Mitch Clark - would you do it?

[The Doctor]

Mitch Clark may be available as a delisted free agent.

Rumour has it he is back in training and hoping for a fresh start. What's your verdict, Should we have a crack?

[bornadog]

Why not if he is mentally up to it.

[EasternWest]

Why not if he is mentally up to it.

Yep totally agree.

What I liked most about him at Melbourne was that he played like he was completely committed to the cause. No high paid primadonna antics.

[bulldogtragic]

Sometimes a fresh start is what we all need. Mitch seemed from some reporting to be struggling with expectation and the pressure of money and media. If he has reconciled those matters, or just needed a circuit breaker, then there's no real concern for mine. Nathan Thompson was is a similar position and was very good at his second AFL club. If he's fit, he's easily, easily, easily best 22 in our team and with our kids taking the media, if the reporting is right, we might just be a good fit. He'd be a great ambassador for our men's health program too.

[SlimPickens]

26 y.o. His best is very good. I thinks it's worth the enquiry.

[BulldogBelle]

Huge yes.

[jeemak]

From what I can gather he was in a pretty bad way, enough for him to walk away from an AFL club and a very lucrative deal while going to the press to help the public understand his plight.

With that in mind, I think it would be too soon for him to come back unless he had a lot of support around him and I don't think he'll get that with us, or just about any other club.

All things being equal he is a good player and would be great for any club (maybe apart from Sydney) to attain.

[ratsmac]

Football ability hell yes, however with his mental state sadly it's a no way. I have someone close to me battling depression and it's not something that goes away easily. I feel sorry for the man but it's a no from me.

[BornInDroopSt'54]

Football ability hell yes, however with his mental state sadly it's a no way. I have someone close to me battling depression and it's not something that goes away easily. I feel sorry for the man but it's a no from me.

Maybe a double dose of Effexor will give him the serotonin to ply his trade. I would definitely go hard for him if he puts himself on the market. He seemed to have all the bustle, skill and marking ability of BBBBH.

[lemmon]

I think the Dees deserve first crack and I can't imagine any club would stand in the way of them picking him up, but if he decided a fresh club would be the best thing for him I would throw the house and farm. Exactly the type of player we need and was just about to explode when he pulled out. Still think he has the potential to be a very good footballer.

[jeemak]

He's from WA. I couldn't see him doing anything in Victoria in light of the Melbourne issue, plus WA is likely to be the state where he gets more support.

[Raw Toast]

Yes, but not if we had to pay a heap to get him - as some others have noted, he's the kind of player we need, big strong and athletic but it's his injury history that worries me the most (as well as his price).

In terms of club cultures, I think we'd be a much better fit than a bigger club where the weight of expectations will be greater, plus Perth remains a fishbowl so not sure Freo or WC would help him that much...

[ledge]

Didn't he want to go home originally, then went to Melbourne?
A lot of theory's could be put forward, he went from one basket case to another.
AFL football is very demanding, I have no Idea on the exact reasons he stopped playing.
Maybe it was a family issue, does anyone know the exact problem?
Depending on what it was he might be ok now.. Slater managed to work through it, so many have depression but hide it.
Would definitely need a good mental strength test I would imagine.

[Hotdog60]

Although I think he would be a good pick up, I think he may well be on a high at the moment but depression can be a slippery slope that it may not take much to start sliding back down.
If he made the effort to get back in shape it would only take a reasonable longish injury to maybe send him backwards. If he want's to play footy maybe the WAFL might be more of a go.
Take a year to get back into the game and then try the draft if he is still up for it.

[azabob]

I am not so sure I'd look at him.

He has all the talent in the world but he is also very injury prone, from memory the foot in particular was giving him a lot of grief.

With him also being out of the game for an extended period of time, is he likely to get more injuries due to the physical nature and demands of AFL?

Regardless how he exited the game, I don't think he should just waltz back in and cherry pick which club he goes to.

That just does not sit right with me.

Melbourne invested a lot of time and money as well as high draft picks to get him to the club.