Which player is first to get a game?

[mjp]

Everyone I have known with the surname Gallagher has been called Gags and I actually have no idea why that's a thing.

I think Liam gets called Liam and Noel is Noel. :-)

People voting for Clarke - I sorta get it. But can you please tell me who he is selected ahead of.

Forward line:

Naughton, JUH, Lobbe, Bruce, Weightman, JJ, Garcia, West, B. Smith, Hannan, Khamis, Bedendo...

I just can't see how an inexperienced 18yo is selected right now.

Do I think there is some unique stuff about his skillset that fits? Yep.
Do I think he can bridge the gap between playing under-age footy with the 3-2 rule to playing senior footy with its 'empty out' mentality and somehow learn to re-position on the fly...not a chance in hell.

I sort of hope you're right because a genuine small forward is something we still lack but I can't see how he does this in a single off-season with a log-jam of players ahead of him.

[Bulldog Joe]

I think Liam gets called Liam and Noel is Noel. :-)

People voting for Clarke - I sorta get it. But can you please tell me who he is selected ahead of.

Forward line:

Naughton, JUH, Lobbe, Bruce, Weightman, JJ, Garcia, West, B. Smith, Hannan, Khamis, Bedendo...

I just can't see how an inexperienced 18yo is selected right now.

Do I think there is some unique stuff about his skillset that fits? Yep.
Do I think he can bridge the gap between playing under-age footy with the 3-2 rule to playing senior footy with its 'empty out' mentality and somehow learn to re-position on the fly...not a chance in hell.

I sort of hope you're right because a genuine small forward is something we still lack but I can't see how he does this in a single off-season with a log-jam of players ahead of him.

I went with Clarke because I feel he brings something different to all the other forward options.

He appears as the genuine crumber with forward nous.

He isn't a midfielder trying to shoe horn into a forward and he isn't a marking player flying against all those other marking options.

[mjp]

He isn't a midfielder trying to shoe horn into a forward and he isn't a marking player flying against all those other marking options.

Yeah, I get that (100%) but he's going from playing IN the forward line due to the 3-2 rule to basically playing up the ground as happens to all forwards at AFL level. It's a big adjustment.

[The Bulldogs Bite]

I think Liam gets called Liam and Noel is Noel. :-)

People voting for Clarke - I sorta get it. But can you please tell me who he is selected ahead of.

Forward line:

Naughton, JUH, Lobbe, Bruce, Weightman, JJ, Garcia, West, B. Smith, Hannan, Khamis, Bedendo...

I just can't see how an inexperienced 18yo is selected right now.

Do I think there is some unique stuff about his skillset that fits? Yep.
Do I think he can bridge the gap between playing under-age footy with the 3-2 rule to playing senior footy with its 'empty out' mentality and somehow learn to re-position on the fly...not a chance in hell.

I sort of hope you're right because a genuine small forward is something we still lack but I can't see how he does this in a single off-season with a log-jam of players ahead of him.

To be fair none of Garcia, West, Hannan, Khamis, Bedendo and Jones have shown enough to 'lock down' a spot. If he performs early, he'll be a chance on that fact alone.

There's competition for spots, but the quality of options is still debateable.

[Axe Man]

I think Liam gets called Liam and Noel is Noel. :-)

That's not what they call each other, but we can't probably publish that in a PG environment.

[Bulldog Joe]

Yeah, I get that (100%) but he's going from playing IN the forward line due to the 3-2 rule to basically playing up the ground as happens to all forwards at AFL level. It's a big adjustment.

I do appreciate your point and you have more experience with this than most of us (me anyway), but occasionally things click for players coming in.

His point of difference is probably the strongest of the untried players.

[hujsh]

I think Liam gets called Liam and Noel is Noel. :-)

People voting for Clarke - I sorta get it. But can you please tell me who he is selected ahead of.

Forward line:

Naughton, JUH, Lobbe, Bruce, Weightman, JJ, Garcia, West, B. Smith, Hannan, Khamis, Bedendo...

I just can't see how an inexperienced 18yo is selected right now.

Do I think there is some unique stuff about his skillset that fits? Yep.
Do I think he can bridge the gap between playing under-age footy with the 3-2 rule to playing senior footy with its 'empty out' mentality and somehow learn to re-position on the fly...not a chance in hell.

I sort of hope you're right because a genuine small forward is something we still lack but I can't see how he does this in a single off-season with a log-jam of players ahead of him.

I get where you're coming from but we see McNeil get games regularly as a pressure forward and while I like him those games could well be snapped up by Clarke this year as a more dangerous version of the same archetype.

All it'd take is some good form and an injury to JJ and one other (Hannan or West for example) with some bad form elsewhere.