Jason Cloke won’t take family to football games because of abuse

FORMER Collingwood player Jason Cloke has revealed crowd abuse has forced him to stop taking his young family to AFL games, or to watch him play local footy.

Jason Cloke with Parkside coach Nick Condos after joining the WRFL outfit. Picture: Mark Wilson

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FOR Jason Cloke, family comes first.

Football is important to the ex-Collingwood player, but it’s not a priority.

The 34-year-old’s decision to join Western Region Football League Division 3 club Parkside met a torrent of criticism late last year.

Those condemning Cloke’s call to make the Magpies his new home accused him of chasing money and cheap kicks in the competition’s lowest division.

Cloke had booted 120 goals in the past two seasons for Craigieburn in the second tier of the Essendon District League and kicked 76 majors for Spotswood in Division 1 of the WRFL in 2014.

Throw in 76 games of AFL experience over a five-year stint at Collingwood — and it’s clear why defenders in Division 3 would have endured a few sleepless nights over summer.

But Cloke has revealed a serious illness for his 16-month-old son was behind his move.

And he says abuse from some sections of the crowd has been so strong he won’t take his young family to watch him play, or to AFL games.

“At the moment, there’s a lot of things going on outside of footy. I just decided I needed something a bit easier, to not even worry about footy and just have a kick when I wanted to have a kick,” Cloke explained.

With family his immediate focus and his youngest son now in a good place, the gun forward revealed he did not want his sons to attend games.

Cloke played 76 games for Collingwood.

“You get a lot of people who want to write a lot of things on the internet and the social media pages, but if you’re going to worry about that … I’ve copped it all my life.

“My six-year-old kid cops it now with his uncle Trav, (his) dad, and he doesn’t understand.

“I don’t take my kids to the footy. I don’t take them to an AFL game, I don’t take them to local footy — for the simple reason there are dickheads out there and people say stupid things.

“They don’t need to hear that. To be honest, it’s disappointing. I didn’t get any of that in the EDFL last year.

“I mostly only cop that in the WRFL. But it happens.”

Cloke said the past year had been difficult for the family.

“I had my third baby about 16 months ago now, and he’s been quite ill.

“He’s been in and out of ICU (intensive care unit) hospital eight or nine times last year, and it got pretty hard. Family, for me, had to come first.

“Craigieburn’s on the other side of the earth, mate, and when you’ve got a kid in hospital and your wife’s wanting you to be there to help out with the other two (boys) and everything, it came easy in the end (making the decision to leave Craigieburn).”

While Christmas is a joyous time for most families, the Clokes spent most of last December at The Royal Children’s Hospital as their youngest son, Lenny, continued his fight.

Family reasons were behind Jason Cloke’s decision to sign with Parkside. Picture: Mark Wilson

Cloke did not want the details of his son’s illness made public, but it meant committing to a club at a higher level — along with the requirement to attend most training sessions — was impossible.

The family lives in Williamstown and Cloke’s wife, Nicole, has been a nurse at the Royal Children’s for the past 15 years.

“I spent all of Christmas in hospital with him because he went in Christmas night,” Cloke said.

“It was hard for the other two boys (who are aged six and four) not being able to see him Christmas morning.

“He spent a week there then, but since then all is fine. We’ve had very good weather, which helps.

“He had one of his last major operations just before Christmas and that went really well.

“It’s just a matter of keeping him well, keeping him germ free so he doesn’t get a cold or anything and end up back in hospital.

“At the moment, touch wood, everything’s going all right.

“The doctors have been good for her (Nicole) and everyone’s been grouse, so it helps a lot that way, knowing a lot of people.

“As long as we can keep him out of hospital.”

Jason Cloke (middle) with his brothers Travis and Cameron in 2005 when all three played at Collingwood.

Parkside coach Nick Condos said he could not fault Cloke since he arrived at the club.

“He’s bought right in to our culture and what we’re about,” Condos said.

“Whatever he needs to do, we as a club and myself will support him. That goes for any of our players.

“We’re a perfect fit for him. There’s no doubt, with his ability and his name, he could have gone anywhere. I know a lot of clubs have been chasing him.

“We were lucky enough to get him and give him the support that he probably needs off the ground if he needs it.”

Cloke’s brother-in-law Justin Dorward also hooked up with Parkside during the off-season, with both signing on as playing-assistant coaches, along with ex-skipper Chris Muratore.

With Parkside a raging flag favourite after losing the past two deciders and Cloke expected to play a starring role in 2017, the star recruit insisted there was no pressure on him to perform.

“You put the pressure on yourself if you listen to that,” he said.

“My sole focus is my family at the moment. And footy, work come way back after that.

“A lot of things I’ve seen in the past 12 months, with kids in hospital and different things, sometimes you can take life and everything for granted.

“I’ve played in grand finals for the last six or seven years, and you win some, lose some. You play footy because you love it and if you win a grand final it’s grouse.

“It always hurts when you lose a grand final, but there isn’t a lot of talk about last year — it’s all focused on this year.”