Profile:
Position: Midfielder
Club: Eastern Ranges (Victoria)
Height: 184cm
Weight: 84kg
DOB: 17/6/1997
Stats:
NAB AFL Under-18 Championships
Games: 5
Goals: 3
Avg. disposals: 19
Avg. marks: 4
Eastern Ranges (TAC Cup)
Avg. disposals: 31
AFL.com.au said:
The TAC Cup finals series often throws up some surprises, and this year it was the progression of the Eastern Ranges and Oakleigh Chargers into the Grand Final from outside the top four.
The Chargers went on to claim the premiership – their second in a row – but it shouldn't dent the effort of the Ranges, who were almost singlehandedly dragged into the flag decider by midfielder Ryan Clarke.
Clarke ended a consistent season with a prolific finals series, averaging 25 disposals across the first three weeks to help Eastern to three finals wins.
It capped what had been strong season by Clarke, who averaged 19 disposals in five games for Vic Metro at the NAB AFL Under-18 Championships and also played at school level for Melbourne Grammar in Victoria's APS competition.
Clarke finds the ball. It's hard to teach players how to pick up possessions like Clarke has managed to do throughout 2015, and he averaged 31 disposals in 11 games for the Ranges. That puts him among the top echelon of ball-winners in the draft.
What elevated Clarke is his ability to combine the inside grunt work with the outside run. His mix of disposals – about 12 won in contested situations and the rest uncontested – highlights his desire to get moving as soon as the ball has left the pack. He averaged nearly six clearances and more than 10 handball receives a game, a strong indicator of a player's work rate.
Clarke also likes to stream down the field and be dangerous close to goal. He booted 16 goals for the Ranges, which is an excellent tally for a near-permanent midfielder. He makes the most of his shots and enjoys rewarding his run with some action near goal.
Eastern Ranges’ talent manager Len Villani said:
"Outstanding gut-runner – probably one of the best I’ve ever seen at that level. He’s got a really natural feel for the game and he uses his hands in close really well to bring others into the game as well. He’s probably just got to work a little bit on his defensive stuff still and a little bit of polish with his kicking. He’s a goalkicking midfielder that just blew blokes out of the water with his running power this year. He can play inside obviously and win his own footy, but where he’s been most damaging is just outside run and carry and metres gained, particularly through the middle part of the ground."
North Recruiting Manager Bryce Lewis said:
"Ryan is a really elite runner, who is an accumulator of the ball, winning it inside and out. He just wills himself to contests."
