Blake Definitely Staying - Confirmed (HS Link)

Joined
Oct 28, 2005
Posts
1,717
Likes
31
Location
Here and there
AFL Club
Geelong
Thread starter #1
Then he is probably not the sort of player we want at our club.

Now all the reports about him looking at options may or may not be true.

But if he is looking then that is very disappointing. Just because you get dropped for a Grand Final shouldnt mean you leave.

I will sight 2 examples.

1 - Stephen Silvagni dropped for the 86 Grand Final and went on to become the best full back ever.

2 - Brenton Sanderson dropped for the 95 Grand Final. Went on to become a highly respected Geelong player and played nearly 200 games.

Blake is a required player and everyone wants him to stay as he has a big future at the club.

But if he wants to leave besause he was dropped the he is not the sort of player i want at his club.

This should be a character building thing for Blakey and he should come out the other side a better man for it, i hope.

Link to article regarding Blake and him possibly leaving the club.

http://www.geelongadvertiser.com.au/article/2007/10/04/7530_geelong_sports.html
 

(Log in to remove this ad.)

Joined
May 31, 2007
Posts
4,569
Likes
931
AFL Club
Geelong
Other Teams
Arsenal, Red Sox, Celtics
#2
Re: If Mark Blake wants to leave....

I'm choosing not to believe what I'm hearing about this. My feeling is that Blake will definitely stay. His axing was not Derek Kickett-style, they told him face-to-face and it was justified, I think King's performance in the Grand Final proved that.

If he wants to leave it would say a lot about his lack of character, and other clubs might think twice about picking him up too. Lets face it, he has the potential to be good, but he's not there yet.
 
Joined
Oct 28, 2005
Posts
1,717
Likes
31
Location
Here and there
AFL Club
Geelong
Thread starter #3
Re: If Mark Blake wants to leave....

I'm choosing not to believe what I'm hearing about this. My feeling is that Blake will definitely stay. His axing was not Derek Kickett-style, they told him face-to-face and it was justified, I think King's performance in the Grand Final proved that.

If he wants to leave it would say a lot about his lack of character, and other clubs might think twice about picking him up too. Lets face it, he has the potential to be good, but he's not there yet.
Well said.
 

Bryceson

Club Legend
Joined
Jun 23, 2007
Posts
2,612
Likes
15
Location
Melbourne
AFL Club
Geelong
Other Teams
Vic Bushrangers
#4
Re: If Mark Blake wants to leave....

if he is that mentally weak that he has to walk out after getting dropped then we dont want him.
 
Joined
Jun 4, 2002
Posts
13,342
Likes
5,187
Location
Location!
AFL Club
Geelong
Other Teams
pivotonians
Admin #5
Re: If Mark Blake wants to leave....

I think he'll stay. Its not so much that he was dropped after playing all year, which was bad enough, its that he won't be an automatic selection for the next couple of years if we persist with King. There are a dozen other teams out there where he would be a guaranteed start.

King is the big question though. He played only one decent match all year, however it was the Grand Final.
 
Joined
Jun 13, 2006
Posts
2,316
Likes
0
Location
Melbourne
AFL Club
Geelong
#6
Re: If Mark Blake wants to leave....

I think he'll stay. Its not so much that he was dropped after playing all year, which was bad enough, its that he won't be an automatic selection for the next couple of years if we persist with King. There are a dozen other teams out there where he would be a guaranteed start.

King is the big question though. He played only one decent match all year, however it was the Grand Final.
So do I. If he continues to bulk up through pre-season and works on his kicking skills, then it would be very hard not to choose him for every game.

I think that while Mark may be looking at his options there are two factors at play on our perception of to what extent - managers always say their players are looking at their options, and some of the press are beating up this story into a frikkin souffle.
 

Thommo 42

Norm Smith Medallist
Joined
Jun 2, 2007
Posts
9,782
Likes
1,198
Location
Brisbane
AFL Club
Collingwood
#8
Re: If Mark Blake wants to leave....

It would speak volumes about his attitude if he left, and thus the interest from other clubs would be slightly diminished.

He is over rating his own ability if he thinks it was a poor decision to drop him for a fully fit Stephen King when coming up against the Lade/Brogan combination.

Hope he stays, would be a shame if he left.
 

Maximus76

All Australian
Joined
Oct 7, 2005
Posts
761
Likes
144
Location
Perth
AFL Club
Geelong
Other Teams
Jazz
#9
Re: If Mark Blake wants to leave....

