Myth on Hunter Clark pure nonsense

[B.M]

So why isn’t he a A Grader

Skill? No
Courage? No
Ball Winning? No

There is nothing wrong with his ability, he’s a talented footballer

Fitness
Endurance?
Power?
Speed?

Question marks obviously exist because he’s not where he should be!

Combine Hunters ability with Coffields physical attributes and you have a Christian Petracca like star

[Vortex]

So why isn’t he a A Grader

Skill? No
Courage? No
Ball Winning? No

There is nothing wrong with his ability, he’s a talented footballer

Fitness
Endurance?
Power?
Speed?

Question marks obviously exist because he’s not where he should be!

Combine Hunters ability with Coffields physical attributes and you have a Christian Petracca like star

if you park up the debate about why isn't he an A grader, the fact of the matter is, he is expected to be A grade for a DP7.

He needs get in the midfield and get to work and get all of his numbers up this year.

We will know by round 4 to 6 if he has any growth towards A grade.

[maverick]

Of course he should be an A grader, it was a good draft.
He’s barely a B grader, would he even be in our top 10 -12 picked?
If he’s hitting his fitness goals there may lie the issue, we recruited him to be a mid, he’s not.
We are desperate for A grade midfield talent, we need him to deliver beyond bog average

[maverick]

You are allowed that opinion maverick but a poster has debunked (offered another opinion) the myth that Clark is not working hard enough. Have you seen him skipping sessions, not reaching his targets as set by the fitness staff?

Why is he an A grader? Is that your expectation? Can he be a B grader and still be best 23 in a Premiership Team? I think he has qualities and abilities that make him best 23. Time will tell. My opinion.

Personally, and I recon I speak on behalf of all footy pundits, I'd like my pick 7s to be A graders, I'd like to think our recruiters feel the same.

Yep, especially in a good draft

[Vortex]

You are allowed that opinion maverick but a poster has debunked (offered another opinion) the myth that Clark is not working hard enough. Have you seen him skipping sessions, not reaching his targets as set by the fitness staff?

Why is he an A grader? Is that your expectation? Can he be a B grader and still be best 23 in a Premiership Team? I think he has qualities and abilities that make him best 23. Time will tell. My opinion.

Personally, and I recon I speak on behalf of all footy pundits, I'd like my pick 7s to be A graders, I'd like to think our recruiters feel the same.

Yep, especially in a good draft

Ironically Jack Higgins could still become the best of our first round DPs from that 2017 draft. This year will decide a lot in that regard.

[WellardSaint]

Use the search function as follows:
User- tony74
Words: 'hunter gym embrace'

I won't post the hyperlink to the post, as I can't be bothered

[Devilhead]

Seems some on here are completely disregarding the fact that he had his jaw smashed to smithereens which incl nerve and dental damage in 2021 and had his nose smeared across his face last season as well having concussion issues and a shoulder problem ..... a horrific injury run

Guy needs to catch a break (pardon the pun)

He is all class and hopefully an extended run on the park will show just that

[Teflon]

So why isn’t he a A Grader

Skill? No
Courage? No
Ball Winning? No

There is nothing wrong with his ability, he’s a talented footballer

Fitness
Endurance?
Power?
Speed?

Question marks obviously exist because he’s not where he should be!

Combine Hunters ability with Coffields physical attributes and you have a Christian Petracca like star

if you park up the debate about why isn't he an A grader, the fact of the matter is, he is expected to be A grade for a DP7.

He needs get in the midfield and get to work and get all of his numbers up this year.

We will know by round 4 to 6 if he has any growth towards A grade.

Spot on!
I got one would love to see Billings finally step up to potential
Oh wait…

[Vortex]

So why isn’t he a A Grader

Skill? No
Courage? No
Ball Winning? No

There is nothing wrong with his ability, he’s a talented footballer

Fitness
Endurance?
Power?
Speed?

Question marks obviously exist because he’s not where he should be!

