Clark could tread path of Selwood
DRAFT STAR BONDED WITH JOEL
THE footy gods must love a bit of irony.
As part of Geelong’s whirlwind trade period success, the reigning premier now holds pick No. 7 heading into the draft – its highest draft pick since 2006, when it selected Joel Selwood.
Selwood’s swan song came in the 2022 grand final as he capped a historic career, but making matters even more poetic is the possibility the Cats, with that pick, select Jhye Clark, who not only models himself on the premiership captain but has forged a bond with the retired star.
“I was there for a week in the pre-season,” the Geelong Falcons midfielder told foxfooty.com.au.
“He helped us with centrebounce work and stuff like that and then with leadership because (talent manager and former Cats star) Tom Lonergan at the Falcons, he’s obviously got a pretty good relationship with him and (TLA talent manager) Dylan Hodge. That’s how we kind of met up for a coffee and then just exchanged phone numbers and went from there.”
Selwood could well have been forgiven for thinking he had stumbled upon a time capsule containing his younger self. Clark boasts a hard edge to his play, with a toughness around the contest and a desire to work both ways.
“I’m a pretty competitive player,” Clark said. “I’m a pretty small midfielder for these days.
“I like to get in and under and get my own ball. At the same time, I’ve improved on my uncontested ball as well. “I love to work back defensively and that’s something I pride myself on, that two-way running.”
Adding to the similarities is a considerable focus on leadership.
“Definitely leading by example on the field has come naturally,” he said, “but I’ve had to work on the stuff off the field. Definitely this year, it’s something that I’ve had a key focus on.”
Perhaps like Selwood, Clark’s early problems are perhaps going too hard, rather than not hard enough.
“It’s more not trying to think about it too much going into it,” Clark said of feedback from coaches regarding his pre-game speeches. “Just say what comes at the time. You don’t really want to think about it too much and let it overtake your game and then you get extra nervous.”
Clark is already forging a name for himself, having been selected as a rover in the NAB AFL National Championships Under-18 Boys AllAustralian side.
Still, the Queenscliff local has much to learn and would have done so through nuggets of wisdom from Selwood during their catch-up.
“It was more along the lines of what the likes of him and ‘Patty’ Dangerfield do to get separation off their opponents and he positions they get to,” he said.
“I’ve always loved watching him and I think as much as people talk about him, he’s pretty underrated. I think he’s one of the best midfielders of all time, just how courageous and tough he is.”