Cameron Cloke (born 20 December 1984) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Collingwood Football Club,

Carlton Football Club The Carlton Football Club, nicknamed the Blues, is a professional Australian rules football club that competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's top professional competition. Founded in 1864 in Carlton, an inner suburb of Me ...

and Port Adelaide Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He is the son of former and Collingwood player, David Cloke and the brother of

Jason Jason ( ; ) was an ancient Greek mythological hero and leader of the Argonauts, whose quest for the Golden Fleece featured in Greek literature. He was the son of Aeson, the rightful king of Iolcos. He was married to the sorceress Medea. He ...

and

Travis Cloke Travis Cloke (born 5 March 1987) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Collingwood Football Club and in the Australian Football League (AFL). Cloke was drafted under the father-son rule by Collingwood in ...

AFL career

Cloke was drafted under the father-son rule in the 2002 National draft. Like his older brother

, Cloke was given time to develop at Williamstown in his first year at Collingwood. Cloke made his debut against

Essendon Essendon may refer to: Australia *Electoral district of Essendon *Electoral district of Essendon and Flemington * Essendon, Victoria **Essendon railway station **Essendon Airport * Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League United Ki ...

in 2004 and played mostly as a tall forward. He played most of the first half of the

2005 AFL season The 2005 AFL season was the 109th season of the Australian Football League (AFL), the highest level senior Australian rules football competition in Australia, which was known as the Victorian Football League until 1989. The season featured sixt ...

as a ruckman and used his size well, however Cloke's season was ended by shoulder injury. More shoulder injuries occurred for Cloke in 2006 and managed only two senior games for the year. Cloke and his brother Jason were delisted by Collingwood at the end of the 2006 season but Cloke was given a second chance at AFL level when he was selected in the pre-season draft by Carlton with their second round selection (ninth pick overall). He enjoyed a great start to his career at Carlton, which saw him play a key second ruck role during the Blues' successful

2007 NAB Cup The 2007 NAB Cup was the pre-season competition of the Australian Football League's 2007 season. It culminated in the Grand Final on 17 March, which was won by Carlton. Prize money * Winner: $220,000 * Runner-up: $110,000 * Round 3 losers: ...

campaign. On 9 May 2007, during a routine training drill, Cloke sustained a season-ending injury by dislocating his shoulder. Upon return in

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

, Cloke resumed his place in the Carlton ruck line-up, often playing as the first ruckman for the team or floating forward to provide a marking option. On 6 February 2009 during an intra-club match at

Visy Park Princes Park (or Carlton Recreation Ground, currently known by its sponsored name Ikon Park) is an Australian rules football ground located inside the wider Princes Park in the inner Melbourne suburb of Carlton North. It is a historic venue, ...

, Cloke was punched and kicked in an off the ball incident by teammate

Setanta Ó hAilpín Setanta Ó hAilpín (born 18 March 1983) is a Fijian-Irish sportsman. He played hurling at senior level for the Cork county team before becoming a professional Australian rules footballer. Ó hAilpín is of mixed Irish and Rotuman backgroun ...

. Ó hAilpín was suspended by the club for about a month as a result of the incident. In 2009 Cloke moved out of the main ruck position, playing more exclusively as a tall forward who would take ruck tap-outs in the forward line. He struggled to maintain a regular position in the Carlton lineup, playing 10 games with the Blues and half of the season with Carlton's , the

Northern Bullants The Preston Football Club, which trades and plays as the Northern Bullants, is a long-established Australian rules football club based in Preston that plays in the Victorian Football League (VFL). It plays its home games at the Preston City Ov ...

, where he scored 39 goals in 13 games, including five in a losing grand final, to be the Bullants' leading goalkicker for the year. On 24 August 2009, Cloke was suspended by Carlton for one game for being late to a recovery session. Cloke was delisted by Carlton on 13 November 2009. There were talks that AFL clubs

Hawthorn Hawthorn or Hawthorns may refer to: Plants * '' Crataegus'' (hawthorn), a large genus of shrubs and trees in the family Rosaceae * ''Rhaphiolepis'' (hawthorn), a genus of about 15 species of evergreen shrubs and small trees in the family Rosace ...

, Port Adelaide and Richmond were interested in recruiting Cloke in the 2010 pre-season draft. Cloke was ultimately recruited in the Rookie Draft by Port Adelaide with its third round pick (41). His first and only match for Port was against

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Queensland, and the third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of approximately 2.6 million. Brisbane lies at the centre of the South ...

in round 3, 2010, and spent most of the season allocated to the

Port Adelaide Magpies Adelaide Football Club is a professional Australian rules football club based in Alberton, South Australia. The club's senior men's team plays in the Australian Football League (AFL), where they are nicknamed the Power, whilst its reserves ...

in the

South Australian National Football League The South Australian National Football League, or SANFL ( or ''S-A-N-F-L''), is an Australian rules football league based in the Australian state of South Australia. It is also the state's governing body for the sport. Originally formed as t ...

(SANFL). Cloke was delisted at the end of the 2010 season. Cloke played the following decade with success at suburban level. He played for Bundoora in the Northern Football League (NFL) from 2011 until 2014, winning Division 1 premierships there in 2011 and 2013. In 2013, he won the Frank Rosbrook Trophy as the best and fairest in the NFL top division; in an unusual case, Cloke was initially announced as the joint-winner with Mark Lynch (

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: ''Heidlberg'') is a city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Neckar in south-west Germany. As of the 2016 census, its population was 159,914 ...

) when the award was counted in September 2013; but in February 2014, an administrative error which incorrectly credited Lynch three extra votes was uncovered, leading the NFL to amend its records and award Cloke the trophy outright. He later played for Craigieburn in the

Essendon District Football League The Essendon District Football League (EDFL) is a professional Australian rules football league competition based in Essendon, Victoria, consisting of teams based in the north-west suburbs of Melbourne. Founded in 1930, the men's competition ...

in 2015 and 2016; Jacana (EDFL) in 2017 and 2019, where he won a Division 2 premiership in 2017;

Hurstbridge Hurstbridge is a town in Victoria, Australia, 28 km north-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the Shire of Nillumbik local government area. Hurstbridge recorded a population of 3,554 at the 2021 census. Hurstbri ...

(NFL) in 2018 and 2021; Barooga (

Murray Football League The Murray Football Netball League is an Australian rules football and netball league affiliated with the Victorian Country Football League. The league covers a large area of northern Victoria (Australia), Victoria and southern New South Wales ...

) also in 2018; and

Templestowe Templestowe is a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 16 km north-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Manningham local government area. Templestowe recorded a population of 16,966 at the . The s ...

( Eastern Football League) in 2022 and 2023, before retiring. He also made two guest appearances for the

Burnie Dockers Football Club Burnie Dockers Football Club is an Australian rules football club in Burnie, Tasmania, Australia. The club currently competes in the North West Football League (NWFL). Club history The Burnie Dockers were formed as a result of a merger betwee ...

in the TSL in 2015.

References

External links