Combine Hunters ability with Coffields physical attributes and you have a Christian Petracca like star

if you park up the debate about why isn't he an A grader, the fact of the matter is, he is expected to be A grade for a DP7.

He needs get in the midfield and get to work and get all of his numbers up this year.

We will know by round 4 to 6 if he has any growth towards A grade.

Spot on!
I got one would love to see Billings finally step up to potential
Oh wait…

Spot on Teffers, I totally agree.

[Impatient Sainter]

Ok guys, to all on this forum who think Hunter Clark doesn’t do gym work, take it to the bank he does his weights like every other player on our list!
He just doesn’t put on muscle, similar to Michael Tuck, Dean Laidley, Farren Ray, Ken Hunter etc.

Apologies Mike I came across a bit 'over the top' with my earlier responses. I understand what you are communicating, but I think Hunters make up is a bit difference from the individuals you have mentioned. In any event lets hope he can shake his injury history and have a break out year???

I dont believe any of us Saints supporters want to see him fail!

[Sanctorum]

I've always considered Hunter Clark to be a clone of Nick Dal Santo, he regularly finds space and purrs along smoothly like a Rolls Royce, invariably delivering the ball to a team mate.

Like Dal, he does not need to become a muscle man, his forte is high skill levels finding and distributing the ball, one of the best in the side.

In June 2021 Clark suffered a shockinh head injury in a collission with Adelaide's David Mackay that cost him 6 games and was desribed by Tom Browne as follows:

"The injury to Hunter Clark is staggering, even by broken jaw standards," Browne said.

"It’s basically a crack from the bottom of his front teeth down to the bottom of his jaw, and from the back a separate crack from the back of his teeth to the point of the jaw, which means in effect part of the jaw was I guess you could say hanging off, and that’s what it looks like in the scans that Hunter Clark got back."

He ended up playing just 13 games in 2021.

In 2022 Clark missed the start of the season due to an off-season shoulder reconstruction (result from an in jury), was seriiously concussed mid-season and played just 8 games for the year.

I am quite sure that once he regains full fitness this year Hunter Clark will become one of the team's elite running machines - furthermore, Alastair Clarkson was hell bent on bringing Clark on to his list at North, which in my view suggests he is highly rated!

[Otiman]

The best way to get a lazy person to do more is to berate them and call them lazy, that'll show em!

[saint6709]

I’m pretty sure that all supporters will at the end of the day want the same thing as I do re Hunter Clark - we want him to be a champion of the game and help the saints become the dominant team of the competition for years to come

And as much as I’m loving the talk and the images about guys like Mason Wood and Jack Bytel as being ripped and ready to go ( I also want them to be champions of the game and part of st Kilda’s years of domination)

But who has the ball and is in acres of space ? Maybe he can do footy ?

https://www.saints.com.au/albums/126431 ... istSize=10

Image 2

[saynta]

The best way to get a lazy person to do more is to berate them and call them lazy, that'll show em!

And just who do you suggest is a lazy person?

[bobmurray]

Ok guys, to all on this forum who think Hunter Clark doesn’t do gym work, take it to the bank he does his weights like every other player on our list!
He just doesn’t put on muscle, similar to Michael Tuck, Dean Laidley, Farren Ray, Ken Hunter etc.

I hope he isn't too similar to Dean Laidley, that's a tough gig mentally, i think.

[B.M]

Dean Laidley was ripped

Not an ounce of fat!!!

No one wants Hunter to be a beefcake

But want him to lose body fat and have some definition.

Being skinny isn’t the problem - it’s lack of muscle tone - not size

Most likely diet related combined with not working hard enough aerobically

It’s obvious he is not as fit or as professional as Windhager
One is a pro works harder and has a lean physique
The other cruises and has not got an AFL body

Hunter is not an aerobic beast, nor does he do enough work to change that

Bytel has

[B.M]

And I rate Clark highly

[nostalgicsaint]

Hasn't exactly had an uninterrupted run at it. Both physically but also in terms of spending time eating through a straw and in hospital.

It takes time to build muscle/look ripped.

