Who Is Zac Clarke?

With Dean Cox out injured this weekend, many DT coaches are looking around for a cheap backup ruckman to avoid a donut. And one name many DT coaches are looking at is Fremantle's $86k ruck Zac Clarke who is set to make his AFL debut this Saturday against Collingwood at the MCG.

But before we all hastily sign up the young fella, I thought I'd try and address the question of 'who is Zac Clarke?'

Well for starters, Clarke is a 19-year-old who was selected at pick 37 overall in 2008's AFL Draft by the Dockers from Victorian club Oakleigh Chargers. And at 203 centimetres tall, it may be no surprise to some that the youngster gave up a promising career in basketball in favour of footy.

Freo coach Mark Harvey had this to say about the youngster today, "It’s great story because he’s a former top junior basketballer who was late coming to football and now he’s going to make his AFL debut on the MCG.”

“Zac’s adapted quickly to the game and has that athletic agility that you look for in a footballer. He’s got a great temperament and has one of those attitudes that you know he is going to bring some excitement to the team.

“While he is going to need a lot of fine tuning, the experience of playing his first game on the MCG will be sensational for him.”

And the youngster, who played with Vic Metro in the under-18 championships, told the media a little bit about himself after getting a surprise call-up for this round.

“We were sitting in the team meeting and I saw my name on the board. I was pretty nervous at first but now I’m just excited about travelling with the boys and playing on the MCG.

"I just want to get out there be competitive and enjoy the experience.”

Clarke added, “Last year I decided to pursue football, so I nominated for the AFL draft to see how far I could go.”

“With basketball there is a very minute chance that you can make it at the highest level and you have to go to America and go to a college for four years. I really enjoy playing footy and the opportunity was there and available.”

Whether or not that helps you make a decision as to trade him into your DT team or not is up to you, but he sounds like a talented young fella.