• Magpies dump Cloke for third time
• COMMENT: Where to now for Cloke?
COLLINGWOOD has left the door open for Travis Cloke to move clubs at the end of this season but will not actively shop him around in the NAB AFL Trade Period.
Cloke was dropped on Thursday night for the third time this season after kicking two goals in his past three games, putting his future at the Magpies in doubt.
Collingwood football manager Neil Balme said on Friday morning that the club was happy for Cloke to serve the final season of his five-year contract, but refused to rule out the possibility of trading the big forward if he requested it.
After the Magpies' three-point loss to the Western Bulldogs on Friday night, coach Nathan Buckley said Cloke had been a casualty of the forward line's struggles.
"We went in with a different forward structure – smaller on a faster track. Our big fellas, Coxy (Mason Cox) as well, weren't impacting enough in the air inside forward 50 over the last month," Buckley said.
Buckley was "pretty confident" Cloke would regain his confidence and form, and expected the veteran to be at Collingwood in 2017, despite a tough year.
"There's clearly something that's gone amiss in his preparation," Buckley said.
"His effort and intent is always good. There's a lot of focus on him, and he's been in and out of the side a lot this year, but I've got no doubt that his intent will always be to bring his best to the table."
Earlier on Friday, Balme said there was always the possibility Cloke could request a move to another club.
"You can't be that categoric, who knows what could happen? We're all open to whatever is going to happen," Balme told SEN on Friday morning.
"But I'll guarantee you that he has a contract and we're more than happy for that all to happen because that's what we all entered into four years ago."
Speaking broadly, Balme said if all parties agreed to a trade "anything can happen" and players changing clubs was the reality of the game.
He said all parties needed to "look after each other" when the Trade Period arrived.
"[Any trade] will be totally determined by what Travis wants to do and then it needs to suit us and what we want to do," Balme said.
"Clubs aren't bloody-minded enough to be nasty about things … Travis has had a wonderful time at the footy club."
Balme said Cloke understood why he was back in the VFL, with young forward Darcy Moore replacing the 29-year-old in attack after one match on the sidelines with hamstring tightness.
"The reality is you don't pick a team to pick a bad team, you try to pick your best team," Balme said.
"The people whose deserves to be in the 22 need to be in the 22.
"And those whose form isn't quite right – or isn't doing what you'd like him to do, or someone might do a bit better – won't play.
"It's a selection decision."
