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Tom Clurey went home to Invergordon over summer as he often does. But, with the arrival of Aliir Aliir, this time it was different. Here’s how he proved himself again.
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Tom Clurey’s former coach reckons he’s “bombproof”.
The key defender from northern Victoria may come across as laid back and relaxed, but those who know the Port Adelaide backman say under this is an elite mindset ready to do anything for his side.
Darren Ogier, Clurey’s former coach at the Murray Bushrangers, said he knew he had something special on his hands with the kid from Invergordon.
“He was a quiet sort of a kid but nothing fazed him, he was pretty much bombproof,” he said.
“He was relaxed but when it was time to go with footy well that’s when he stepped up.”
And Clurey continues to step up with his footy.
As he does whenever he gets the chance, Clurey headed back to his hometown of Invergordon in the off-season.
But this time it was slightly different for the Port Adelaide key defender.
Despite being a mainstay in the Power’s defence that helped Ken Hinkley’s side get to a preliminary final in 2020, the acquisition of Aliir Aliir to add some height to the backline had some questioning whether Clurey was a walk-up starter.
This was on the back of Trent McKenzie making the most of his AFL lifeline, finishing fifth in the John Cahill Medal in 2020.
So Clurey went back to the tiny farming community 40km from Shepparton, where his family has more than 1000 acres, and got to work.
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“I know he was really determined this year because they brought in a few defenders, to make his mark and I think he has probably put in more work than ever before to get his body to the right size and shape to what he needs to do for the club,” Max Wright, the president of Clurey’s local club Katamatite said.
“Every chance he gets he comes home, he loves it out on the farm and he still has his mates here as well.”
A slight injury setback to McKenzie in pre-season made the Power’s decision as to who their three talls in defence would be a fair bit easier.
And the 27-year-old Clurey hasn’t looked back.
While it was assumed by many that Aliir would take Clurey’s spot, the two have coexisted nearly perfectly with the Power defence the third meanest so far this season.
Aliir’s exploits since coming to the Power from Sydney have led to him being labelled as one of the recruits of the year so far.
But Clurey is more than matching it with his new defensive partner.
Aliir has had three more intercept marks than Clurey in 2021, with the two ranked eighth and 14th in the competition.
However, Clurey has more pressure acts, 45 to 44, as well as more spoils - 46 to 36.
Just how well Clurey has been going this season became evident after the Power’s Showdown 49 win on Saturday night - with the key defender making a big case to have been awarded the Medal.
Clurey kept Crows talisman Taylor Walker to just six disposals and two marks, while also amassing 17 possessions and seven marks of his own.
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But Power star Travis Boak got the most votes for the Showdown Medal.
“It would have been nice to get some silverware,” Clurey said this week.
“I haven’t gotten anything since I was 10.”
Ogier said Clurey was selling himself short.
“I have kids who played netball at the same junior club as Tom so I’ve seen Tom since he was 10 or 11 years old and he was running around getting 50 possessions in the fourths at local footy,” he said.
“He was a bit of a special one for myself. He had an elite mindset from day one he was pretty much bombproof Tom.
“The more work you gave him he would do, he couldn’t get enough of the coaching side of it as well as going through the talent pathways.
“I’m glad he is doing well and getting some accolades for the way he plays.
“I always used to say to him you are like the time trial king and they play you on the last line of defence playing on blokes that are 10kgs heavier than you.
“He does such a good job down there, he is a good rebounder now, he reads the play really well and his intercepting has really improved.”
Wright said Clurey playing up in age-group for Katamatite allowed him to play bigger than he was, even though he is still 193cm.
“If they have a bit of size and ability about them they have to play senior footy pretty early, I think it is a pretty good formula,” Wright said.
Hinkley said Clurey was in the “sweet spot” of his career.
“Tom has been a really consistent player for a few years now,” he said.
“He has matured … he is probably in his sweet spot of his football career.
“I hope it continues for three to four years for him.”
Why Ladhams won race to replace Lycett
Peter Ladhams will get first crack to fill Scott Lycett’s spot in the ruck with Port Adelaide deciding against throwing in the untried Sam Hayes for the Power’s Saturday night blockbuster against the Western Bulldogs.
