Raph Clarke

[smasherini]

What's going on with Raph? I felt he was a liability for us on Friday night.He fumbled,gave "hospital Handpasses" and was generally very poor IMO against the Bombers.He looks a million bucks and played like a bag lady.

[villasaint]

he is inconsistent. time will tell with Raph. Hopefully an injury free years and we will get to see if he is up to it.

[bigcarl]

it was siege-mentality central in our backline there for a while and raph wasn't the only one under pressure

gilbert had his pants pulled down at times by a very good player in lucas, all part of the learning curve for young players

interestingly, both were being asked to fill key defensive positions ... roles they are unfamiliar with and need time and confidence to grow into.

watch raph and gilbert tear it up on opposing back flanks this season

[saintsrus]

If you watch the full game i thought he was ok apart from the lapse at the end of the 3rd quarter and beginning of the last.

Just remember he had no experienced players helping him and advising him, ie Max, Sam Fisher, Goose

[saintbrat]

Games played - in our backline Friday
Raph- 30
Gilbo- 20
Rixy - 28
leigh F- 46 - although he now has consistency on his side having played 37 of 39 recent games.

Missing
Maxy- 204
Sam F- 71
Matty M- 95

with leadership coming on and off the bench- they stuck fat and got expeireince and a win.

[bigcarl]

raph's problem is that he makes a few clangers and people tend to remember mistakes.

but i actually like the fact that he takes risks. in my experience the only people who don't make mistakes are people who don't do anything.

i've known a few of those.

bold, attacking, risk-taking play is something we should be encouraging.

[nicko016]

His incosistency is always highlighting by playing in defence. He will be better suited more half back than as deep as he played lsat night. What I was annyed at was that he was taking some of the kick-ins. Fair enough, sometimes the closest player should take it to move the ball on quickly, but he had too many kick-ins and made one shocking kick-in.

[Spinner]

it was siege-mentality central in our backline there for a while and raph wasn't the only one under pressure

gilbert had his pants pulled down at times by a very good player in lucas, all part of the learning curve for young players

interestingly, both were being asked to fill key defensive positions ... roles they are unfamiliar with and need time and confidence to grow into.

watch raph and gilbert tear it up on opposing back flanks this season

Spot On.

Raph played as a defender...In which he showed promise.

[The_Dud]

raph's problem is that he makes a few clangers and people tend to remember mistakes.

but i actually like the fact that he takes risks. in my experience the only people who don't make mistakes are people who don't do anything.

i've known a few of those.

bold, attacking, risk-taking play is something we should be encouraging.

its more the punching the ball straight out of bounds instead of taking an uncontested mark, giving away a free deep inside 50, and holding on to the jumper of Neeagle and giving away a free deep inside 50 when there was no need to

nothing bold or attacking in that

i don't think playing him where all the pressure is is a very good idea at this time

[bigcarl]

i don't think playing him where all the pressure is is a very good idea at this time

maybe so. probably needs to get some confidence up on a flank before being thrown into a key position, but, hell, what is the nab cup for if you can't experiment a bit.

i've been wrong before but i think he'll be a revelation across half back this season

[Spinner]

raph's problem is that he makes a few clangers and people tend to remember mistakes.

but i actually like the fact that he takes risks. in my experience the only people who don't make mistakes are people who don't do anything.

i've known a few of those.

bold, attacking, risk-taking play is something we should be encouraging.

its more the punching the ball straight out of bounds instead of taking an uncontested mark, giving away a free deep inside 50, and holding on to the jumper of Neeagle and giving away a free deep inside 50 when there was no need to

nothing bold or attacking in that

i don't think playing him where all the pressure is is a very good idea at this time

All mentioned above are discipline or decision mistakes....Not one indicates he hasn't got the talent to succeed.

The bloke has only played 30 games.

