Cloke's mind game
Travis Cloke reflects on his career on the eve of his 200th senior game.
Set to play his 200th AFL game this weekend on Friday night against Richmond, Cloke has won just a single free kick in his three matches this season, conceding four.
His coach Nathan Buckley thinks the new umpiring interpretation of body-on-body battles inside 50 will eventually work in his key forward's favour, but Cloke is not worried.
"It's a game of football," he said.
"They make mistakes. I make mistakes.
"I've played for 10 years now.
"I try to do the same things I've been doing for those (199) games - don't worry about what is out of my control and just keep competing.
"Half the time the battle is within my head...winning that is the greatest challenge of mine."
Cloke said it was an issue of confidence.
"If you drop a mark early on then obviously your confidence goes down. You want to take one, you want to kick goals, you want to do perfect things.
"You’re not human if you don’t get upset with those type of things.
"Half the time you’ve got to keep yourself going, push yourself forward: next contest, next game of footy.
Several contests in Cloke's battle with Geelong defender Tom Lonergan at the MCG on Saturday night might have drawn free kicks, but Buckley said the umpires only missed one that could have gone Cloke's way.
"I thought Trav got a little bit stationary last week and made it easier for Lonergan to defend him," Buckley said.
Cloke did not kick a goal in two of the opening three games but is not too concerned about his form, saying that he would continue to present and provide a target for his teammates inside 50.
The 27-year-old has kicked 353 goals and been a linchpin in the Magpies' forward line since his debut in 2005.
A brilliant contested mark but an inconsistent kick for goal, he has worn criticism and opposition attention well.
Cloke has missed just seven games since the start of 2007, won a club best and fairest and been leading goalkicker three times.
Buckley said the secret to Cloke's resilience was his toughness.
"You wouldn't really know the duress that he plays and trains under at times. He always has a 'more work is better' type attitude," Buckley said.