Clarko laments loss of variety

HAWTHORN coach Alastair Clarkson says the state of the game is wiping out certain types of players including second rucks and wingmen.

Clarkson has welcomed the debate about the congestion crisis and said efforts to tighten up on incorrect disposal and holding the ball free kicks would help spread the game.

He said the emphasis on strong-bodied midfielders to win repeat midfield contests in today’s game was removing the need for other types of players. Clarkson said wingmen, key forwards and more highly skilled but smaller midfielders were “falling out of the game” and that the game was seeing “too much of the same sort of player”.

“There’s an emphasis now on having strength through the middle of the ground,” Clarkson said. “Gone are the Gerard Healy types of players, the ruck-rover who was sixfoot-two or three, who was highly skilled but real athletes.

“I’m not saying these bigger fellas aren’t athletes, but they are big brutes and it is not uncommon at a centre bounce to see a ruckman who is 200cm and two big-bodied midfielders weighing 95kg.

“That’s very different to what the game was when I grew up. That doesn’t mean it has to return to that. There are lots of things about the game that have to move on.

“But there are some we want to retain as well. We are losing wingmen, losing rovers, there is a push now that we are losing our key forwards, our second ruck is nearly gone in the game.

“Now, nearly every club in the competition is using a sixfoot-two quasi ruckman.

“Our game doesn’t look like the game where we used all sorts of shapes and sizes to play. And we are starting to lose that.”

Clarkson said the conversation about congestion was healthy.

“I’m really encouraged by the debate and the discussion and a lot of people … having a look at it and coming up with what is the best solution,” he said. “I think we have a fantastic product, it just needs some tweaks and in my view the tweaks aren’t even changes.”

He said an example was to be tougher on only two or three holding the ball decisions per quarter to help spread congestion and increase the flow of play.