It’s Decision Time For Clark

By Ken Casellas

He’s taken a hat-trick for Australia, has represented Western Australia at 15, 16 and 17 years of age in national football championships, has been chosen in the all-Australian side after the recent under-18 national carnival and was adjudged as Western Australia’s most valuable player.

He’s 17-year-old Guildford Grammar schoolboy Jordan Clark, a shining light in the Claremont Football Club’s colts side, and a member of the State under-19 cricket squad.

Clark’s wonderful ability as a footballer and cricketer has left him with a dilemma and he faces a tough decision regarding which sport he chooses as his No. 1 sporting priority.

His outstanding form on a half-back flank in WA’s four matches at the recent national carnival has launched him into the spotlight as a leading candidate to be selected by an AFL club in this year’s national draft.

He is also held in high regard by the WA Cricket Association’s coaching staff after his impressive form as a fast right-hand bowler in first-grade ranks for the Rockingham-Mandurah club and for WA at the under-17 national cricket carnival on the Sunshine Coast last October.

“The time to make a decision is coming pretty soon,” Clark said. “I’ll just wait and see what happens. I’ve got my options open. If I don’t get drafted or get a contract with cricket, I’ll see how long I will be able to play both sports.

“However, the decision could be made for me. So, regarding a preference, I’d say post-carnival with footy this year I’m pretty confident with the way my footy is going. So, I’d like to go with footy at the moment. I’ve always played footy, since I was four or five, whereas cricket is something I picked up a few years back to play a summer sport --- and cricket took off.”

A West Coast Eagles supporter, Clark has expectations of being drafted. “Leading into this year’s carnival, I was just looking at as I was not expecting to do as well as I did. I was probably thinking, maybe, I could be a smokie and be picked up as a rookie,” he said.

“But after the carnival, getting the MVP award and being named an all-Australian probably pushed me up the ranks a fair bit. And I’ve had a bit of contact with AFL clubs. If I get drafted I wouldn’t care which club drafted me; I would go anywhere; it would be a dream.”

Clark was born in Mandurah and lived there until his family moved to Albany when he was 13 where he went on to play football for the Railways club. He received a scholarship to Guildford Grammar School and was a boarder there in Years 11 and 12 (this year).

Clark was a member of the State under-16 side and played as an inside midfielder in carnival matches in Adelaide and the Gold Coast. He then played in national carnivals in the under-17s and under-18s.

He made his first-grade cricket debut for Rockingham-Mandurah a few weeks after his 16^th birthday and then was chosen in the Australian under-16 side to play three 50-overs-a-side matches and three T20 matches against Pakistan in Dubai in January 2017 when he earned the man-off-the-series award.

The highlight of the series was Clark’s hat-trick and his 5-31 off 7.1 overs. With the final two deliveries of the 42^nd over he dismissed Pakistan’s captain Aarish Ali and Nasim Shah (both caught behind) and with the first ball of the 44^th over he bowled centurion Ruhail Nazir.

At the end of the 2016-17 season Clark won the award as the best under-17 player of the year in the WACA competition. His best performance in first-grade ranks last summer was his 4-93 off 21 overs against Claremont-Nedlands. He also enjoys playing for Guildford Grammar School where his coach is former South African Test batsman Hylton Ackerman.

“He’s a good down-to-earth coach and is having a good influence on my cricket,” said Clark, who identified his father Russ as having the major influence on his early development as a footballer.

“Lately, I have learnt a lot from listening to those who have spoken to the State 18’s squad this year. They include Bailey Banfield, who spoke at our jumper presentation night, and Jonathan Brown, who discussed football with us in Melbourne.”

Clark said that Claremont colts coach Ross McQueen has been one of the best coaches he has had coming through junior ranks.

He said that he is hopeful of returning to colts football with the Tigers (against East Perth) at Claremont Oval on Saturday. “I’m back at school next week and we have a game against Scotch at Guildford on Tuesday,” he explained. Geoff Valentine, an assistant at Claremont to league coach Darren Harris, is also coach of the Guildford side and he will determine whether Clark will play on Saturday.

Commitments with State sides and with Guildford have restricted Clark’s appearances with Claremont to seven matches last year and to four this year.