Quinton Narkle is a victim of Geelong’s embarrassment of riches.
Narkle was omitted despite a 25-disposal outing against Collingwood in Round 11 and was again dropped for Thursday night’s match against Brisbane, after collecting 16 touches from 54 per cent game time against the Western Bulldogs last week.
The off-contract midfielder has shown he can cut it at the elite level, averaging 18.7 disposals and 3.4 clearances from seven senior appearances this season, including a 34-disposal and five-clearance performance against Gold Coast.
Should Narkle explore his options at season’s end? Sam McClure and Matthew Richardson discussed the fringe Cat's situation.
McClure asked on Sportsday: “Why is Quinton Narkle not the player that we thought he would be right now?”
Richardson: “He was a month ago.”
McClure: “Inconsistent?”
Richardson: “I think he was playing well and then he got dropped because they had to get players back into the team.”
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McClure: “He’s got enough talent not to get dropped just because Geelong has a good team.
“He’s got enough talent to be in that side in his own right.”
Richardson: “He might be elsewhere in the next 12 months.”
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McClure: “You think so?”
Richardson: “If he’s not going to get opportunity surely his management are going to want him to play senior footy.
“He’d be playing senior footy at most other teams right now.”
Perth product Narkle has reportedly put contract talks on hold until the end of the season.
Narkle is one of Ralph Carr's five AFL clients, alongside Richmond quartet Dustin Martin, Shai Bolton, Mabior Chol and Daniel Rioli.