Injury to Fremantle ruckman Jon Griffin has opened the door for promising tall Zac Clarke to make his mark in the finals, says senior coach Ross Lyon.
Clarke played the past two games for Fremantle, after he was omitted from the side for seven weeks after Freo’s 72-point loss to Hawthorn in round 15.
He played the first 10 games of the season, spending much time in the forward line booting seven goals, among a handful of tall players trialled as the second big man to Aaron Sandilands.
Griffin came into the side in round 16, after a solid first-half of the year with Peel Thunder in the WAFL but has not played since round 22 due to a hamstring injury.
Lyon told 6PR on Monday night that Clarke was solid in Saturday’s Qualifying Final win over Sydney.
“He is probably a bit lucky because Jon Griffin was going well until he hurt himself,” Lyon said.
“He grabbed his opportunity.
“He’ll be better for the run, as he went in with a bit of a sore knee but has pulled up really well.”
Lyon said Fremantle had persisted with Clarke, who has played 88 games since arriving at the club at pick 37 in the 2008 National Draft.
“There is plenty of upside with him,” he said.
“We’ve invested basically 100 games with Zac as a club and it’s about return on investment.
“This is the time of year, we need some payback.”
