TRAVIS Cloke says it is about time people "shut their mouths" and allowed him to get on with the job of fixing his wayward goalkicking.
Cloke has been heavily criticised for his goalkicking this year, and in many previous seasons, and the Magpies forward said he was sick and tired of the advice he had been receiving from his critics.
"People have their opinion and it's great that people care and want to get involved, but sometimes it's best that they just shut their mouths and realise it is a game of football," Cloke told AFL.com.au after Sunday's loss to Richmond.
"It (his goalkicking) is probably frustrating for all and, I'll let you know, it's more frustrating for me than it is for most people sitting in the stands.
"I'm doing what I can."
Cloke 'dead-set gets nothing from the umps' says Buckley
The Magpies fell five points short of Richmond at the MCG on Sunday but it was through no fault of Cloke's.
The key forward was tremendous against the Tigers, kicking 3.1 from 16 disposals, while he also took a team-high 10 marks.
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Coach Nathan Buckley praised his star forward for his effort, with Cloke continually presenting at the ball as Collingwood looked for a spark when the game got away in the final term.
However, his own harshest critic, Cloke said he was disappointed that one of his scoring shots failed to hit the target.
"Three goals tonight is great, but it should've been four. There's still areas to improve on," he said.
Cloke has been doing a power of work on his set-shot routine and the club has employed sports psychologist Daryl Marchant to help straighten up his and his teammates' goalkicking.
Marchant has taught the players how to use mental imagery, which allows them to picture what it is like to make the successful transition from hand to foot to achieve the desired outcome.
Analysis: Forget about fixing Cloke
Cloke has kicked 17 goals and 11 behinds in 2015, but it has been his misses from close range that have been major talking points.
Leading into Sunday's game against Richmond, Cloke had kicked 4.8 from between 15 and 40m out from goal.
The star forward had booted 5.1 from his shots taken outside 50.
"It hasn't been a six-month, 12-month thing. It's been happening for the last three or four years that I've been doing it," Cloke said.
"It's still a work in progress."