[BringBackMadDog]

Add another one to the whipping boy pages, fair dinkum we win games and some still find things to whinge about. Raph is still a relative rookie in footy terms, he is hard at it, quicker than people think and his skills are good, give these blokes some time for god sakes.

[mad saint guy]

Raph just needs to settle down and play a month of footy without getting injured or being moved all over the ground. He's a quality player and will be a good medium defender for us if he stays fit.

I can't coment on his game in Friday though as I didn't see it. Was he playing on Neagle?

[hAyES]

If Raph gets a game this year I will be very disappointed in the selectors.

[To the top]

The Dud, Clarke did the disciplined thing by punching - obvioiusly there was no voice so he took the safe option, allowing players to congregate around the ball following the throw in.

Holding the guys jumper, well in these times who hasn't been pinged for that? In fact, he was stiff to get caught because it was well before the ball arrived, and the guy cannoned into Blake's back. Plus it was monentary and had no influence on the play - not that that is the rule!

The kick in was a clanger, but Schnieder showed maturity by getting back to take the one that immediately followed.

Simply, as I said on another subject, look at the job he was asked to do.

What have you to say about Harvey being caught holding the ball after receiving a hospital handball?

Or Milne being behind his man, and being forced to lay a tackle instead of being the option of a forward in front - and not behind - his man?

There were about 25 free kicks paid against St Kilda.

[The_Dud]

The Dud, Clarke did the disciplined thing by punching - obvioiusly there was no voice so he took the safe option, allowing players to congregate around the ball following the throw in.

Holding the guys jumper, well in these times who hasn't been pinged for that? In fact, he was stiff to get caught because it was well before the ball arrived, and the guy cannoned into Blake's back. Plus it was monentary and had no influence on the play - not that that is the rule!

when he punched the ball out of bounds it was blatantly deliberate, and he got pinged for it, rightly so. should have taken the mark, 5 meters in the clear

and one thing that annoys me about all backmen, not just him, is holding the jumper. the coach should sit down the back line before each game, and drill into their heads "Do not hold your opponents jumper or put your hands anywhere near their back!" It is one of the most frustrating things to watch

The thing is, he aint getting any better, really. These were the same things we were arguing about 2 years ago. I know its a NAB cup game, and I have no problem with playing him in that role, but IMO he hasn't shown enough to get a game in the proper season ahead of blokes like CJ, Blake, Geary, Armo or even Fiora or Birss

[Spinner]

The Dud, Clarke did the disciplined thing by punching - obvioiusly there was no voice so he took the safe option, allowing players to congregate around the ball following the throw in.

Holding the guys jumper, well in these times who hasn't been pinged for that? In fact, he was stiff to get caught because it was well before the ball arrived, and the guy cannoned into Blake's back. Plus it was monentary and had no influence on the play - not that that is the rule!

when he punched the ball out of bounds it was blatantly deliberate, and he got pinged for it, rightly so. should have taken the mark, 5 meters in the clear

and one thing that annoys me about all backmen, not just him, is holding the jumper. the coach should sit down the back line before each game, and drill into their heads "Do not hold your opponents jumper or put your hands anywhere near their back!" It is one of the most frustrating things to watch

The thing is, he aint getting any better, really. These were the same things we were arguing about 2 years ago. I know its a NAB cup game, and I have no problem with playing him in that role, but IMO he hasn't shown enough to get a game in the proper season ahead of blokes like CJ, Blake, Geary, Armo or even Fiora or Birss

I would suggest that Raph Clakre isn't in competition for spots against CJ, Fiora, Geary, Armo or Birss.....So your opinion on weather those players have past R Clarke or not is insignificant.

[Huzzad]

If Raph gets a game this year I will be very disappointed in the selectors.

Sorry to say it, but I agree. Not a fan of Raph at all. Very average game on Friday night, his mistakes were silly and 30 games or not, the rules are pretty obvious. That's still 26 more games than Clint Jones and 29 (?) games more than Armitage, yet these players have shown good grasp of the game with far less experience (different positions true, but you can't honestly blame a decision going against you for blatant holding on inexperience).

