Geelong coach Chris Scott has responded to reports linking Jordan Clark to move a move back to Western Australia, saying he completely understood why there’s talk around his future.
The 20-year-old is out of contract at the end of next year and has struggled to break into the star-studded Cats side this season, with an AFL Media report last week linking him with a move to Fremantle.
Scott said he remained “really confident” Clark would eventually find a consistent spot in the side, but conceded there was always a risk clubs out west would be interested in luring him back to his home state.
“I can completely understanding the joining the dots of Jordan (Clark) being a first round pick, not being in our team at the moment and being a WA boy,” he said on Sportsday.
“Why wouldn’t those guys over in Perth be interested and that’s the way the system works at the moment, Jordan is contracted and we’re really confident he’s going to be a good player for us.
“What we have at the moment is a team who are pretty well stocked, high performers and (others who) play his position.
“A lot of players go through this and come through it, the Geelong team from 2007 to 2012 had a lot of players that played a lot of VFL football and that’s been reinforced by those guys who are on our coaching staff now.
“This notion now that if you’re a first round pick and you’re not playing AFL footy straight away then something is wrong...I don’t necessarily subscribe to that.
“But the risk is other clubs will be interested and that’s fair enough.”
Clark starred in the VFL against Footscray on Friday, kicking three goals and finding the ball on 25 occasions.