Travis Cloke set to line up for Chirnside Park in the Eastern Football League
A suburban football club that’s gone winless in the first 10 rounds of 2018, hopes the one-off appearance of a Collingwood champion will spur them to victory on Saturday.
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CHIRNSIDE Park is hoping the injection of a former AFL forward for a one-off appearance will help notch its first win of the Eastern Football League season.
Former Collingwood and Western Bulldogs forward Travis Cloke will feature for the Panthers when they face The Basin at Kimberley Drive Reserve on Saturday.
Cloke’s appearance came as a result of a competition on The Footy Show, where contestants can win up to $5000 or a guest appearance from an ex-AFL player.
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Chirnside Park president Adrian Burt, who chose the latter, said news of Cloke’s cameo had boosted spirits around the club after going winless in the first 10 rounds of 2018.
The Panthers average losing margin this year is 70 points.
“It is very exciting, we are really looking forward to getting him down there and having a kick with us,” Birt said.
“Everyone is jumping out of their skin ready for this, yeah the club hasn’t performed as we all would have expected but it is a transition year.”
Birt said Chirnside Park was anticipating a crowd between 2000 and 3000.
“A normal crowd might be 200 or 300 on a good day,” he said.
“This is something we’ve never really walked this path before, it’s new for us ... this has only come on us on Monday at midday so we have been scrambling but certainly you’ll find it will hopefully be a financial windfall for the club.”
Cloke retired in October last year after playing 256 games with Collingwood and the Western Bulldogs, winning the Magpies’ best and fairest in 2007, playing in the 2010 premiership and named in the All Australian side in 2011 and 2013.
Hawthorn great and Brownlow medallist Robert ‘Dipper’ DiPierdomenico will also be the club’s special guest speaker at a president’s lunch.
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