Hunter Clark - a quality, tough individual

[Ghost Like]

Saint’s blunt call on bump that left jaw hanging off face

https://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/ ... 2157a173bd

Excellent article on the young saint. Does not blame or hold a grudge in relation to the bump, believes it was in play and part of the game. Clark went through months of pain. A tough kid.

Training with Steele, as I'd hope all our hope to be mids are. Speaks highly of our core of youth. Disappointed in 2021, not a true reflection on where they believe they are or should be.

Excellent article to read if you want to get away from the doom & gloom where GT thinks we are as a list.

Apologies I can only load the link. Perhaps someone else can do the cut & paste.

[Banger9798]

Exactly what we want to hear from him.

He is a mate of my nephew, who says he is an absolute ripper of a bloke.

Great to hear he is training with Steele

[bigcarl]

Loved this. Saynta could you put up a few paragraphs? I lack the technical nous.

[Josh Battle]

Hunter Clark is one of my favourite Saints players. The glimpses that he showed in 2020 and early in 2021 has me excited for what he can offer if he works his bum off and can get a tank to play most of the time as a mid. I think he has the potential to be AA in 2023. He needs to build towards that goal and put in several 4 quarter performances in 2022

I love how the younger guys want to strive for the ultimate. Love the optimism from them and I hope I’m wrong but the reality of what happened in 2021 is a season where we were smashed by the top 4 teams.

I can’t see us overtaking ALL the teams in the top 8. The Dees, Dogs, Port, the Giants, Swans and perhaps Essendon will not be all of a sudden going backwards. We cannot go into cruise mode and we cannot rely on our depth.

It’s a marathon of a season and there will be injuries. That is inevitable. We’re relying on players that are nearing the end of their careers and one thing you learn from experience is that these guys are more injury prone

After the disappointing loss to Adelaide we only had 2 good wins against the top 8 ( convincing wins versus Brisbane and also the Swans). We narrowly got over the line against Collingwood and we lost to teams like West Coast and Carlton who will both be better in season 2022.

We have shown that we are vulnerable when oppo teams have 2 or 3 KP Forwards. We have shown that we lack polish going inside 50. The stats prove that we are middle of the road or poor in these areas. I don’t think we’ve covered these deficiencies during the trade period

[Impatient Sainter]

An exceptional kid with a great outlook, he has done really well playing again last season. I suffered a broken jaw (2 places) playing footy when I was about 30 yo and it took me a while to get the confidence back. Let alone the long term effects it has on your teeth etc. He has a good attitude to the incident and is getting on with his footy.

Its also good to hear he is training with Steele, as he wants to get his fitness to a level so he can play more midfield minutes. They also understand that the team improvement has to come from the group in that 22-26 age group. It was a great read!!

[Impatient Sainter]

Young Saint Hunter Clark reveals the full extent of damage from bump which sent AFL into spin
It was the collision that divided the AFL. St Kilda’s Hunter Clark was left with a badly broken jaw after a hit which put the future of the bump on trial. Now, Clark speaks about that fateful bump.

Hunter Clark couldn’t wait to get stuck into a steak.
After a diet of smoothies, soups and other blended delights, the young Saint didn’t realise how much he missed the act of chewing until he couldn’t do it. Eating through a straw became the norm for Clark after his jaw was shattered in a sickening collision that put the entire AFL on edge in June.
But as the football world debated the future of the bump — the result of Adelaide veteran David Mackay’s high-speed hit on Clark — the young Saint was left to deal with a face full of metal and a mushed-up menu.

“I was on a liquid diet for the first two or three weeks, so just smoothies, soup,” Clark said.
“I would have meals but mum would have to blend it up so that I could just slurp it. It was pretty gross.
“That was probably the most trying thing. You don’t realise just eating how grateful you are to do it.
“After maybe four or five weeks I could start to chew but chewed very slowly. I probably couldn’t eat a steak for two or three months.
“I was on pure liquids for two or three weeks then slowly incorporated chewing food but it was pretty grim.”

