COLLINGWOOD key forward Travis Cloke would have made his stunning return to form with or without his illegal glove, Greater Western Sydney's Jeremy Cameron says.
The AFL has banned the glove Cloke wore to protect two swollen fingers during the Magpies' 32-point upset of the Giants at Spotless Stadium on Saturday.
He kicked four goals and took 12 marks - five of them contested - in his best performance this season amid his ongoing struggle to hold his place in the senior team.
On Tuesday the AFL checked the glove and ruled it is not allowed under their guidelines, though the breach is not seen as serious.
Cloke first wore it the week before in the Pies' win over Carlton, believed to be the first time in about a year he has done so.
He is understood to have believed it was fine for use, because it was similar to an approved one he has worn before.
Asked on Wednesday whether he thought the glove could have given Cloke an advantage due to its potential stickiness, Cameron said his fellow forward was simply in form on the day.
"I did hear the boys talking about it a little bit, but it didn't really matter if he had a glove on or not," Cameron said.
"He was 'on' on the day.
"It's great to see Trav - a forward like myself - playing good football again.
"It's always hard going back and playing in the twos, but the way he played was awesome."
Cameron felt "a little bit" for Cloke, who has been in and out of the team all season and widely criticised for his form slump.
"But I mentioned to him after the game, 'Why did you have to find form against us?'," he said.
"But it is great to see him doing well."
Cameron said he's tried a glove on a few occasions, but didn't feel it helped his game.
Last week's five-goal performance was the first time Cameron had kicked more than three in a game since round nine, and he said that he still wasn't overly happy with his game.
The 23-year-old said he's been frustrated at being stuck playing as a deep forward this season, and is hoping to switch up his roles during the second half of the year to make himself more valuable to the team.
"That's what I'm trying to work on, is getting a bit more of the ball in my hands," he said.
"You've always got someone on you as a forward and it can be quite hard to shake them.
"We've seen 'Jonny' (Patton) go and play back, 'Lobby' (Rory Lobb) obviously plays in the ruck, so I think my change will be more getting up the ground, leading up at the ball and always being a target for our mids and backline.
"The best teams change things up really well and that's something we want to do, we don't want to be one-dimensional."
