Reborn Tiger shuns his wicket ways
Malcolm Conn | The Australian | June 28, 2008
IN the space of a year Cleve Hughes found that his shape and his sport changed dramatically.
The young Richmond forward began Year 10 as a wingman and self-confessed "slow" fast bowler.
A year later and Hughes was a different human. A spectacular 30cm growth spurt, a foot in the old language, had seen him morph into a key forward and "fast" fast bowler.
"The extra height really helped my bowling," Hughes said this week. "I went from slow to fast in one year."
For most of his teenage years cricket was his first love. He played in the under-17 carnival for South Australia and showed considerable promise, bowling with good "heat", as Kensington Cricket Club coach John Palmer recalled.
"He certainly hurried up batters his own age at the carnival and he would have hurried up a few A-grade batters, too, but unfortunately we couldn't keep him," Palmer said.
Twelve months on and life had changed dramatically again. Hughes was playing centre half-forward for South Australia and had an outstanding under-18 carnival in 2005 to make the All Australian under-aged team.
"That year footy snuck up on me pretty quickly," Hughes recalled. "I'd never previously made any sort of state squad for footy. I was a keen cricketer."
Hughes is in good company at Richmond. Brett Deledio, the 2004 first draft choice, was offered a place in the Victorian cricket squad by then coach David Hookes before choosing football.
And across the country in Perth, Shannon Hurn, like Hughes a native South Australian who also found himself in the 2005 draft, was taken as West Coast's first choice, 13 overall, after rejecting a place in the Australian under-19 team.
But while Deledio and Hurn arrived as readymade footballers, Hughes found himself out of his depth. Football had come with a late rush and he was neither physically nor mentally prepared to play in key positions.
Hughes was drafted by Richmond as its second round choice, 24th overall, and coach Terry Wallace was pleasantly surprised that Hughes had still been available by that stage given the impression he had made at the under-18 championships.
According to Wallace, there were two schools of thought among recruiters from the clubs.
"Some were not sure he was a competitive enough beast and wondered if he was too much of a mark and kick player. They thought he was too much of a risk," Wallace said.
"We thought he had a fantastic build for a key position player of the future. He finishes well and he's a tremendous athlete.
"We felt that if we could get him to mature physically and emotionally he would be a special player."
Until last Saturday the sceptics held sway. After playing the opening two games and managing just one goal, he was dropped and disappeared off the radar.
In his third year of AFL, Hughes had played 12 games for 12 goals.
But in Adelaide last weekend, in a game Richmond had to win to maintain any credibility as an improving side, Hughes imposed himself on Port Adelaide like he was a star, not a seconds player.
Charging at the ball, leaping and marking strongly, he kicked six goals to set up an ultimately tight victory, which makes him feel vastly different going into today's much hyped centenary match against Carlton at the MCG.
"Obviously it gives you a lot of confidence to know that you can make the grade," Hughes said. "Until your breakout game, you have a different mindset. You wonder if you can play at that level."
That Hughes had the space and increasing confidence to dominate after such a long stint in the VFL had much to do with the remaking of the Tigers.
Matthew Richardson's dramatic evolution from forward to wingman has invigorated the veteran and the Tigers, and given opportunities when there were none previously.
Wallace claimed the move of Richardson to the wing had come at least partly from frustration.
"People kept saying we had no key forwards for the future," Wallace said.
"I believed we did."
So the coach gathered together generation next in front of goal, Graham Polak, Jay Schulz, Jack Riewoldt and Hughes, promising that each would get their opportunity at some stage.
"I said to the four of them that Matthew was comfortable moving up the ground so long as someone was willing to take up the slack.
"Cleve has taken one step to doing that but it is only one."
Hughes misses cricket but doubts that he'll ever bowl again.
"I'm still pretty keen. I keep in touch with a few of the guys from the (under-17) program."
But his focus is building a strength of body and mind to survive and thrive in the AFL.
"When I first arrived the fitness component, the running and the weights, came as a real shock," he said. "My fitness was well down. I wasn't able to get in a position to get the ball enough, to get to enough contests.
"I've put on 11kg since I was drafted and with three pre-seasons behind me, I feel like I can make an impression."
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,23933946-5012432,00.html