Clark suffered three fractures, nerve damage and dental damage in the Round 13 collision, which sidelined him for the next seven weeks.
He had multiple screws inserted in the front and side of his jaw and — four months after the horrific injury — Clark still experiences some numbness and sensitivity.
“I had my wisdom teeth and some screws out two weeks ago and I still have a few screws in my mouth but they are going to keep them in for a while,” Clark said.
“Hopefully there won‘t be any more surgeries around the face for a while.
“It’s still fairly numb. I can’t feel it through my chin and the bottom part of my mouth and jaw.
“I’m starting to get the feeling back there but parts of it are still numb.
“I snapped clean through the front (of the jaw) and through the sides. At the front where my front bottom teeth are there is a bit of nerve damage but hopefully they (the teeth) don’t die.
“I think I have got four screws at the front still and I had four at the side, or like a plate with four screws through it. It was a pretty long process but it’s all healing now which is good.”


Hunter Clark still experiences some numbness and sensitivity around the jaw area. Picture: Michael Klein

The hit
As the ball flew over the top of Clark’s head midway through the second quarter at Cazaly’s Stadium in Cairns, Clark immediately turned and gave chase. He charged towards the ball, eyes fixed on the Sherrin.
Clark could sense the Adelaide players around him and was expecting a contested play. In a split second, the 22-year-old was reeling on the ground after the bone-jarring hit.
“I remember the ball was kicked to me and it went over my head and I just turned and I saw the ball there,” Clark said.
“I knew there were Adelaide players around me but I didn’t really take too much note of them, I just knew I was going to be contested.
“Then I remember just going to pick the ball up and just got cleaned up and I don’t really remember too much of the pain … it was a pretty big hit but I was in a bit of shock.
“Then I was off the ground, I was on pain killers straight away.
“So for the first few days it wasn’t actually that sore because I was on painkillers. I remember just running my tongue over my front teeth and the left side of my jaw was maybe half a centimetre lower than my right side.
“I could kind of tell there was something wrong. I didn’t initially think I could break my jaw because it was not too painful but I got the scans on Sunday morning and there was a clean break.”

The St Kilda defender in the hands of the trainers after the bone-jarring hit.
As big as the collision was, the debate surrounding the hit was huge. It became one of the major talking points of the year as the future of the bump in the game was put on the line.
In a rare move, Mackay was referred directly to the AFL Tribunal by the Match Review Officer for what was one of the most anticipated cases the league has seen in years.
Mackay, who was ultimately cleared by the Tribunal, reached out to Clark in the days after the incident.
“Dave sent me a text the following day or two days later just checking in on me and I have got no doubt he was going for the footy,” Clark said.
“He just asked how I was going. He said he felt for me. He told me his intentions were on the footy and I thought watching on the tape it was pretty clear he was going for the footy.
“He was just checking in and making sure I was all right and that was very nice of him.
“It was just one of those incidents where two players were going for the footy and I came off second best.”

Adelaide’s David Mackay collects Clark in the brutal hit in Cairns. Picture: Fox Sports
Ultimately, Clark felt he was “just unlucky” and viewed the bump as a part of the game.
“I definitely think there is a place for it,” Clark said.
“Footy is a contact sport and you go into the game knowing you can get injured. It’s a 360 game and you can get hit from anywhere.
“If you take those little things out of the game it would really change the way the game has been forever.
“It doesn’t happen all that often that someone breaks their jaw in that situation so I think it is just unlucky.
“I don’t think you can eradicate it from the game, it is just the way footy has been played forever and probably will be.
“That’s just the way footy goes sometimes. Someone comes off second best.”