Is blake becoming overated...dont forget we dropped him because his wasnt good enough - Ottens was doing most of the ruck work - we have a dominate midfield which a tree could ruck too.. he cant really kick and needs alot of work...his around the ground marking is not brilliant...id say if he can get a big contract he should grab it cause we shouldnt be matchig it...I like blake and feel sorry for him but i hope he isnt buying into all this hype about him...mind you if he goes to collingwood him and fraiser and all their shortcommings would add up to ONE ruckman..

Hope ya stay blake but dont really care if you leave - just makes the justification on why we dropped you all that more correct
 

FTW_

Cancelled
Joined
Jul 25, 2007
Posts
1,367
Likes
4
AFL Club
Geelong
#10
Re: If Mark Blake wants to leave....

Is blake becoming overated...dont forget we dropped him because his wasnt good enough - Ottens was doing most of the ruck work - we have a dominate midfield which a tree could ruck too.. he cant really kick and needs alot of work...his around the ground marking is not brilliant...id say if he can get a big contract he should grab it cause we shouldnt be matchig it...I like blake and feel sorry for him but i hope he isnt buying into all this hype about him...mind you if he goes to collingwood him and fraiser and all their shortcommings would add up to ONE ruckman..

Hope ya stay blake but dont really care if you leave - just makes the justification on why we dropped you all that more correct
So you're saying just because he's not the best ruckman right now we shouldn't try and keep him?
He's only young, he will be good in the future, if we don't try and keep him we will end up regretting it.
Ottens + King won't last forever, eventually we should have something like a West & Blake ruck combo.
 
Joined
Mar 20, 2004
Posts
31,441
Likes
55,546
Location
Melbourne
AFL Club
Geelong
Moderator #11
Re: If Mark Blake wants to leave....

My suspicion is that this is just his manager making the most of the situation. By drumming up interest from other clubs, Blake will get the best deal possible from Geelong.

Agree with the sentiment in the OP though, if he wants to go, he's not the type of player for us anyway.
 

(Log in to remove this ad.)

Joined
Feb 2, 2007
Posts
90
Likes
47
AFL Club
GWS
#12
Re: If Mark Blake wants to leave....

give the kid a break, he has just had probably the most shattering thing that can happen to a footballer happen to him. I am sure he will stay and be a big part of our quest for back t0 back flags
 

Rockford

Norm Smith Medallist
Joined
Aug 22, 2006
Posts
8,913
Likes
3,080
Location
Halls Head
AFL Club
Geelong
#14
Re: If Mark Blake wants to leave....

I think it would be natural for the idea of leaving to cross his mind after what happened. That said, I think he'll stay, he has shown a lot of character this year and he has worked so hard all year for the team, the team doesn't go away just because of a GF win (or being dropped for the GF and missing out on one).
 

catcozmo

Senior List
Joined
Oct 12, 2005
Posts
216
Likes
2
Location
Victoria
AFL Club
Geelong
Other Teams
Lakers, L'pool, Vics,MACC
#15
Re: If Mark Blake wants to leave....

I think Blake been dropped from the granny has upped his market value a huge amount just because of the publicity, i want blake to stay and do believe he can become a very good 2nd ruckman, but lets face facts, he doesnt get much of the ball, when he does he cant kick it, and while his ruck work is improving it is no where near the top echeloen yet.

so i think Blake should ad wil stay and continue to grow as our 2nd choice ruckman, and there is no reason why he cant play in a premership next year.
 
Joined
Aug 27, 2006
Posts
83
Likes
2
Location
Mt Waverley
AFL Club
Geelong
#17
Re: If Mark Blake wants to leave....

Mark Blake had a good year and did well as a tap ruckman and contested well in most games.
However he has two glaring weaknesses - he is a poor overhead mark for such a tall guy and you could not trust him to make the distance 25 yards from goal.
Those weaknesses are a real worry as he is 22 and a bit late to improve in those areas. His relative lack of strength (as against Lade or Cox) was something I thought could be addressed over time.

I always had worries about him in a pressure cooker final (as with Collingwood) - I actually thought it was clear that King once he had a few games under his belt had to come in for the finals.
 

Rockford

Norm Smith Medallist
Joined
Aug 22, 2006
Posts
8,913
Likes
3,080
Location
Halls Head
AFL Club
Geelong
#18
Re: If Mark Blake wants to leave....

Mark Blake had a good year and did well as a tap ruckman and contested well in most games.
However he has two glaring weaknesses - he is a poor overhead mark for such a tall guy and you could not trust him to make the distance 25 yards from goal.
Those weaknesses are a real worry as he is 22 and a bit late to improve in those areas. His relative lack of strength (as against Lade or Cox) was something I thought could be addressed over time.

