Nick's Collingwood Page - The 2004 Team

The son of former Collingwood and Richmond star David Cloke, Jason was picked up by Collingwood under the father-son rule in the 2000 National draft. After spending 2001 at Williamstown, Cloke made his debut in round two 2002 and never looked back. He impressed all football followers with his courage and marking as he helped the Pies get off to a good start.
His best match came against the Bulldogs in round seven. Cloke played as a loose man across halfback as he saw the Pies to a seven point win. The long season often slows young players down, but it certainly did nothing to stop Cloke. After a solid performance against Port, Cloke went into the final against Adelaide with no problems, but certainly came out of it unhappy. Cloke was reported for striking Adelaide's Tyson Edwards in the second quarter.
Cloke would be suspended for two weeks, meaning he would miss the 2002 Grand Final. Cloke was devastated to watch the Pies go down by nine points. Cloke came out firing in 2003, but was slowed down in round five - where his confidence took a beating. He was then dropped in round six and struggled to find his way back to top form. But he was soon back to his best in the finals, as he was instrumental in helping the Pies defeat the Power
comprehensively in the Preliminary Final.
Finally, Cloke was able to play in a Grand Final. No tribunal or media to worry about this time around. But on Grand Final day, Mick Malthouse, in one of the strangest moves of the
season, played Cloke at centre half forward. In the absence of Anthony Rocca, Malthouse chose Cloke as the man to fill the void.
Cloke had an ordinary day, as the Pies went down by 50 points. Cloke returned to his best
in 2004, with his confidence restored after a good midseason patch where he destroyed Melbourne and played a hand in wins against Adelaide, West Coast and the Kangaroos. Against Melbourne, he dominated on David Neitz all day, although the Demon took the overall honours by nine points.