Clark says the incident is “just the way footy goes sometimes. Someone comes off second best.” Picture: Michael Klein
Silver lining
Clark returned to the field for St Kilda’s Round 20 clash against Carlton after seven weeks but he suffered a head knock in his return game and didn’t play for the rest of the year.
But Clark said his horror year would serve as more fuel for the pre-season as he prepares for his fifth campaign with the Saints.
“I think I started the year well and when I got injured I probably had a quiet couple of weeks so that was pretty annoying to go out injured off the back of maybe one or two poorer games,” Clark said.
“It was a bit disjointed and quite an annoying way to finish the year but it has definitely given me good motivation for this off-season and pre-season for what I want to do next year.
“It could potentially be a blessing but at the time it was very hard to not play after that injury.”
But don’t expect the collision to have any lingering impact on Clark’s ferocity at the ball.
He said he would continue to attack the ball as only he knows how.
“It definitely hasn’t changed or won’t change my approach,” Clark said.
“Once I broke my jaw and I was back training, I almost forgot that I’d had a broken jaw.
“I guess in that circumstance that’s good that it’s not on my mind or anything.”
After extending his contract for another two years at the start of the season, Clark is intent on building his fitness base in the hope of more midfield minutes and to make a greater impact in his role at half-back.
“I have worked on my fitness a lot this off-season and I am going to keep doing that to allow myself to go into the midfield more,” said Clark, who has now played 60 games for St Kilda.
“But we have got good depth there and with everyone healthy it will get pretty crowded. If I am on the half-back flank I don’t really have too many worries with that.
“I think I have just got to get fitter and grow my body more to allow me to play through the midfield and play for longer chunks through there, I think that will help the team.
“But when I am playing half-back the same principle applies, I guess, I have just got to get fitter to impact for longer.”
“I have been training a fair bit with Steeley (Jack Steele) this off-season and he has been really good for me. He is kind of the player I want to aspire to be.”

Driving force
If the second half of the season was not challenging enough, Clark said it had been tough to swallow missing out on the finals after surging to a semi-final last year – the Saints’ first finals appearance since 2011.
Clark has already seen this year’s result pushing players this off-season and he said it was up to the club’s young generation to drive it forward.
“We had some pretty high expectations of ourselves coming into the season,” Clark said.
“We had a good year the year before but we only won one final and we didn’t make finals until the last week so it’s not like we were on top of the world or anything.
“It was a disappointing year but everyone has been training well … everyone is pretty committed to taking the club to a better position next year and for the future beyond that.
“We have got a pretty young group still, a lot of players around 22 to 26 …. I am excited and it’s up to us younger boys to drive the club and take it to where it needs to get.
“So I am looking forward to doing that this year and I can’t wait.

[Ghost Like]

If there's one thing Melbourne showed, do not let the position you finished in (2020) dictate how far you can or cannot go the following season.

I suspect our coaches and our players know this. Good to hear Clark is mature enough to acknowledge it is those U/26 who can (& need to) drive improvement. It appears they believe in themselves.

[saintsRrising]

“It was a disappointing year but everyone has been training well … everyone is pretty committed to taking the club to a better position next year and for the future beyond that.
“We have got a pretty young group still, a lot of players around 22 to 26 …. I am excited and it’s up to us younger boys to drive the club and take it to where it needs to get.
“So I am looking forward to doing that this year and I can’t wait.

Hopefully this continues to drive Clark during the off-season and sees him in 2022 the fittest he has ever been.

We know he has the talent, but in 2021 he (and indeed much of the team) just did not look to be fit enough.

[minneapolis]

Gee he has an excellent attitude. That broken jaw was a serious and painful injury. He still has numbness in his mouth and some teeth may die.

I was seriously concerned that it may take away his love of the game and be lost to the sport.

But that article gives me great hope. He will play a major part if we hope to fish top 4.

Well done Hunter and well done to the recruiters who picked him.

(makes 2013 draft look really bad).

[samuraisaint]

I commend Clark for his courage and bravery and think he will be a ripper for the club.
Great attitude and future leader.

Although McKay has retired I sincerely hope that the Saints make their next game against the Crows a red letter day. That was a terrible match in the context of the season, and I want the club and team to stop turning in those sorts of performances. That game was a real 1980 job.

