ESSENDON's got a Dylan dilemma.

Dylan Clarke has always been known for his ability to find the football on the inside and generate clearances in his junior years and through his time in the VFL.

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Clubs often use young players as taggers to help with their development, but Clarke ended up becoming one of the best defensive midfielders in the league.

So the 'problem' for John Worsfold this year is; do you use the 2020 season to let Clarke spread his wings, or do the Dons keep him as a tagger?

Permanent stopper? The stats say yes.

The sample size isn't huge for Clarke, but the stats show him to be an excellent tagger and a slightly below average when it comes to clearance efficiency.

Champion Data tracks every match up, but they become 'major' match ups when a player spends at least 40 minutes during a game running with that opponent.

Players with at least five major match ups in a season qualify for Champion Data's 'defensive rating' stat, which shows what you have conceded per 100 minutes to that opponent.

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A rating with a '+' sign means you are keeping opponents below their usual output - (+50 per cent means your opponent has produced half of what they usually average per 100 minutes) - and a '-' sign means you are conceding more than expected.

Clarke was ranked seventh out of 67 midfielders who qualified for that stat, with his first few games particularly impressive.

Champion Data also puts wingmen and mid-forwards in that category, which can distort the rankings a little bit, but Clarke (+30 per cent defensive rating) trails only James Harmes (54 per cent) and Matt de Boer (48 per cent) as pure midfielders in defensive rating.

Is he the third best tagger in the competition already?

It's plausible.

The Bombers have confirmed they'll use a run-with midfielder on a team-by-team basis again this year, so the role is Clarke's to own.

Inside bull? The stats say no, but the eyes say yes.

Clarke's clearance efficiency last year was 70.4 per cent, about six per cent below the competition average. Essentially that means that 29.6 per cent of his clearances led to turnovers.

Only seven per cent of Clarke's clearances led to scores, well below the 23 per cent competition average.

Not great, right?

Dylan Shiel and Dyson Heppell were the only two Bombers to post an above average clearance efficiency last year.

Most Bombers fans would point to Jake Stringer and Zach Merrett as having the most hurt-factor when it comes to clearances, but even those two are ranked as below average in the efficiency stat.

It's time to trust the eye test when it comes to this, as the stats are a little 'noisy'. Take this clip for example:

Clarke's handball is classified as effective, but because Parish immediately turns it over, it counts as an ineffective clearance for Clarke.

With the Bombers desperate for a ball-winner, Worsfold just has to roll the dice.

The hard yards are being recognised

Clarke's disposal efficiency has always been an issue, but maybe that's the key to where his success lies.

"The knock on Dylan, even right from his draft years, was his disposal," Essendon's current forwards coach and former VFL coach Dan Jordan said.

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"Not everyone is going to be able to execute those brilliant kicks, and Dylan knows that, but as long as he stays within his capability he's got other assets that are really valuable to the team."

"Yeah he works on his strengths, but he works on his deficiencies twice as hard," Clarke's under 18's coach Darren Bewick said of his tendencies.

"His clearance work and hands have always been elite."

Clarke has spent the summer refining his inside craft with development coach Cam Roberts and doing extra sessions with fellow midfielders Darcy Parish and Kobe Mutch.

"I'm trying to be the best I possibly can be on the inside with my hands," Clarke told AFL.com.au.

"I've been working on my repeat speed and spread from the stoppages.

"I also want to be on the outside and become a good user with the ball."

It's not just cliché pre-season talk from Clarke, he's backed it up on the track.

"Post stoppage, Dylan's got his fitness level to where he's in the top two or three at the club," Jordan said.

Porque no los dos?

The little girl in the Old El Paso commercial might have hit the nail on the head here.

Why can't Clarke do both?

Clarke manages to push the ultra-strong Patrick Cripps under the ball, stop him from getting an effective possession, steals the ball away from him and gets off a handball leading to a clearance.

Can he do that every time? It's a big ask.

The brains trust at Essendon rate Clarke's competitiveness and pressure as the nuances that make his inside game brilliant.

If Clarke can be a little cleaner, maybe he's the solution for the Bombers on the inside.