Article on Hunter Clarke

[st sandy]

Puff piece - however all good news & he appears to be in a good place.
It will be interesting to see how & where he is played - whether more through the middle.




Operating table to trade table to fresh start: The Saint due for a change of fortune
Michael Gleeson
ByMichael Gleeson
March 5, 2023 — 7.25pm

Hunter Clark had to wonder: when does a freak accident stop being freakish? Is it after the third incident? The fourth?

After four collisions in eight games left him finishing matches with doctors not teammates, he concluded it must be after at least five. He also concluded his bad luck must be due to change.


Hunter Clark winces in pain during the AAMI Community series match between St Kilda and Essendon last year.CREDIT:GETTY IMAGES

Clark had three major surgeries from a handful of games between round 13, 2021 to round 16, last year. First it was a broken jaw, then his AC joint, then a broken nose. And then there was the head clash with teammate Dan Butler, after which he was stretchered off.

The consolation was that while he had been injured, it had been due to accidents, not his body breaking down.

“It did take a toll on me, but I think the thing with it was they were all kind of freak accidents. I know my body wasn’t giving up on me or breaking down, they were just collision injuries,” he said.

“In saying that, collectively they took a toll. I think in eight games I had those three injuries and a concussion.

“It’s a hard one because you are not thinking about getting a head knock, it’s just freakish accidents.

Hunter Clark at a recent St Kilda boxing session.CREDIT:AFL PHOTOS

“I did my jaw first and coming back from that I didn’t think about it at all, and kind of the same with the shoulder ... then I broke my nose and I think four out of eight games I had had a big head knock or collision. So coming back into it a few weeks later it’s not on my mind, but it rattles your confidence a little bit.

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“But having the summer now and clean health for the summer and getting back to doing those things you get that confidence [back].”

By the end of last year Clark felt due for a change of fortune. He hoped it would be the reset of a full pre-season; he didn’t anticipate more significant change. But in football, circumstances can be taken out of your hands.

Hunter Clark had his jaw broken in this sickening collision with Adelaide’s David Mackay in 2021.CREDIT:CHANNEL SEVEN

Firstly, he was on a plane overseas when news broke that Brett Ratten had been sacked as coach and before long, Ross Lyon appointed.

Meanwhile, his name was raised as a possible trade to North Melbourne. The Roos flagged they had significant interest in Clark, which was news to the player, who had not shown an interest in moving anywhere.

While the Saints resisted initially, they were attracted late on the last day of the trade period to the possibility of packaging up Clark with pick nine to get pick three from North. This time it was the Roos who resisted.

For Clark, it was all like a conversation about him that was going on without him.

“It was a bit different, nothing I had ever experienced or really thought I would ever have to experience, but it all came around pretty quickly. I wasn’t too sure what was going to happen, but I was stoked to still be at St Kilda, really love Ross, [assistant coaches] Lenny [Hayes], BJ [Brendon Goddard], Harves [Robert Harvey] and Corey [Enright],” said Clark, who was pick seven in the 2017 draft.

Ross Lyon has returned for his second stint as the Saints’ senior coach.CREDIT:GETTY IMAGES

“All the new coaches that have come in have given me a fresh start as well. I have loved the new change at the club.

“I got the clean start without leaving the club. I didn’t even think about needing to change club, stuff came out all of a sudden. With the new coaches I feel like I have been drafted again.”

Lyon has told Clark he wants him in the midfield, and he has trained there all summer. Like the rest of the Saints he has worked harder and is fitter than before. Partly he knew he had to be fitter to play more midfield.

He has had some time playing half-back, but he has his eyes on the midfield, working closely with Hayes. “It just feels like a fresh start. I’m feeling good.”

[skeptic]

Good article.

Interesting to read that they’ve got him earmarked for the midfield.

We’ve all had him pegged as a potential midfield star but it’s felt like he hasn’t got close to the same level of fitness since 2020… not that he’s been able to stay on the park for all that long (really has been unlucky hasn’t he).

Seems like they’ve been putting him through his paces which is great to read.

Might be a solid pick for most improved.

[Scollop]

https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/ope ... 5cph2.html

[The Fireman]

one tough barstard

[cwrcyn]

"I have loved the new change at the club"

One little sentence speaks volumes

[shanegrambeau]

Needs a Nathan Burke helmet.

[whiskers3614]

Needs a Nathan Burke helmet.

needs to lose E on the end of Clark!

[saynta]

Needs a Nathan Burke helmet.

needs to lose E on the end of Clark!

Yep, you would think posters would be able to spell his name by now,

Also very interested to hear the true story behind the aborted attempt by the Saints to trade him. Would have been a significant mistake.

[saynta]

Needs a Nathan Burke helmet.

needs to lose E on the end of Clark!

Yep, you would think posters would be able to spell his name by now,

Also very interested to hear the true story behind the aborted attempt by the Saints to trade him. Would have been a significant mistake.

[Sanctorum]

Always thought Hunter Cklark had that special edge of class, reminds me a lot of Dal Santo with his smooth weaving running and silky skills delivering the ball into attack.

Was delighted to see him used as a mid last Friday and if he fires that will give the side much needed spark at stoppages.

If he fires in 2023 he will progress to elite status in the comp.