[samuraisaint]

Hunter Clark is one of my favourite Saints players. The glimpses that he showed in 2020 and early in 2021 has me excited for what he can offer if he works his bum off and can get a tank to play most of the time as a mid. I think he has the potential to be AA in 2023. He needs to build towards that goal and put in several 4 quarter performances in 2022

I love how the younger guys want to strive for the ultimate. Love the optimism from them and I hope I’m wrong but the reality of what happened in 2021 is a season where we were smashed by the top 4 teams.

I can’t see us overtaking ALL the teams in the top 8. The Dees, Dogs, Port, the Giants, Swans and perhaps Essendon will not be all of a sudden going backwards. We cannot go into cruise mode and we cannot rely on our depth.

It’s a marathon of a season and there will be injuries. That is inevitable. We’re relying on players that are nearing the end of their careers and one thing you learn from experience is that these guys are more injury prone

After the disappointing loss to Adelaide we only had 2 good wins against the top 8 ( convincing wins versus Brisbane and also the Swans). We narrowly got over the line against Collingwood and we lost to teams like West Coast and Carlton who will both be better in season 2022.

We have shown that we are vulnerable when oppo teams have 2 or 3 KP Forwards. We have shown that we lack polish going inside 50. The stats prove that we are middle of the road or poor in these areas. I don’t think we’ve covered these deficiencies during the trade period

We also beat Richmond at the MCG and should have beaten Geelong at Geelong with ten of our best 22 out.
But I take your point about the performnces against some sides - The Crows in particular.
It has been widely reported that the preseason was not successful as strategies and tactics was prioritised at the expense of fitness and conditioning. That won't be repeated.
Can't see our two ruckmen spending most of the season sitting out most of the season again either.
Bytel and Byrnes are looking very good and Bytel has one tool at his disposal which many of our midfielders lack - he's now a goalkicker.

Highmore in the backline, Sharman up forward, King to kick 50-60 goals, and Clark and Coffield improving.
Add to that Hill, Hannebery, Crouch, Steele, and Gresham in the middle and I see significant change in our results next season.

Howard and Paton, with Wilkie holding down key defensive roles, and an injury free Jack Billings and we have a reasonable side.
Sure we have a few holes, but even having players like Long and Gresham who are creative makes us dangerous.
Battle will get plenty of time in defence hopefully and he can help out in the ruck as well, I'm happy we didn't lose him. We've even got Membrey who has a new string to his bow as a sweeper across half back when the ball isn't in the forward line - this is a great weapon to have at our disposal. We aren't so one dimensional any more.

Carlton will improve for sure - in fact they're my tip to be the big improver in 2022, but the Cats, Eagles and Power won't be better next season. I think those sides may slip tbh.

This year turned out to be an unplanned development year for us. Which in the long run will turn out to be a positive for player development.

[Josh Battle]

Hunter Clark is one of my favourite Saints players. The glimpses that he showed in 2020 and early in 2021 has me excited for what he can offer if he works his bum off and can get a tank to play most of the time as a mid. I think he has the potential to be AA in 2023. He needs to build towards that goal and put in several 4 quarter performances in 2022

I love how the younger guys want to strive for the ultimate. Love the optimism from them and I hope I’m wrong but the reality of what happened in 2021 is a season where we were smashed by the top 4 teams.

I can’t see us overtaking ALL the teams in the top 8. The Dees, Dogs, Port, the Giants, Swans and perhaps Essendon will not be all of a sudden going backwards. We cannot go into cruise mode and we cannot rely on our depth.

It’s a marathon of a season and there will be injuries. That is inevitable. We’re relying on players that are nearing the end of their careers and one thing you learn from experience is that these guys are more injury prone

After the disappointing loss to Adelaide we only had 2 good wins against the top 8 ( convincing wins versus Brisbane and also the Swans). We narrowly got over the line against Collingwood and we lost to teams like West Coast and Carlton who will both be better in season 2022.

