AFL Player 46: Lachlan Blakiston - Re-signed for another year! - 10/9

[ant555]

Nah, not shit. It is what it is.

Dude took his chance and actually did not look that bad at times.

Positioning was his big issue, just got caught out of position at times which is to be expected.

Agree. Thought he did a few good things. Inexperience as a defender caught him out a few times and our crap team defence gave him no hope a few times.

 

[bacon buster]

Looked extremely green. Not ready for this level yet. But we don’t have a lot of choices, so let’s see. Reid looked pretty poor in his first couple of games of the season. Then he looked like a future AA KPD. Just need to be patient I guess.

 

[Nicholas61]

Given he was in the WAFL a couple of weeks back, and then all of a sudden playing Geelong at the G with their speed and quality of forward 50 entry his head would have been spinning a bit. Takes a few games to get use to the pace of it. I know he was 18 or so when he debuted but Andy McLeod said he was overwhelmed by the speed of the first few games he played in.

 

[MarkJohnson#1]

Didn’t mind what I saw, had a crack, was up against it the whole night. Moves well for a big fella is probably what caught my eye.

 

[ghostdog]

Tough first assignment and played out of position. Reserving judgment for now but it's good to have a tall available and he put in a decent effort.

 

[andleanback]

Just not up to it at afl level as a defender. I feel sorry for the kid, your form as a ruck gets you onto an afl list and then you get thrown in the deep end to play as a key back. Harsh

 

[TheGreatBarryB]

Watched Hipwood yesterday play defence when Payne went down injured and wasn’t any better than Blakiston last night ..at least Blakiston got to a few balls. Harsh to judge him on last night.

 

[bennyg12]

Tough gig playing defence in a side that don't defend

 

[craffles]

Why the **** did we take a ruck in the MSD to play him as a KPD?

 

[Nicholas61]

I think they understood there were better pure ruckmen but liked his upside and potential versatility so were looking longer term if the next 6 months worked out. Would be nice having an athletic big guy who can switch positions depending on need.

 

[BrunoV]

Why the **** did we take a ruck in the MSD to play him as a KPD?

Necessity. His first VFL game suggested that he has a better than average read of the play as an interceptor at half back.

I doubt anyone thinks it is viable long term because that kicking action is as loose as Draper has been pre-2025.

 

[Nicholas61]

Impressive sideways movement for a 203cm guy. Looks more comfortable tonight.

 

[jannissary]

his kicking and handballing actions are very unnatural but he's looked solid

 

[bommer16]

He just needed some time to adjust to afl pace of the game. He looks good tonight.

 

[Doss]

Doing pretty well so far. Has managed to get to a couple contests he looked like he wasn’t going to make with those long levers.

His disposal looks odd…but it’s effective enough.

 

[Phone]

showed something with that attack on the loose ball in the corridor in the fourth quarter

(uh i think that was him, anyway)

 

[Jobe Watson]

Think I'd rather play him than Laverde.

 

[naraku]

He is definitely a work in progress, but he has a go.

Though 0 marks for a guy that's 203cm is something to keep an eye on.

 

[TheFrenchCut]

Think I'd rather play him than Laverde.

I tend to agree with this.

Pretty sure, backline wise, we're set to regain Reid, Ridley, and Redman for our next game. Would love to see Blakiston get an extended shot at McKay's role given they're similar frames.

 

[TheFrenchCut]

He is definitely a work in progress, but he has a go.

Though 0 marks for a guy that's 203cm is something to keep an eye on.

That's a fair point, but second most intercepts on the ground (9) suggests he does read the game ok from defense.

Tbh he's been pleasantly surprising given he's a ruck who's only been in defence at any level for three weeks.

 

[Jobe Watson]

He is definitely a work in progress, but he has a go.

Though 0 marks for a guy that's 203cm is something to keep an eye on.

He wasn't lucky enough to be like Laverde getting 9 uncontested marks sitting on his own in the backline on the receiving end of every terrible switch of play we attempted.

 

[Petrify]

He is definitely a work in progress, but he has a go.

Though 0 marks for a guy that's 203cm is something to keep an eye on.

He's nearly 27. Not much of a work in progress, what we see is what we get.

Doing a good job plugging the hole for now but his handballing/kicking is really rough. As others have said, I'd rather have him on a list than Laverde right now, but in the future I don't think he has a place in our side

 

[Blind Turn]

Spent a bit of time on Amiss who kicked zero goals, zero behinds. Did he have an opponent who actually kicked a goal whilst playing directly on him?

 

[Yoda_]

I dont see 'it' if someone can fill me in please

 

[Nicholas61]

I dont see 'it' if someone can fill me in please

Didn't see the whole match but what I did his direct opponent didn't kick a goal. They seem to have a gap on the lead but he closes it. Has rare lateral movement for a guy that big and seems to read the play pretty well for a third game defender.