, then we're a *smile* club. No one should live or die by the one person's decision making.
My point is once again the data says Clark has had a shitty, shitty hand to pick with instead of Frank - who I might add you used to say was *smile* and should be sacked because he couldn't draft anyone but obvious high end picks. He's done reasonably well with the hand he has had.

Let's just hope we don't go downhill with the replacement.
 
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