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His departure was no laughing matter for the Brisbane Lions.
But prized Melbourne recruit Mitch Clark should expect jokes rather than jabs from his former AFL side in Saturday night’s preseason triple header on the Gold Coast, Demons coach Mark Neeld said.
“I’m of the opinion that type of stuff belongs and lives on the other side of the fence,” he said of a possible Lions retaliation during the round-robin fixtures also featuring the Suns.
“The fans are the ones that have that true passion for the game and passion for their club.
“There might be the odd boo from there, and there’ll be humorous comments from his ex-teammates more than anything else.”
At the time the Lions couldn’t see the funny side of Clark leaving.
Besides depriving them of a ruck option, Clark left a hole up front for the Lions to fill.
And the manner of Clark’s abrupt farewell also did not sit well.
The WA-born product was elevated to the Lions leadership group last season but was lured away by a cashed-up Demons despite initially requesting a trade to Fremantle due to homesickness.
No wonder Lions coach Michael Voss did not echo Neeld’s thoughts of a good natured “welcome” for Clark.
Asked if Clark’s selection added extra spice, Voss said: “It probably does.”
But Voss added: “I don’t think you know what it means for players until they get out there and you see how it goes.
“Whenever you get an overspill of emotion it’s not the right place.
“If there is an attack on anybody we want it on the ball, not on a player.”
Still Voss appeared to have a chip at Clark by saying he “detoured” home by linking with Melbourne despite claiming homesickness.
But he claimed Brisbane had “moved on” since his departure.
“We haven’t even spoken about it,” Voss said.
And Voss certainly isn’t speaking about their lack of ruck depth since Clark left thanks to the arrival of No.8 draft pick Billy Longer and ex-Bulldog Ben Hudson alongside Matthew Leuenberger.
“We were looking a little bit lean there (when Clark left)… but now it’s quite a strong (ruck) group that’s been able to emerge despite it being not necessarily the situation we wanted,” Voss said.
“Billy (Longer) is in great shape. He’s an unusual big man because he actually looks ready to go.
“Normally it takes three or four years to get themselves physically in the right place.
“It’s a nice little internal battle there and I’m looking forward to it.”
Meanwhile, Neeld didn’t waste time putting the heat on his NAB Cup squad.
“I cannot honestly tell you what our round one team will look like,” he said of Melbourne, who open the regular season against the Lions on March 31.
“The players need to get out there and impress to make sure they’re a chance to be selected in round one.”
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