Travis Cloke?

[Mofra]

He's the best contested mark in the game and a genuine power forward. If GWS is out of the race as per media claims, there's no harm in asking the question.

[bornadog]

He's the best contested mark in the game and a genuine power forward. If GWS is out of the race as per media claims, there's no harm in asking the question.

I think the one issue for us, might be that Freo want to offer him a 5 year contract which is a huge risk. But then again you have to live in Perth

[Ghost Dog]

I think the one issue for us, might be that Freo want to offer him a 5 year contract which is a huge risk. But then again you have to live in Perth

Tarrant came out and highlighted that issue didn't he? You are right. It's a big commitment.

The other thing is - Is there not a slight advantage in developing our own key forwards?
It allows the younger players to gel with the younger forwards and work as a team.
All I'm saying is, necessity is the mother of invention and up pops Dickson - other solutions will come. Jones will come along,
as will Cordy. For the price of Cloke we can sure up our backline which is a concern as well. Williams has suspect shoulders.
Marko is a toiler but not a Lake. Lake is towards the end, more than the beginning.

[1eyedog]

We cannot possibly be in position to offer him more than 1M as suggested, if we are we are better off spending the money elsewhere and looking for someone half his wage to support Jones.

[bornadog]

The other thing is - Is there not a slight advantage in developing our own key forwards? .

In your years of following the dogs, how many great forwards have we developed?

Since 1970, I can think of Bernie Quinlan and we lost him, Kelvin Templeton and we lost him (thank god his knee was bung), and Chris Grant. So in 42 years three players.

Maybe I missed someone, but great forwards are a rarity.

I would love to see Jones and Cloke play together.

[bornadog]

We cannot possibly be in position to offer him more than 1M as suggested, if we are we are better off spending the money elsewhere and looking for someone half his wage to support Jones.

Why can't we for once in our history get a player of his calibre instead of someone at the end of their career. Who is this someone at half his wage and probably half his ability?

[Ghost Dog]

In your years of following the dogs, how many great forwards have we developed?

Since 1970, I can think of Bernie Quinlan and we lost him, Kelvin Templeton and we lost him (thank god his knee was bung), and Chris Grant. So in 42 years three players.

Maybe I missed someone, but great forwards are a rarity.

I would love to see Jones and Cloke play together.

Dickson and Jones + Cordy. Once they develop, that's a pretty gun forward line.

BUT on the other hand, what a PR coup for the club if they can get Cloke?

[Murphy'sLore]

Not worth it, we are a few years off having a real crack. The club would be better off spending the money elsewhere.

[bornadog]

Jones + Cordy. Once they develop, that's a pretty gun forward line. ?

If they develop, they are a long way off at this stage. Both are 20/21 years old and have loads of potential, But I have seen this so many times before. Fingers crossed. Dickson is not a KPF, he is a HFF.

Cloke is ready made and proven.

[Greystache]

In your years of following the dogs, how many great forwards have we developed?

Since 1970, I can think of Bernie Quinlan and we lost him, Kelvin Templeton and we lost him (thank god his knee was bung), and Chris Grant. So in 42 years three players.

Maybe I missed someone, but great forwards are a rarity.

I would love to see Jones and Cloke play together.

Simon Beasley was pretty handy.

I agree with your view though, we should be as well placed as any club in the AFL to get Cloke. Our vets are retiring or being put on the vets lists, our mid-age players bar one or two are average at best, and the rest of the list are kids who haven't done anything. Unless we're dramatically overpaying foot soldiers we should be able to get Cloke easily.

I just hope the group running the club don't have the same pauper outlook as many of our supporters- take 3rd best and hope one day we might end up with 2nd best.

[Greystache]

If they develop, they are a long way off at this stage. Both are 20/21 years old and have loads of potential, But I have seen this so many times before. Fingers crossed. Dickson is not a KPF, he is a HFF.

Cloke is ready made and proven.

Also in 5 years when Cloke is ready to retire those two will be 26 and just hitting the peak of their careers.

[The Bulldogs Bite]

It's an interesting one.

I'd absolutely love Cloke to play for us, naturally -- he's without doubt the best forward in the game. His work rate and contested marking is absolutely phenomenal.

My concern is that at 25 he isn't quite suited to us. We look like being 3 years off (at least), and at that age Cloke would be 28 going on 29. With the way he plays, I am not so sure he'll still be so dominant.

Riewoldt is a case in point. His body has tired considerably in the last 12 months and I assume he is around that 28-30 mark? It could be possible that because of the way these two play, Cloke will fall into a similar trap.

It's also a hell of a lot of money and it might be a short term fix to avoid doing what we desperately need to: rebuild the list.

[1eyedog]

Why can't we for once in our history get a player of his calibre instead of someone at the end of their career. Who is this someone at half his wage and probably half his ability?

I would have taken Setanta for nothing to support Jones/Cordy.

Good ordinary forwards like Minton-Connell and James Cook excelled with a strong midfield and provided strong foward targets in 1996 where we were a kick away from a Grand Final. Are we going to win a flag in the next three years with a Travis Cloke? I don't think so, he's not the answer, he's not a big goal kicker, his on-field body language is terrible, his best is the best in the competition but his worse is quite ordinary and I want him at my club about as much as I wanted Fevola.

Spend the money getting a promising young key back to support Williams (it's looking scary down there post Lake/Hargrave/Morris) and another outside mid to support Dahlhaus and options for Libba/Smith/Wallis in the centre, who are the future mids of the club. We have two key forward prospects now, down back is where the problem will be in two years.

[Mantis]

As per TBB's post he shouldn't be on our radar. If we were going to be a contender next year then it's a yes, but we won't be so at his age it's an expensive exercise.

We should be focusing on using our 2 x top 6 or 8 picks at this draft to get the 'A' grade types we need.

[bornadog]

Simon Beasley was pretty handy.

Beasley was great, I didn't include him because we didn't develop him, although he did come to us from a lesser competition, so debatable.

I just hope the group running the club don't have the same pauper outlook as many of our supporters- take 3rd best and hope one day we might end up with 2nd best.

Reading the posts so far in this thread, I am afraid that will be the case