My view on Xavier Clarke

[fingers]

I can't help thinking we are treating X harshly. Come back when he's not ready in a final against the Cats? Of course he got pumped!

exactly. just a matter of getting him fully fit and on the park.

you reckon he won't be trying to keep pace with his little bro in terms of career success? nothing wrong with a bit of healthy rivalry, even between brothers and raph's rise will be a spur to xavier.

i'd move raph to the midfield rotation and use x in the running half back role raph shone in during the latter part of the season.

he could also play half forward or be used on the ball if necessary.

a highly skilled player who has played some very good football for us, when fit.

+1

[True Blue Sainter]

When fit, when fit...

But when will X ever be fit? Like Kosi, we've seen many glimpses from X, but he has rarely been able to tear a game apart. I'd like to seek several medical experts' opinions of X and his health before we make a decision about his future. IMO we could probably snare a 3rd round pick for him, which probably isn't all that bad value, as it could give us a fair player, in a draft that is meant to run well into the 3rd and 4th round.

[Zippy]

To add to the other criticisms, i promise you couldn't reach those totals in a few months while still maintaining the aerobic fitness needed for the afl. There's a reason pure endurance athletes don't carry around lots of spare muscle mass. If it was that easy, every 18-year old first-gamer would look like nathan buckley did at 30.

ok all fair enough. but we are losing sight of thie issue. where should we play him? how can he improve?

He can improve by staying fit and not getting injured. He can play as an outside midfielder, wingman, half-back flanker, or even as a small forward.

[WayneJudson42]

To add to the other criticisms, i promise you couldn't reach those totals in a few months while still maintaining the aerobic fitness needed for the afl. There's a reason pure endurance athletes don't carry around lots of spare muscle mass. If it was that easy, every 18-year old first-gamer would look like nathan buckley did at 30.

ok all fair enough. but we are losing sight of thie issue. where should we play him? how can he improve?

He can improve by staying fit and not getting injured. He can play as an outside midfielder, wingman, half-back flanker, or even as a small forward.

On the wing. Has pace and has skills. I'm every bit confident that fitness coach will get him right next year.

On another thread, everyone wants to draft a midfielder, yet we have one in X who has matured. Go figure.