What Clarko says
28. Paul Puopolo
I daresay today’s article will be of interest to Hawks supporters following the progress of Paul Puopolo, who has been at our Club for the last 12 months.
Paul will wear guernsey number 28 once again in season 2012.
‘Poppy’ developed quite a cult following within our supporters during the year because of his deeds on the park.
He played most of his footy for us down back but he had a few cameo roles in the front end, particularly against Sydney in the 2011 second semi-final where he kicked three goals and really got us going.
Paul will continue to add some spark to our side in the years ahead.
I think the reason why people have so much time for ‘Poppy’ and the way he goes about his footy is because of his stature - he’s not too much bigger than 170cm but he gives his all and that is the beauty of our great game - it can feature men of all shapes and sizes who can still make a huge contribution.
Paul is very popular amongst his teammates and he’s a no-fuss player who can be asked to do any type of role and will put in 100 per cent effort.
We’ve been delighted with the way he’s transitioned into our Club - we took him as a mature-aged guy from the Norwood Football Club in South Australia where he’d been for four years.
He really decided to give himself every chance to play AFL football and knuckled down, got his body fit and produced some standout seasons and that was the reason Geoff Morris (South Coast Recruiting Manager) recommended him to us for mature-age selection in the 2011 National Draft.
Paul, along with Isaac Smith, made an impact in his first year and we’re pleased he’s been able to add some grunt to our side.
I’m sure all our Hawks supporters will be really interested in following his progress - just where he’ll play is yet to be determined.
We like his capacity to play both down back and up forward but he’s also demonstrated with Norwood that he can play in the midfield too.
His appetite and thirst for contest means he’ll feature in our side on a regular basis in the years to come.
Tomorrow we feature Stephen Gilham who missed a fair chunk of footy last year after a season-ending knee injury. It’ll be great to see Gilly running around again.
