Almost Amos
Amos Frank, who has been compared to Cyril Rioli, will play his first game for the Hawks on Saturday
HAWTHORN fans will get their first glimpse of indigenous talent Amos Frank against GWS in Launceston on Saturday afternoon, and coach Alastair Clarkson has high hopes.
Frank, 23, is from the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Lands near the junction of South Australia, Northern Territory and Western Australia. He speaks English, as a second language.
"That's going to be a challenge for him and also for us too," Clarkson said.
"Amos has got pretty strong language, he can understand us better than we can understand him at this point in time."
Despite not yet playing a game for the Hawks, Frank has been compared to Cryil Rioli, and from the sounds of it the coach has high hopes.
"He's a livewire small forward, he's got good pace," Clarkson said.
"I'm sure he'll equip himself well. "
The Hawks have hired a familiar face to assist Frank in his new environment - Mark McKenzie, from Woodville-West Torrens. He knows Frank well and has joined the Hawks in a broader role, but helps Frank with translation.
Clarkson says it is best to keep things simple with the young Hawk.
"When you speak to him you've just got to speak in more simple terms rather than really long sentences and convoluted type of messages," he said.
"And you do a lot of stuff in terms of teaching him by vision or hand movements and body language.
"It's been a really good process for our coaches to go through, to develop tools as coaches to communicate in a different way than just verbal."
With big names Lance Franklin, Sam Mitchell, Jordan Lewis and Rioli all missing from the Hawthorn side to play the Giants, Frank has a huge opportunity to make an impact.
Matt Thompson is a reporter for AFL Media. You can follow him on Twitter @MattThompsonAFL
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