#43,#18,#9 Marty Clarke

[~Madness~]

Well done young lad...

[Zakal]

[David]

This Westhoff guy seems pretty good, I wonder why he hasn't been nominated yet? I don't really keep up with the other teams, and yet this is a name I've heard quite regularly in the past couple of months.

[ad4eva]

i would say, if Cox and Goldy keeps playing they will both get nominations.

Coxy on the wing will be a revalation. Loved him at the stoppages.

[Mich@el]

I heard an interview on SEN today with Marty... mentioned how upset he was to be rejected when originally trying out with Brisbane! Apparantly he took some persuading to give it a 2nd go and join us!
Good bloody recruiting Collingwood!
Watch out Pendles - a rival for the rising star in the midst!

[Dave The Man]

Show How Stupid Lions were by Getting Beagly instead of Clarke.

Finally something went our way against the lions.

That for beating us in those 2 GF's

[Dave The Man]

Can someone put link up for that

[The Evil Kinevil]

Not really that hard to find, but anyway:

http://bigpondvideo.com/afl/38918

[Dave The Man]

Tried that but the dam buffering is annoying

[Zakal]

[Troppo]

Martin has confirmed Mick's belief in the boy but we cannot anticipate that the young Irishman will continue his stellar debut without a downer or 2. Nonetheless the more often he's out on the park, the more he's learning and with the strong support of our other players he will dance many a jig around any opposition.

At http://www.worldfootynews.com/article.php/20070702012252989#comments
you can see how big his rep is being established:

Clarke mania continues
Monday, July 02 2007 @ 01:22 AM EST
Contributed by: Brett

After a superb debut that had much of the AFL media buzzing, Irishman Martin Clarke has backed up with three goals and making Collingwood's best player list in just his second match. Although the Pies lost the blockbuster against Hawthorn by 8 points, it wasn't through lack of ability by Clarke who was his team's leading goalkicker and finished with 13 kicks, 6 handballs and 3 goals 1.
WFN has previously suggested that clubs that aren't actively seeking international recruits are probably doing themselves a disservice. In many ways it will be sad if the ranks of Gaelic football in Ireland are pillaged for young talent by AFL clubs, as their sport is major part of their culture and at least by appearances a very close cousin to Australian Football. But regardless, it seems likely that more than any Irish recruit before him, the almost instant success of Clarke will have club recruiters clamouring for tickets to the Emerald Isle.
One suspects the GAA may go rushing back to the negotiating table for a restart of International Rules so they have some leverage with the AFL to try to prevent a surge in player losses.
Given his auspicious start, Martin Clarke must be a good chance to receive a NAB Rising Star nomination. If his form keeps up, he could just be one of the top AFL stories of 2007.

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Clarke mania continues
Authored by: Troy Thompson on Monday, July 02 2007 @ 08:29 AM EST
I saw Clarke's efforts up close yesterday - and he was impressive. He did seem to cramp up again a little in the last quarter, but continued to push on. A few of his kicks may have had a little more height to them than those on the recieving end might have liked - but most were good. His kicking for goal was solid and convincing. And he didn't seem at all phased by a bit of physical stuff that the Hawks threw at him throughout the game.

[Kermit Brereton]

Marty's page on Wikipedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Clarke

[Kingswood]

i was told (by someone from here) that marty clarke will also probably get his number changed

[Dale61]

http://williamstown.footballvic.com.au/default.aspx?s=newsdisplay&aid=125033

Clarke the real deal, to be sure

By Terry Mallinder

LIKE most of the football world, Williamstown coach Brad Gotch is amazed by Collingwood rookie Marty Clarke.

The Irishman's remarkable rise from not having ever picked up an Aussie rules football to making his debut in the sport's elite competition was less than 10 months in the making.

After honing his skills at Williamstown, the former gaelic footballer capped an incredible entry into the AFL earlier this month when he was awarded a Rising Star award nomination.
He picked up 20 possessions in his Magpies debut in round 12 and then kicked three goals in his second game, against Hawthorn.

Clarke arrived in Australia in October and spent about six weeks under the guidance of Collingwood officials, including Gotch, also a Magpies assistant coach.

"He's a type of guy who's so driven by the passion to play Aussie rules footy,'' Gotch said of Clarke.
"He's devoted nearly every spare minute in the last eight months to making sure he masters the craft.
"He came out of Ireland as the best junior -- the Chris Judd. They were shattered to lose him.''

Gotch admitted, though, during those early practice sessions he "wasn't sure'' whether Clarke would make a quick transition from playing gaelic football to Aussie rules.

"There was no doubt he was a very talented individual in regards to execution of skills,'' he said.

"His kicking was a bit wobbly at times, but for a guy who was used to the round ball . . .
"He was picking up skills, he was learning very quickly, but I thought `gee, we'll have to wait until the practice games and see him in combat to see how he will deal with it'.''

Clarke played his first practice game for the Magpies against Sydney in February.

"He played okay, so I think he got confidence straight up,'' Gotch said.

"It was just a matter of trialling different things."
"Down at Williamstown we started him as backman, then we put him at half-forward, on-ball, wing. We gave him a few different roles so he could fast-track a little bit quicker, get an understanding of playing in different positions on the ground.''

Clarke played eight games with the Seagulls before stepping up for the Magpies.

Gotch said Clarke had the respect of all his Seagulls teammates.

"They could not help but be impressed by how well he's adapted to the game. They've just got the ultimate respect for him. He's a jovial character, upbeat, and doesn't cause too many problems.''

[Kingswood]

trust me on this, he will win the brownlow this year.