We have shown that we are vulnerable when oppo teams have 2 or 3 KP Forwards. We have shown that we lack polish going inside 50. The stats prove that we are middle of the road or poor in these areas. I don’t think we’ve covered these deficiencies during the trade period

We also beat Richmond at the MCG and should have beaten Geelong at Geelong with ten of our best 22 out.
But I take your point about the performnces against some sides - The Crows in particular.
It has been widely reported that the preseason was not successful as strategies and tactics was prioritised at the expense of fitness and conditioning. That won't be repeated.
Can't see our two ruckmen spending most of the season sitting out most of the season again either.
Bytel and Byrnes are looking very good and Bytel has one tool at his disposal which many of our midfielders lack - he's now a goalkicker.

Highmore in the backline, Sharman up forward, King to kick 50-60 goals, and Clark and Coffield improving.
Add to that Hill, Hannebery, Crouch, Steele, and Gresham in the middle and I see significant change in our results next season.

Howard and Paton, with Wilkie holding down key defensive roles, and an injury free Jack Billings and we have a reasonable side.
Sure we have a few holes, but even having players like Long and Gresham who are creative makes us dangerous.
Battle will get plenty of time in defence hopefully and he can help out in the ruck as well, I'm happy we didn't lose him. We've even got Membrey who has a new string to his bow as a sweeper across half back when the ball isn't in the forward line - this is a great weapon to have at our disposal. We aren't so one dimensional any more.

Carlton will improve for sure - in fact they're my tip to be the big improver in 2022, but the Cats, Eagles and Power won't be better next season. I think those sides may slip tbh.

This year turned out to be an unplanned development year for us. Which in the long run will turn out to be a positive for player development.

Righto. OK. I better not plan anything for the last week in September next year

[bigcarl]

Hunter Clark is one of my favourite Saints players. The glimpses that he showed in 2020 and early in 2021 has me excited for what he can offer if he works his bum off and can get a tank to play most of the time as a mid. I think he has the potential to be AA in 2023. He needs to build towards that goal and put in several 4 quarter performances in 2022

I love how the younger guys want to strive for the ultimate. Love the optimism from them and I hope I’m wrong but the reality of what happened in 2021 is a season where we were smashed by the top 4 teams.

I can’t see us overtaking ALL the teams in the top 8. The Dees, Dogs, Port, the Giants, Swans and perhaps Essendon will not be all of a sudden going backwards. We cannot go into cruise mode and we cannot rely on our depth.

It’s a marathon of a season and there will be injuries. That is inevitable. We’re relying on players that are nearing the end of their careers and one thing you learn from experience is that these guys are more injury prone

After the disappointing loss to Adelaide we only had 2 good wins against the top 8 ( convincing wins versus Brisbane and also the Swans). We narrowly got over the line against Collingwood and we lost to teams like West Coast and Carlton who will both be better in season 2022.

We have shown that we are vulnerable when oppo teams have 2 or 3 KP Forwards. We have shown that we lack polish going inside 50. The stats prove that we are middle of the road or poor in these areas. I don’t think we’ve covered these deficiencies during the trade period

We also beat Richmond at the MCG and should have beaten Geelong at Geelong with ten of our best 22 out.
But I take your point about the performnces against some sides - The Crows in particular.
It has been widely reported that the preseason was not successful as strategies and tactics was prioritised at the expense of fitness and conditioning. That won't be repeated.
Can't see our two ruckmen spending most of the season sitting out most of the season again either.
Bytel and Byrnes are looking very good and Bytel has one tool at his disposal which many of our midfielders lack - he's now a goalkicker.

Highmore in the backline, Sharman up forward, King to kick 50-60 goals, and Clark and Coffield improving.
Add to that Hill, Hannebery, Crouch, Steele, and Gresham in the middle and I see significant change in our results next season.

Howard and Paton, with Wilkie holding down key defensive roles, and an injury free Jack Billings and we have a reasonable side.
Sure we have a few holes, but even having players like Long and Gresham who are creative makes us dangerous.
Battle will get plenty of time in defence hopefully and he can help out in the ruck as well, I'm happy we didn't lose him. We've even got Membrey who has a new string to his bow as a sweeper across half back when the ball isn't in the forward line - this is a great weapon to have at our disposal. We aren't so one dimensional any more.

