Matty Clarke to the Saints
Posted: Thu Nov 30, 2006 6:12 amFORMER Crows ruckman Matthew Clarke is poised to follow Mal Michael out of retirement and into the AFL pre-season draft.
It is understood Clarke, 33, is considering stunning the football world by nominating for the pre-season draft by next Friday's deadline in the hope of joining St Kilda.
The Saints, in desperate need of a ruckman after losing uncontracted Cain Ackland to Carlton - he will be taken with the No. 1 pick at the pre-season draft - are understood to have talked Clarke back into playing.
He retired from Adelaide at the end of last season after a 14-season, 248-game career with the Crows and Brisbane.
St Kilda, which has three vacancies on its playing list, currently has pick nine in the pre-season draft.
Clarke, who was unavailable for comment last night, has been training with SANFL club Glenelg and said he would give the Tigers an answer on his future next month.
New Saints coach Ross Lyon is believed to have head-hunted his former Brisbane team-mate Clarke as Ackland's replacement, telling him he will be one of its lead ruckman next year.
Clarke offered to play on at Adelaide next season after ruck partner Rhett Biglands' injured his knee in the preliminary final defeat to West Coast, requiring a reconstruction and ruling him out for most, if not all, of the 2007 season.
But he opted for retirement, which he had been planning, after the Crows decided to look to the future and back in Ben Hudson and the younger Ivan Maric and John Meesen. Adelaide picked up another ruckman, Kurt Tippett, in Saturday's national draft.
Adelaide chief executive Steven Trigg said if Clarke was to nominate for the draft, the club would not be upset.
Trigg said his situation is different from that of triple Lions premiership player Mal Michael, who was released from his contract (he had another year to serve) on compassionate grounds before deciding to join Essendon.
The Bombers, who have pick two in the pre-season draft, have signed him to a two-year contract - a deal which is being investigated by the AFL.
"If Matthew was to nominate it would be a quite different situation to Mal Michael," Trigg said.
"Matthew retired from football with us, we accepted that and now, having retired and being out of contract, if he wants to come back it's his prerogative. There would be no ill-feeling from our end."
It is understood Clarke, 33, is considering stunning the football world by nominating for the pre-season draft by next Friday's deadline in the hope of joining St Kilda.
The Saints, in desperate need of a ruckman after losing uncontracted Cain Ackland to Carlton - he will be taken with the No. 1 pick at the pre-season draft - are understood to have talked Clarke back into playing.
He retired from Adelaide at the end of last season after a 14-season, 248-game career with the Crows and Brisbane.
St Kilda, which has three vacancies on its playing list, currently has pick nine in the pre-season draft.
Clarke, who was unavailable for comment last night, has been training with SANFL club Glenelg and said he would give the Tigers an answer on his future next month.
New Saints coach Ross Lyon is believed to have head-hunted his former Brisbane team-mate Clarke as Ackland's replacement, telling him he will be one of its lead ruckman next year.
Clarke offered to play on at Adelaide next season after ruck partner Rhett Biglands' injured his knee in the preliminary final defeat to West Coast, requiring a reconstruction and ruling him out for most, if not all, of the 2007 season.
But he opted for retirement, which he had been planning, after the Crows decided to look to the future and back in Ben Hudson and the younger Ivan Maric and John Meesen. Adelaide picked up another ruckman, Kurt Tippett, in Saturday's national draft.
Adelaide chief executive Steven Trigg said if Clarke was to nominate for the draft, the club would not be upset.
Trigg said his situation is different from that of triple Lions premiership player Mal Michael, who was released from his contract (he had another year to serve) on compassionate grounds before deciding to join Essendon.
The Bombers, who have pick two in the pre-season draft, have signed him to a two-year contract - a deal which is being investigated by the AFL.
"If Matthew was to nominate it would be a quite different situation to Mal Michael," Trigg said.
"Matthew retired from football with us, we accepted that and now, having retired and being out of contract, if he wants to come back it's his prerogative. There would be no ill-feeling from our end."
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