Marty Clarke to make debut

[Donagh]

On radio with live game plays here:

http://www.afl.com.au/

[lisdoon1]

Barry Hall is an animal but jesus ihe is out of the game

[Cloc Mor]

Martin really coming into it.  Some lovely touches in the third quarter.  Nearly got in for a score just at half time.  Doing great

[Jinxy]

Fantastic debut by Martin. The aussies are raving about him.

[Mourne Rover]

Collingwood won 76-57 in the end, which was a huge result for them, and Clarke looked the part from start to finish. He stayed on the wings, which was sensible when you saw the kind of tackling which went on down the middle, but there was always a composure about his play. His teammates repeatedly gave him the ball, which showed they must have confidence in him, and he concentrated on doing the simple things well. The pressure of making his debut in front of 65,000 clearly did not bother him. You have to be dlelighted for him, but the chances of seeing him in a Down jersey again are increasingly slim.

He was probably the best minor we have produced since Greg Blaney, as, in addition to his ability with scores from play, he has natural pace and is an outstanding free taker. Good luck to him anyway.   

[mick999]

Good pre-game interview with him here ...

http://bigpondguide.com/070621nu_1_


a good clip in a game last week playing for Collingwood's feeder club Williamstown where he chipped up the footie without bending over, they were very impressed ...


More comments here

http://www.bigfooty.com/forum/showthread.php?t=340433

http://www.bigfooty.com/forum/showthread.php?t=273539

[Aghdavoyle]

That interview doesn't play mick?

[thejuice]

By reading the comments on the BigFooty board they're treating him like and I quote "a messiah". I find it hard to credit. Its almost as bad as the hype Mark Vaughn is getting 

[clarshack]

disagree there. for an irishman to make that sort of impression in aussie rules he must be the real mccoy. if youre a dud the aussies will let you know. you cant compare that to the mark vaughan hype!

[redandblackjack]

Aint nothing wrong with the lad doing well thejuice- the hype must be justified as clarshack says! Great talent, and remember he is only 19- has been playing Aussie rules for a matter of months! Credit is certainly due!

[stephenite]

disagree there. for an irishman to make that sort of impression in aussie rules he must be the real mccoy. if youre a dud the aussies will let you know. you cant compare that to the mark vaughan hype!

You're talking shite, if anyone knows how to hype things it's the Aussies.

Specifically in sport, with the various codes masters at trying to outdo each other in the promotional stakes and the fact that we now have a few Irish players out here the AFL media department go into overdrive

here are a few of the comments from the comments last night

"the BBC's Martin McHugh says that losing Clarke was  a tragedy and one of the saddest days for Gaelic Football"

"Some of the analysts in Ireland compare him to Ronaldinho"

They were talking Clarke up big time and I hope they don't put much pressure on him.

TO the game itself, he played an excellent debut - did the simple things well and didn't take any risks.

[mick999]

Try linking to that video from this article on the collingwood website

http://www.collingwoodfc.com.au/Default.aspx?tabid=5586&newsId=45821

or here ..  http://www.collingwoodfc.com.au/Season2007/tabid/5584/Default.aspx

It might be that you need to be on bigpond, which is one of the major ISPs out here, who have some exclusive afl content ...

[thejuice]

Dont get me wrong I wish him all the best, and I know he's a special talent but to think he's arrived and within a year hes turned a whole league on its head seems to be over-stating the case. Im sure he'll do well all the same

[Cloc Mor]

Scintillating start for Clarke
2:22 PM Sun 24 June, 2007

By Matt Burgan

Exclusive to AFL BigPond Network

News
FIRST-gamer Martin Clarke said he never felt nervous or intimidated about taking on Sydney at Telstra Stadium on Saturday night, and it showed, with an impressive 20-disposal display in Collingwood's 19-point victory in front of a crowd of over 64,000.

The Irish youngster who had played fewer than 10 senior matches with Williamstown – his total Australian Football experience – did not appear out of place at all against the Swans.

In fact, Clarke went about his business with such aplomb that he simply blended in perfectly with the Magpie set-up.

He said the win – another impressive one by Collingwood – topped off a dream start to his AFL career.

"To come up here against the grand finalists of the last two years and to get a win in front of their home support is just the perfect debut," Clarke said.

"I was pretty excited [before the match] but I don't really get nervous at all.

"The boys were just really good to me and I knew I prepared everything I could. My skills are improving all the time and I was ready to go.

"It's pretty lovely to come to Collingwood because they're such an amazing club.

"I can't thank them enough and this is totally down to them... they've fast-tracked me."

Clarke said he had never experienced a game so quick.

"I've never cramped in my life and I was coming down in the last 10 minutes and my legs were cramping up," he said.

The former County Down Gaelic Footballer said his parents got together with other supporters back in Ireland to watch his maiden AFL appearance.

"I just briefly spoke to them [after the match]. I couldn't really hear them ... I think a few of them got together in the local pub, so hopefully they enjoyed it as much as I did," Clarke said. 

"All Sydney games are live over there because of [fellow Irishman and Swan] Tadhg Kennelly."

Collingwood coach Michael Malthouse said he was not surprised at all that Clarke handled the occasion so professionally.

"He's a big time player. I think we get a little bit caught up in our own game," Malthouse said.

"I think we really underestimate what life is [like] on the other side of the planet and he comes from a fiercely contested competition of which he was – if not a superstar – he was a very, very good player.

"He played before 50,000 and 60,000 at Croke Park, so I hardly think we panicked about whether he was playing for Collingwood against Sydney in Sydney.

"He's had a level head all the time and he believes he belongs – well before I put him in the side.

"When I looked at it and he's our second highest possession getter.

"In the end there is a lot of cheap kicks in football and backline players tend to get a lot of cheap kicks later in the quarter, when they want to pull the game down a little bit – but he had enough nous to know how to use it.

"He had one bad kick I believe all night and that's because his capabilities are probably in front of his thought process, or vice versa."

[Declan]

Got this from a pal of mine who is a Magpies lifelong fan.

Not bad at all. Racked up 20 possessions, which is a great debut. Played in defence, which was well tested but held up incredibly well. In truth, it is the most reliable area of our team so he was part of a tight unit. First kick went out on the full, but put that down to nerves. Watched him run a bit later with the ball and hit a running target from 50m at one stage, which was very pleasing. All in all, an excellent start. The future looks very bright, but will wait and see. A lot of new superstars tend to fade after a few games as the oppositions targets them (not by way of hitting them - although that sometimes happens - but by "tagging" them so that they can't get an uncontested possession. Bottom line, if you have more like him, we'll happily take them!

Check out www.heraldsun.com.au or www.theage.com.au and follow the sporting links to the AFL reports. You'll get to see what the local press said - which was quite complimentary.