I Can See Cleary Now….the doubt has gone

[josie]

Looking back at the Season 2024 Predictions thread, I was the only the only poster to nominate Cleary as their bolter.

I'm a year out, but I just want to brag about my football acumen.

He's always been a good decision-maker and user at VFL level and was solid in the few opportunities he was given in the seniors.

Take a bow (wow bow wow). Seriously though, good on ya.

[Garbs_7]

Just popping in to say great thread title, and I was absolutely wrong about Cleary. Has developed into a very reliable mid sized defender with nice skills and solid pace, doing everything we hoped we would get from Coffield.

[SonofScray]

Meats and potatoes HBF, with a little bit of pepper.

[Pedro Sanchez]

Yep I agree with these comments. I for one wrote him off and didnt thinnk he'd make it. Happy to be proven wrong and hoping he plays the next 150 games for us in the back pocket/flank area. Defintely a thinking man's player.

[Uninformed]

Looking back at the Season 2024 Predictions thread, I was the only poster to nominate Cleary as their bolter.

I'm a year out, but I just want to brag about my football acumen.

He's always been a good decision-maker and user at VFL level and was solid in the few opportunities he was given in the seniors.

Shout out to Prince Imperial for prognosticative perfection!

Wasn't obvious. So well picked.

He appears to have genuine pace and can compete with talls in marking contests. Good skills, calm decision making. Ideal for the role.

[jazzadogs]

He just looked an honest player without any standout features in previous seasons.

I think the comment that he is what we hoped Coffield would be is a good one.

He's got the spot, now the challenge is to keep it!

[TysonC]

I haven't had the chance to rewatch the game and focus on how he dealt with Toby Greene in particular but was it Cleary who had the job on him? If so it was probably the least impactful game I can think of that involved Greene for a long time, his two goals were absolute garbage in the goal square that no defender could do anything about (also unsure if it was a valid free kick for his first one, although my memory might be wrong).

[Bornadog]

I haven't had the chance to rewatch the game and focus on how he dealt with Toby Greene in particular but was it Cleary who had the job on him? If so it was probably the least impactful game I can think of that involved Greene for a long time, his two goals were absolute garbage in the goal square that no defender could do anything about (also unsure if it was a valid free kick for his first one, although my memory might be wrong).

That free to Greene was rubbish

[Uninformed]

I haven't had the chance to rewatch the game and focus on how he dealt with Toby Greene in particular but was it Cleary who had the job on him? If so it was probably the least impactful game I can think of that involved Greene for a long time, his two goals were absolute garbage in the goal square that no defender could do anything about (also unsure if it was a valid free kick for his first one, although my memory might be wrong).

On screen Greene was made to look ineffectual. Not sure if it was Cleary, but he looks to be the right type to check a Greene or a Fritz.

[jeemak]

Yeah Cleary is a good example of why it's silly to put lines through players who are progressing. There were calls around here for him to seek a trade because he was being treated unfairly in his second year, not getting games. Then last year it was all about wanting him off the list because he wasn't progressing.

The game is changing, players are developing later, they're playing longer. Rhylee West is only getting better in his seventh season of footy and I think Cleary will follow a similar path with training put into him.

I appreciate there's a perception we've traditionally held onto players for too long, and it's been proved correct in some instances, but I think things are changing.

[Mantis]

I was underwhelmed with him pre-season but he's fit in well in the real stuff. Hope he keeps it up because we have role for him

Underwhelmed in your assessment that he could be a solid contributor or by how he performed in the preseason?

I thought his performance in our preseason game against Haw was a good sign to what he might be able to do this year.

[Happy Days]

Not that it’s possible to look into this but some of us have not wavered on Cleary. He’s always seemed up to the level and pretty reliable every time we’ve picked him.

[hujsh]

Underwhelmed in your assessment that he could be a solid contributor or by how he performed in the preseason?

I thought his performance in our preseason game against Haw was a good sign to what he might be able to do this year.

I though he seemed a little off the pace without getting punished for it and assumed that in a real match he would have been punished for a few fumbles etc. That has not happened in the real matches and I'm happy to say I was wrong there.

[The bulldog tragician]

Has to be in contention for Thread Title of the Year Josie.

i too was a non believer. I always thought he looked unconfident and indecisive. I think it’s pretty impressive that after such an awful concussion he’s continued to attack the footy strongly, a mark running against the flight of the ball comes to mind. Hope he becomes one of those indispensable types and none of us can ever recall being anything but 100% on board as a Cleary fan.

[ibonttobreakfree]

I wonder if it's an intentional list management strategy to invest a few spots in some slow burners that take a little longer to develop. I don't follow other lists that closely but sometimes it feels like we hang onto some players longer than other clubs do.