Prior to coaching, he played in the Australian Football League (AFL), his career spanning four clubs and a total of 258 games between 1993 and 2007.

Richmond avoided this rule as the two played in the WBFL which was as affiliated with the VCFL due to the Victorian teams in the league.

[4] In 1991 as a 17-year-old Clarke spent the year playing for the Richmond Under 19s whilst studying science at Melbourne University.

Debuting in 1993 with the Bears, "Doc" Clarke was a promising young Ruckman under coach Robert Walls and was particularly decisive with his tap work.

In 2005 in the absence of suddenly emerged number one ruckman Ben Hudson, Clarke was surprisingly recalled from the South Adelaide side in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL) to play a part in the Crows' run to the finals.

He performed strongly as the side's primary ruckman, displaying his usual ruckwork dexterity.

[12] On 23 May 2018, Clarke was announced as Adelaide's AFL Women's head coach from the 2019 season onwards.