Bully. You are saying that Matt Clarke thinks Ben McKay [optimistically] is the best player in the 2021 draft. (Clarke has said he thinks Gibcus is.)
Ben McKay?
Now, I love a backhander. And I'm not a massive Matt Clarke fan. But that is a huge kick in the teeth for Clarke. Heh heh.
In defence of the Gibcus selection, he would, off no steps vault Mac Andrew's imagination. And, if Gibcus is a forward he is a brilliant selection.
There has been a tectonic shift in RFC's drafting this year. Gibcus looks like a Frank to me. Hercules Higgins is the definitive Clarke.
Talking floors not flaws, his leap and competitive nature puts him alongside Sam Taylor for exposed form, I think that is a guarantee of a core player. I used the McKay twins as an example because it gives you an idea of how physical attributes can be applied in a different manner. These guys have largely stuck to their junior roles however, there hasn't been a project switch as yet, but I think Naughton has shown that it is possible to cultivate forward craft.
As for the recruiting philosophy in the Clarke era? He's a reacher, Dow & Brown give me the impression he's still basking in the glow of the Bolton draft, these are vintage comfort level selections, not Frank style conservatism. I actually think Frank would have picked Hobbs, at least early days Frank when every selection was hedged with blue chip safety.
Overall I think Gibcus is absolutely the right call, I think the potential upside warrants a top ten pick & I think the worst case scenario is not too bad in the scheme of things. The way it opened up the draft was also tactically brilliant, the sliders available at 17 almost made me giddy. The execution from that point on not to my liking, in a midfielders draft we should have been playing the percentages. Clarke's ranking system not clear to me, even with the added focus on kicking I'm still struggling to understand how we are comparing apples with oranges.
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