Sorry, but I've seen enough of Raph. He is talented, but not enough. He does not have the footy smarts to compete at this level. May have 30 games, but that is plenty of time to make your mark on the game.

Sorry, but I do not want to hear another excuse for this boy. On field performance means more than words I am afraid.

[theghostfromgronggrong]

If Raph gets a game this year I will be very disappointed in the selectors.

Sorry to say it, but I agree. Not a fan of Raph at all. Very average game on Friday night, his mistakes were silly and 30 games or not, the rules are pretty obvious. That's still 26 more games than Clint Jones and 29 (?) games more than Armitage, yet these players have shown good grasp of the game with far less experience (different positions true, but you can't honestly blame a decision going against you for blatant holding on inexperience).

Sorry, but I've seen enough of Raph. He is talented, but not enough. He does not have the footy smarts to compete at this level. May have 30 games, but that is plenty of time to make your mark on the game.

Sorry, but I do not want to hear another excuse for this boy. On field performance means more than words I am afraid.

And just how many games of Raphs have u actually seen?

What other opinions do u have about things that u see on TV?

What do u think of Toadies performance on Neighbours?

[saint66au]

May have 30 games, but that is plenty of time to make your mark on the game.

Sorry, but I do not want to hear another excuse for this boy. On field performance means more than words I am afraid.

The first sentence is just nonsense..and the second..well blosk your ears then because I will defend Saints players to the hilt whether you weant to hear it or not.

I KNEW as soon as Raph punched that ball out of bounds that somone would come on here and crucify him for it

[St DAC]

but IMO he hasn't shown enough to get a game in the proper season ahead of blokes like CJ, Blake, Geary, Armo or even Fiora or Birss

The only one of those Raph's not in fromt of would be Blake, who seems to be an automatic selection due no doubt to his versatility and engine.

To suggest that mifielders like CJ, geary, Armo, Fiz or Birss are better value than Raph as a defender is to compare snakes to elephants.

I agree Friday wasn't his best game, but I've seen Max, Glass, Scarlett, Rutten et al all pinged for a jumper tug. Are you suggesting they're muppets too?

He's not a key defender but a third tall/flanker. That's who to compare him with.

[Animal Enclosure]

All of those stating that they will disappointed if Raph gets a senior game better prepare themselves for some tears.

Raph is very highly rated by Lyon & will play 22+ games this year barring injury.

As other have stated, having some experience around will help Raph iron out the errors he occasionally makes.

[saintsRrising]

Competition is fierce for the backline this year...and will be tougher again when dempser recovers.....

For Back Pocket or Back flank we have possibles of:

S Fisher, Gram, BJ, Blake, Geary, Raph, L Fisher, Baker, Gilbert

That is nine players for four spots...maybe ten if RL decisdes to train Armo up there!!!

For Round One...Goose may be out...so there are five spots....

But in either scenario all nine cannot make it....either allowing that some may snare another spot in the team including on the bench.

[maverick]

Raph really is the whipping boy on here now isn't he.
I have given it to Raph in a game or two because of perceived lack of effort, which is a pet hate, however, I believe I have been too tough.

Raph is playing the in the backline and as a tall, with little consistency in his game time over any lengthy period and we expect him to make no mistakes, dominate games and hold down FB or CHB.

The guy is definitely in our best 22 and if he does in fact hold down a regular spot and play more than 18-20 games for the year, most people on here will be pleasantly suprised.

Does anyone on here remember Sam Fisher's first 20 odd games, and he was fit. Look at him now.

[Zed]

I dont know if he makes more clangers than others (maybe he does) .. but they certainly are more memorable than anybody elses.

I like Raph - does take the good releiving pack mark from time to time and the good punch from behind.

He has more positives than negatives - we must persist with him as eventually his clanger count will reduce as he gets more game time.