Welcome to the Western Bulldogs - Luke Cleary

[GVGjr]

Cleary needs to put on some size and strength otherwise he will just get some games when players are injured. A big preseason ahead of him.

[Go_Dogs]

Was mentioned a few times last night at the BnF despite not getting top 3 in the Footscray BnF (can't find the top ten anywhere but can't remember if he was in it or not). Quite humorously as the only player Libba could remember when trying to come up with a names of up and coming players.

Lol. What did Libba say?

[hujsh]

Lol. What did Libba say?

I don't think they put up his speach unfortunately but IIRC along the lines of 'there are some good younger blokes in the VFL coming through like Cleary and *long pause* there are others I just can't remember'

[kruder]

He doesn't do enough damage with ball in hand for mine.

[Scorlibo]

He has some limitations with his natural athleticism no doubt, but his strengths in decision making and composure are compelling. The MC's obviously leaned more on his limitations to this point in time. I'd like to see him given some opportunity to see where the ledger lies.

I wouldn't be expecting him to develop into a star by any means, but he's a valued member of the VFL side and it would be great to have another trusted contributor in the AFL side.

[Mofra]

I'm not even sure it's size, it's tank. He's going to take a while to build it but his ability to 'buy time' with ball in hand transfers well to AFL level.
I do wonder however how he fits in if (big IF) we get Coffield and Coffield magically gets his body right

[jeemak]

He has some limitations with his natural athleticism no doubt, but his strengths in decision making and composure are compelling. The MC's obviously leaned more on his limitations to this point in time. I'd like to see him given some opportunity to see where the ledger lies.

I wouldn't be expecting him to develop into a star by any means, but he's a valued member of the VFL side and it would be great to have another trusted contributor in the AFL side.

I'm not even sure it's size, it's tank. He's going to take a while to build it but his ability to 'buy time' with ball in hand transfers well to AFL level.
I do wonder however how he fits in if (big IF) we get Coffield and Coffield magically gets his body right

There were some suggesting that he should explore options due to not being played/ others favoured to fill gaps over the course of the season. But seeing him play at senior level in his one game and taking into account the above points, it's probable we have someone who could play at the highest level at least semi-regularly after working on strength, fitness/ stamina and execution/ decision making - but wasn't quite ready this year.

While there may be a few in front of him now things can change quickly. We'll be losing Crozier (who many said wasn't going to - or shouldn't - play this year, or last) and Duryea within 12 months, Coffield may not get on the park consistently if we land him. Luke just needs to keep working on his game/ the above, become a reliable depth player who takes his chances/ accounts for himself well, and within two years he could be a fixture of the team and on a better than normal late selection trajectory.

[hujsh]

There were some suggesting that he should explore options due to not being played/ others favoured to fill gaps over the course of the season. But seeing him play at senior level in his one game and taking into account the above points, it's probable we have someone who could play at the highest level at least semi-regularly after working on strength, fitness/ stamina and execution/ decision making - but wasn't quite ready this year.

While there may be a few in front of him now things can change quickly. We'll be losing Crozier (who many said wasn't going to - or shouldn't - play this year, or last) and Duryea within 12 months, Coffield may not get on the park consistently if we land him. Luke just needs to keep working on his game/ the above, become a reliable depth player who takes his chances/ accounts for himself well, and within two years he could be a fixture of the team and on a better than normal late selection trajectory.

Worth mentioning, because I'd forgotten, that he was an overager (19) at pick 61. For some reason I had the impression he'd gone earlier than that (probably his impressive debut game and VFL form)