Giants eye Cloke as Tigers brood by: Greg Denham
From: The Australian
July 27, 2012 THE fallout from Collingwood's halt in negotiations with Travis Cloke has got Kevin Sheedy very excited but fellow coach Damien Hardwick is taking a more softly-softly approach.
Greater Western Sydney coach Sheedy says the Giants are back in the race to sign Cloke, while Richmond counterpart Hardwick was measured on any bid by the Tigers to secure the soon-to-be out of contract key forward.
Giants chief executive David Matthews announced in May his club would not be chasing Cloke, who becomes a restricted free agent at the end of the season and is seeking a four to five-year deal.
But the Magpies' decision on Monday to put contract talks on hold has resurrected interest from GWS, according to Sheedy.
"If he doesn't sign a contract, I reckon there's a few clubs out there and we'll have to definitely have a look at him," Sheedy said. "Because we can't just sit on our hands if he doesn't come to terms.
"That style of player put the Swans on the map. Look at (Tony) Lockett and Barry Hall.
"So it's quite amazing how things venture out. It looks like a long and drawn out contractual problem."
Sheedy said the Giants would have a chance to see Cloke first-hand tomorrow when the two clubs meet at Skoda Stadium.
"You've got Cloke coming up to play and he's off contract," Sheedy said. "It's not often a team has a player off contract and they fly him up for us to come and see. That's pretty generous from Collingwood. There will be a tour (of the Giants' accommodation at Breakfast Point). Don't worry about that.
"We'll make sure the bus gets sidetracked. We might get the bus driver to accidentally turn down the wrong street -- it's only seven minutes away from here."
Sheedy said he had no concerns with the recent form slump of Cloke, whose output this year in disposals, marks and goals are all lower than last season.
"I never worry about form. He's a very strong, powerful contested key forward, and they're the sort of people that are drawcards," he said. "If we want to build up our attendance here, in the end we've got to bring drawcards along as well."
The four-time premiership coach warned there could be more twists and turns in the Cloke saga.
"Collingwood are probably saying they've got the grip right there where they feel like they want it," he said. "But just remember what happened with Richmond and Collingwood. They thought they had (Travis's father) David Cloke and Geoff Raines.
"They walked out on Richmond years ago and I don't think Richmond's ever been that good since. It's a difficult problem for clubs and managers."
Hardwick yesterday said the Tigers would like to recruit Cloke, "as would every club", but there were dangers in putting all the club's energy and resources into signing a big name. "You can get one big fish, but the fact is there are two or three who can float out the other way," he said.
Hardwick backed the club's recent policy of recruiting mid-range players to top off areas of need. "We target players who we think are going to take the club forward," he said.
"The addition of Ivan Maric, the addition of Shaun Grigg, Bachar Houli, Steve Morris, I think we've got a pretty good strike rate in that regard."
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/sport/afl/giants-eye-cloke-as-tigers-brood/story-fnca0u4y-1226436183860