If he has a good run between now and this time next year we should judge him then. Until then we should be happy to have him back- clear best 18 player for mine.

[Gershwin]

I’m going to stay optimistic with Clark and Coffield. If they can show their full potential this year it will be huge for our chances of making the finals.

[Crossy66]

I’m going to stay optimistic with Clark and Coffield. If they can show their full potential this year it will be huge for our chances of making the finals.

Coffield will miss a few games at the start with that hammy. I think Hunter looks strong so I don't think his physique is an issue. I worry more about how he leans forward & lunges at the ball with his noggin in the wrong place is a concern. He got collected high by Wood last Monday doing it.

[Saintmike65]

Ok guys, to all on this forum who think Hunter Clark doesn’t do gym work, take it to the bank he does his weights like every other player on our list!
He just doesn’t put on muscle, similar to Michael Tuck, Dean Laidley, Farren Ray, Ken Hunter etc.

Apologies Mike I came across a bit 'over the top' with my earlier responses. I understand what you are communicating, but I think Hunters make up is a bit difference from the individuals you have mentioned. In any event lets hope he can shake his injury history and have a break out year???

I dont believe any of us Saints supporters want to see him fail!

Reality is only a small percentage of sports people are absolutely driven to be the best they can be.
That is fanatical in their preparation.
Hunter isn’t one of them but we put extra expectations on early draft picks to be elite.
Hunter offers a point of difference to our mids and if he’s given a good run at it will be terrific for us.
Lenny really likes him, Windhager, Owens & Phillipou, so they will get every opportunity to excel.
Windhager, Owens & Phillipou are extremely driven so it will be fun to watch them this season!

[Saintmike65]

I watched Hunter Clark go about his business yesterday and was delighted to see him doing what he does best.
His class was apparent, with his vision & movement a delight to watch.
People forget the severity of his injuries..I for one wish him all the very best!!

[The Fireman]

I watched Hunter Clark go about his business yesterday and was delighted to see him doing what he does best.
His class was apparent, with his vision & movement a delight to watch.
People forget the severity of his injuries..I for one wish him all the very best!!

some on here have no idea.. Clark is a gun
when I played Junior footy and later years involved heavily in local footy i would see players similar to clark come and go...he is the type of player I always wanted to emulate.

[skeptic]

I always thought that one of the quickest surefire ways to ruin a player’s rep is to play them repeatedly in a running role when they are severely down on match fitness.

GT did this with Raph Clarke really early on when he was so far off the pace that his opponents exploited the weakness severely, the fan based turned on him quickly and Raph lost all confidence in himself to an extent that he never again really looked the daring junior champ that we drafted.

Alternatively, Richo did a better job with Jack Steven after his initial big personal problems lay off where they brought him back as a forward pocket with really brief bursts through the middle.
Steven was able to use his explosiveness and great finishing to effect without his lack of running being exploited.

Hunter was a bit of a victim of this on his return late on the season. Watching him get 8-9 touches in the first half against Brisbane followed by 2 quarters of being 3m behind the play, chasing the ball and struggling to get in the same postcode as the play… especially in games that really mattered.

Ultimately the critiques were hard because of the injuries he sustained but it’s really fed into the perception that he hasn’t worked hard enough to reach the level we all know he could be.

To this day, I’ve read little to no forumite here suggest that he doesn’t have ability, great disposal, decision making and other Dal Santo but tougher like qualities.
But I’ve read a lot of his fitness is terrible and he’s not working hard enough at it type critiques.

Forumites have suggested he’s not leaned or toned enough… others point out that you seldom read reports about how he’s burning the track up like Coffield… but finally, in January 2023 the word coming through the training reports is that he’s busting a gut.

Peak Clark is a match winner. Hope we can see a bit of it in 2023

[SaintPav]

Good to hear HC is training well.

Wasn’t it reported on here that Hunter was given the rocket at his exit interview at the end of last season? He didn’t take it too well and was looking to go to Norf who are still sniffing around apparently.