RECRUITERS flock to RSEA Park frequently in winter. They aren't hard to spot. Binoculars, notepads and foldout camping chair, if they aren't perched in the Danny Frawley Centre stand. But in March, there was a former top-10 pick sitting on the balcony at St Kilda's headquarters scouting talent. 

Hunter Clark had been thinking about dabbling in recruiting for some time, but it wasn't until former Western Bulldogs and Sydney recruiting boss Simon Dalrymple joined St Kilda in February that he bit the bullet. At that stage, the 25-year-old was sidelined again. This time with a complex calf strain after having his nose splattered across his face at training weeks earlier.

It was why the Mount Martha product, who was recruited out of the Dandenong Stingrays via pick No.7 in 2017, was sitting with the Saints recruiting brass – Stephen Silvagni, Graeme Allan, Michael Jordan and Dalrymple – on a Saturday morning watching Sandringham Dragons against the Eastern Ranges in the Coates Talent League.

"Even before I got drafted I've always been interested in the draft and always had a passion for it. I was thinking about doing a bit of stuff last year but never got around to it. When Simon came on board I had a chat to him about my interest in it. He runs a course for recruiting. It was starting in two weeks from when we caught up," Clark told AFL.com.au this week.

"I've watched a few under-18s games this year and it is something post-footy that I definitely have an interest in. Being here you get access to what recruiters are looking for and all the finer details they look for, that I wouldn't have known otherwise. Simon and all the recruiting staff have been really generous with their time. It is something that I will definitely look to continue to do."

Clark has had less spare time to watch underage football since the first two months of the season. But like Hawthorn skipper James Sicily and Geelong pair Gryan Miers and Mitch Duncan – who have spent time writing reports, watching vision and interviewing prospects in recent years – his long-term future in the game may be in this area of the game.

Right now, Clark is grateful just to be playing again. He is yet to play a full season in the AFL, only reaching 15 games twice. Last year he missed five weeks with a knee injury, after missing the first half of 2022 due to shoulder surgery and then suffering a badly broken nose. The previous year he missed a couple of months with a broken jaw from that contentious incident involving former Adelaide midfielder David Mackay. 

"The last three or four years has definitely not gone how I wanted it to go. I feel like I had a good start to my career and then a lot of injuries. My form and confidence has been knocked around a lot. At times I let the injuries get the better of me," Clark said.

"Last year I was playing some good footy, then hurt my knee and missed a couple of months and struggled to get back after that to some good touch. This year, I was really frustrated this year when I got injured but I was able to flick the switch very quickly, I trained really hard and got my fitness up. It wasn't the way I wanted it to go, but my resilience has definitely grown. Hopefully I can have some better luck going forward."

Members of Melbourne Storm's front office addressed Ross Lyon's squad at a meeting inside RSEA Park last Friday, sharing the tough lessons the NRL powerhouse learned in 2010 when they were stripped of the 2007 and 2009 premierships and forced to play without accruing points that season.

St Kilda can still mathematically play finals, but they are three games outside the top-eight, requiring a miracle to qualify for September again. It is why Storm co-owner and former Saints board member Gerry Ryan helped facilitate the meeting to help salvage something from the season. Games shouldn’t be wasted in this business.

The message resonated with Clark. He didn't play at all until the start of May and spent a month at Sandringham before being recalled to the senior side for the trip to face West Coast in round 12. There is still a lot for him to gain in July and August, perhaps more than anyone else at St Kilda. 

"We spoke to the Storm about how it would have been easier to not give 100 per cent effort when they were stripped of their points because there was nothing on the line. There was still so much to be gained," he said.

"Mathematically we can still make finals, so it is still there. We are putting ourselves in positions to win so we really want to fight the year out like on the weekend. We still feel like there is heaps to gain regardless of results.

"For me personally, I've only played the five games so far this year. Our ladder position isn't great, but I feel like there is still so much to gain for me and the team. It has flipped our outlook on it."

Clark has spent a lot of his career playing off half-back or in outside roles, but this year he has played predominantly as an inside midfielder. That was the role he starred in at Vic Country and Dandenong, the spot he now feels capable of executing at the highest level.

"I trained predominantly as an inside mid over the pre-season and since coming in, apart from the Port game, I have played in there. We've got a good mix in there. I've been loving it in there. over my career I've had stints in there, but not a permanent role. At the moment, I've got a clear focus on what I bring and what I can do in there," he said.

"I played there as a junior and then when you get into senior footy, I didn't have the body or the fitness to do it early days, it is something I've had to work on. It's been hard to build continuity with the injuries, but I now feel that my fitness is at a level where I can play good midfield minutes."

Injuries have taught Clark balance. He is now a qualified carpenter and has greater perspective, but a life with a set of binoculars hanging from his neck and a notepad in his hand may beckon once his time in the AFL is over. That can wait, the smooth mover is back in business again.