NFL: Former Collingwood and Western Bulldogs forward Travis Cloke prepares to make community footy debut with Hurstbridge

TRAVIS Cloke says he is in a good place as the former Collingwood and Western Bulldogs forward prepares to make his Hurstbridge debut on Saturday.

Travis Cloke celebrates a goal during his stint with the Western Bulldogs. Picture: Getty Images.

THE energy sucked Travis Cloke in.

After a 256-game AFL career with Collingwood and the Western Bulldogs, Cloke was prepared to step away from football for good.

Then Hurstbridge came calling.

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The Bridges had signed Cloke’s older brother Cameron after his goalkicking heroics for Essendon District Football League Division 2 premier Jacana.

“Cam kept nudging me a little bit to say ‘come have a run, good bunch of blokes, a bit of fun’,” Travis said.

“I thought ‘get out of the house, have a kick around’ and it kind of went from there.

“It got a bit contagious.”

Travis and Cameron Cloke are enjoying life at Hurstbridge.

Enlivened by the sense of mateship and the relaxed atmosphere at Hurstbridge, Travis has signed to play at least nine Northern Football League games in 2018.

Whether he features more regularly could be dependent on his family commitments, having become a father for the first time in November when his wife Beccy gave birth to their daughter Scarlett.

“It’s changed my perspective on life,” Cloke said.

“I was pretty selfish with my time previously.

“It has been a blessing, finishing footy and being a father and now my situation, getting back into the real world.

“I have never had a job before. Footy was it. Figuring out what to do, where to go and how to structure my life now and be a human, I guess, once again.”

Travis Cloke kicks for goal during the 2011 grand final for Collingwood.

Cloke will miss at least a few matches, keen to experience a weekend at the snow for the first time after AFL dominated his life throughout winter for the past 13 years.

He is working at Yarra Valley Grammar, where he was a student, running the school’s football program.

“I was a past student there so it’s nice to go back to a bit of grassroots there too and pass back a bit of knowledge that I have picked up over the years,” he said.

“That’s where I want to get back into footy.

“Not just footy, but my personal experience. I had some ups and downs in my career.

“I learned a lot and if I can pass that on to the next generation I think it can go a good way to (them) learning a few things.”

One of the harshest lessons Cloke learned during his AFL career was the negative effect social media can have on players’ wellbeing.

In September, the 31-year-old spoke publicly for the first time about his battle with depression, conceding negative comments on social media had hurt him.

Cloke, who has a Twitter and Instagram account, said he hoped to enlighten his new teammates about the power of social media, both negative and positive.

“How to use it in the right way, but also how to distract yourself from picking your phone up and reading the negative press (and) the good press,” he said.

“Because sometimes that can do just as much harm as negative press as well.”

Travis Cloke pumps his fist after one of his 441 goals for Collingwood

As the sun sets over Hurstbridge after a pre-season training session, Cloke jokes with his older brother, smiles and agrees he is “in a good place”.

“Things are clear. Things are nice. I couldn’t have said that 12 months ago,” he said.

Travis said he was excited about taking the field with Cameron again after they were on the Magpies list together in 2005 and 2006.

“Coming back here, it has rekindled that fun as a teenager and as a kid playing footy,” he said.

“To do it alongside Cam and also ex-teammate Brayden Shaw, it’s great. It’s enjoyable out here. It’s grassroots footy.

“You get to play on a nice oval like this, you’ve got the gumtrees behind you. It’s pretty picturesque.

“Saying that, it’s a far cry from playing at the MCG in front of 100,000.”

Cloke is due to make his Hurstbridge debut against West Preston-Lakeside on Saturday.