Carlton will improve for sure - in fact they're my tip to be the big improver in 2022, but the Cats, Eagles and Power won't be better next season. I think those sides may slip tbh.

This year turned out to be an unplanned development year for us. Which in the long run will turn out to be a positive for player development.

Love a positive post. I agree that given a half decent run with injuries we can at least be contenders. Fitness is key and a good start is vital. Look at what it did for Melbourne

[samuraisaint]

Hunter Clark is one of my favourite Saints players. The glimpses that he showed in 2020 and early in 2021 has me excited for what he can offer if he works his bum off and can get a tank to play most of the time as a mid. I think he has the potential to be AA in 2023. He needs to build towards that goal and put in several 4 quarter performances in 2022

I love how the younger guys want to strive for the ultimate. Love the optimism from them and I hope I’m wrong but the reality of what happened in 2021 is a season where we were smashed by the top 4 teams.

I can’t see us overtaking ALL the teams in the top 8. The Dees, Dogs, Port, the Giants, Swans and perhaps Essendon will not be all of a sudden going backwards. We cannot go into cruise mode and we cannot rely on our depth.

It’s a marathon of a season and there will be injuries. That is inevitable. We’re relying on players that are nearing the end of their careers and one thing you learn from experience is that these guys are more injury prone

After the disappointing loss to Adelaide we only had 2 good wins against the top 8 ( convincing wins versus Brisbane and also the Swans). We narrowly got over the line against Collingwood and we lost to teams like West Coast and Carlton who will both be better in season 2022.

We have shown that we are vulnerable when oppo teams have 2 or 3 KP Forwards. We have shown that we lack polish going inside 50. The stats prove that we are middle of the road or poor in these areas. I don’t think we’ve covered these deficiencies during the trade period

We also beat Richmond at the MCG and should have beaten Geelong at Geelong with ten of our best 22 out.
But I take your point about the performnces against some sides - The Crows in particular.
It has been widely reported that the preseason was not successful as strategies and tactics was prioritised at the expense of fitness and conditioning. That won't be repeated.
Can't see our two ruckmen spending most of the season sitting out most of the season again either.
Bytel and Byrnes are looking very good and Bytel has one tool at his disposal which many of our midfielders lack - he's now a goalkicker.

Highmore in the backline, Sharman up forward, King to kick 50-60 goals, and Clark and Coffield improving.
Add to that Hill, Hannebery, Crouch, Steele, and Gresham in the middle and I see significant change in our results next season.

Howard and Paton, with Wilkie holding down key defensive roles, and an injury free Jack Billings and we have a reasonable side.
Sure we have a few holes, but even having players like Long and Gresham who are creative makes us dangerous.
Battle will get plenty of time in defence hopefully and he can help out in the ruck as well, I'm happy we didn't lose him. We've even got Membrey who has a new string to his bow as a sweeper across half back when the ball isn't in the forward line - this is a great weapon to have at our disposal. We aren't so one dimensional any more.

Carlton will improve for sure - in fact they're my tip to be the big improver in 2022, but the Cats, Eagles and Power won't be better next season. I think those sides may slip tbh.

This year turned out to be an unplanned development year for us. Which in the long run will turn out to be a positive for player development.

Love a positive post. I agree that given a half decent run with injuries we can at least be contenders. Fitness is key and a good start is vital. Look at what it did for Melbourne

I think the fact that we have a team where players like Byrnes, Bytel, Geary and Ross aren't walk up starting 22 says a lot - we have reasonable depth given a reasonable run with injury. We only need to look at Melbourne and the Swans to see what is possible when you have a short injury list.

I also know that there were two matches we would have won if players who were fit to play were unavailable due to family reasons and quarantine regulations due to the pandemic. When those situations occur on top of an already dire injury list we were really up against it just to field a competitive side in those games. Necessity breeds opportunity though, because players got game time and match experience when they may not have otherwise.

Just like we really had to make finals and win one in 2020, 2021 was the accidental development season we had to have. I think we'll be at least as good as we were in 2020, and the second half of our 2021 season provides evidence that that is likely.