At the end of the 2015 National Draft, North had selected five new players to join the club.
It was the first time since 2009 the Roos had selected that many players new to AFL football, and according to Ryan Clarke, it’s allowed each of the draftees the opportunity to bond together.
“We’re all really close already,” Clarke told NMFC.com.au.
“Because we were all drafted at the same time, and then went to Utah, we were able to bounce everything off each other.
“We knew how we were all feeling, we’ve been able to talk about that and it’s helped us a lot.”
Clarke is in a unique position amongst the draftees. With Declan Mountford, Mitch Hibberd and Corey Wagner from interstate and Ben McKay from Gippsland, the 18-year-old is the only new Roo to still have his family close by.
However, it was still a whirlwind first few weeks to his career.
“After we got drafted, we went to Utah two days later. We were there for about 10 days, got home on the Friday and then moved on Monday.”
Originally from Rowville, Clarke’s moved within closer proximity to Arden Street, but still gets to see those close to him on a regular basis.
“I’m living with a host family in Oak Park now – I’m actually with one of our physios which really helps a lot,” Clarke said.
“It’s allowed me to settle in nicely. And with my family only about 40 minutes down the road it’s worked well.”
On a football note, Clarke has started the VFL season well for Werribee. He’s averaged almost 20 disposals a game in his first four matches.
It’s his first experience playing against the bigger bodies, having played at Eastern Ranges last year before being drafted.
A major focus for the first-year Roo has been the defensive side of his game.
“At TAC Cup level it was more about focusing on your next possession,” Clarke explained.
“Here it’s a lot different. As soon as I got here it was one of the first things I started working on.
“Now once the ball goes it’s more thinking about how to stop your opponent from getting their next touch and then thinking about how to get your own.”
Still getting accustomed to the rigours of playing against men week in and week out, Clarke has had to learn alternate ways to use his still-developing frame.
“You rely on your other midfielders at the stoppages,” he said.
“There’ll be little things like blocking other opponents, sometimes you come in late to the contest as well and just changing it up when you can.”
After playing two NAB Challenge matches against St Kilda and Collingwood, Clarke’s been able to take lessons from that and apply them to life at VFL level.
“Preparation was the big one. I learned from guys like Drew and Boomer, seeing how they got ready for games.
“(Also) now during the season I watch guys like Ziebs (Jack Ziebell) and Cunners (Ben Cunnington) and how they go about it. Watching their tapes gives me a lot to learn from.”
With a bright future ahead of him, and having earned a (link)one-year contract extension back in February(/link), the sky’s the limit for Clarke.