Lycett will sit out the next four matches after tribunal slugged him with the penalty for his dangerous tackle on Adelaide’s Ned McHenry in the Showdown.
This had opened the door for Hayes, who has been in red-hot form in the SANFL, to make his AFL debut but Power coach Ken Hinkley said they would go with Ladhams for the 2nd v 3rd match at Adelaide Oval.
“We are really keen to give Sam some AFL experience at the right time but today we think the time is right for Pete Ladhams,” he said.
“We are pretty bullish about our young players and there is an opportunity over the next four to five weeks for Sam.”
Hinkley said Ladhams’ flexibility won out.
“We just decided on types of match-ups we are expected to get and the flexibility Ladhams can provide us,” he said.
Dan Houston re-injuring his shoulder in the Showdown means he will sit out the clash against the Bulldogs, with Riley Bonner coming in for his first game since injuring his hamstring in Round 1.
Hinkley said Houston would not need surgery on the shoulder injury.
“It’s just a rest, he probably needs one maybe two we won’t force that issue until we know,” he said.
Hinkley said that would be the only changes for the Power.
SILVER LINING IN BUTTERS BLOW REVEALED
One of Australia’s leading sports doctors says there will be a silver lining in Zak Butters’ syndesmosis setback.
Butters suffered a syndesmosis tear against reigning premier Richmond in Round 4 and has since had surgery on the injury.
The 20-year-old forward-midfielder started running last week but noticed was something wrong.
“The actual ankle itself is in very good areas and progressing as we would have thought so,” he said on SEN SA.
“But as I was running last week I noticed some weakness in the same leg and got some scans … and it is pretty unfortunate, it’s a pretty rare thing to happen but from the same incident I have some nerve damage in my leg.
“So that was causing the not letting me run how I was expected to at that stage … it is improving but it is a day by day thing.”
Port Adelaide have said this will delay Butters’ return and are yet to reveal a time frame for his recovery.
“Nerves can recover slowly and unpredictably, there is no formal treatment for a nerve injury,” Dr Peter Larkins said.
“That is the problem because nerves can settle down after a couple of days and you can have nerves that take six to eight weeks to settle down.
“The nerve from your knee does affect the power in your foot and ankle potentially so that is a complication.”
Dr Larkins said Port Adelaide would have to closely monitor Butters during his recovery.
“The nerve is just a watch-and-see situation,” he said.
“Mark Fisher (Port Adelaide’s chief medical officer) will be assessing that every three or four days, they will be doing strength tests on the muscle.
“You can actually do a nerve test which is called a nerve conduction test and that sees if the nerve is firing at 100 per cent efficiency.
“That is a complicated test to do so if they are really worried that it is a bit weak they can check that and when the nerve specialist says it is firing they can load him back up.”
Dr Larkins said extra time on the sidelines would ultimately benefit Butters.
“If the nerve has been shut down a bit, you can’t put a time frame on it,” he said.
“It’s probably not a bad idea if he takes another month, it’s probably a good thing for his ankle.”
Larkins said any long-term damage was unlikely.
“Not unless the nerve has permanent damage, and that’s why they do the nerve conduction test and if that shows the nerve does have permanent damage then it does affect him,” he said.
“But that is rare so I don’t think in the future it has any long term consequences.”
PORT MIDFIELDER HOSPITALISED IN LATEST SETBACK
Tom Rockliff’s luckless season has continued with the Port Adelaide midfielder hospitalised with deep vein thrombosis.
The former Brisbane captain and prolific ball winner has only played one game this season, coming on as the medical sub in Round 1 for the Power.
Since then he was concussed in the SANFL and when he looked set to break back into the Power’s side he sprained his medial ligament in his knee.
It was then discovered that Rockliff had an isolated tear of the medial meniscus, which would require surgical intervention.
The Power said this wouldn’t impact the 31-year-old’s recovery, but now Rockliff has been hospitalised with deep vein thrombosis.
In a statement Port said Rockliff was immediately sent for an ultrasound after reporting the acute onset of calf pain on Monday at the club.
The ultrasound confirmed the deep vein thrombosis and the Power say his condition will be monitored in hospital in the short term.
Rockliff is out of contract at the end of the year after moving to Alberton after the 2017 season at the Lions.
He is one of the most popular players in the AFL, for his ability to get huge amounts of the ball during games.
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