I always had worries about him in a pressure cooker final (as with Collingwood) - I actually thought it was clear that King once he had a few games under his belt had to come in for the finals.
Any area of his game can be addressed, including his contested marking and kicking. Like you said, he is 22, at the beginning of this year he was considered nothing more than a developing ruckman and he has done a great job to break into the 22. There is no reason to think his improvement won't continue as it has to date.
 

sarah.13

Premiership Player
Joined
May 17, 2006
Posts
3,331
Likes
1,364
Location
Melb
AFL Club
Geelong
#20
Re: If Mark Blake wants to leave....

My mail says Blake very close to gone. King signing today.
Far too much has been made about how well played this year.
Would he have played 22 games if King had not been injured?
King took 5-6 weeks to get match fit by which time he was dominating the Vfl. Blake's performances against Pt and Coll. in the two pressure games was poor. If he cannot admit this to himself then bye-bye Blakey.
Apparently Meesen wants to come back to Melb.
A ready made replacement perhaps?
 
Joined
Sep 4, 2007
Posts
86
Likes
0
Location
Melburn
AFL Club
Geelong
#21
Re: If Mark Blake wants to leave....

Blakey has got to accept that a Grand Final game is simply too important to risk a non-established player. One season of filling in, even though he outperformed expectations, does not establish a player. King has been at Geelong since he was 15, he's done the time. Blake has to accept that and if he can't then good riddance. Another reaosn he shouldn't leave is the history from his Dad playing at the club. If he does go it's not the end of the world as West is coming up and we could draft another young ruckmen this year.
 

Brasil2007

Club Legend
Joined
May 14, 2007
Posts
2,807
Likes
3
Location
Port Melbourne
AFL Club
Geelong
Other Teams
Snootles
#22
Re: If Mark Blake wants to leave....

Blakey has got to accept that a Grand Final game is simply too important to risk a non-established player. One season of filling in, even though he outperformed expectations, does not establish a player. King has been at Geelong since he was 15, he's done the time. Blake has to accept that and if he can't then good riddance. Another reaosn he shouldn't leave is the history from his Dad playing at the club. If he does go it's not the end of the world as West is coming up and we could draft another young ruckmen this year.

If we had played anyone else he most likely would have been a chance. But Lade and Brogan are no mugs and would have killed him if they had gone forward. As devastating as being dropped was, he has to think about how he'd have liked the reputation as the guy who lost us the flag if he had played and been crushed. We won comfortably because we put the best team on the park that we could, but it was still close at the start and if they had have gone a few goals up in the first quarter you never know what the psychology of the teams would be.
 

MmkMrMackie

Club Legend
Joined
Apr 20, 2007
Posts
1,959
Likes
5
Location
A yellow submarine
AFL Club
Geelong
#23
Re: If Mark Blake wants to leave....

I don't see why everyone is so willing to give him all this time. With a guy like Sandilands, who is 2.1m+ tall, then yes, give them all the time in the world, and even if they never develop decent skills, who cares? I'd love to have a guy that tall on our team.

Blake is not a giant by any means, and if he hasn't developed his kicking skills by now, he probably wont. Even if he could, how much time should we give him? Although his skill seemed to increase marginally as his confidence increased, we could draft a guy his size this year with better skills. As someone else mentioned, a tree could ruck to our midfield, so his ruck skills have probably been made to look better than they actually are.

He is a much loved guy around the club, but it's not because he's a great player. People love him in the same way people loved that african swimmer who came to the Sydney olympics but would have struggled to get first place at a primary school swimming carnival.

Blake didn't deserve to play in the grand final, and IMO is overrated. The club will be looking to hang on to him and continue his development, but he will never be our number one ruckman. He would only be backup to Ottens until he went, then from the looks of things, backup to West. The reality is though, that we need to get rid of one of either King or Blake this year, and with so many clubs in high need of a ruckman, both of their values will be massively inflated.

My heart says that we should try and keep King, but my brain says no. King will never be the ruckman he once was, and although he can get himself up for a grand final, his body is still his own worst enemy. We'd get longer, and similar service out of Blake. King will never be our number one ruckman. Plus, imagine how much clubs would be willing to fork out for an AA, B&F, grand final winning ruckman...

That said, if Blake can't suck it up and see his own faults, we should seriously be considering whether he is the man for the job.
 

vc_viking

Club Legend
Joined
Feb 26, 2007
Posts
1,901
Likes
35
Location
Babylon
AFL Club
Geelong
#24
Re: If Mark Blake wants to leave....

give the kid a break, he has just had probably the most shattering thing that can happen to a footballer happen to him. I am sure he will stay and be a big part of our quest for back t0 back flags
back2back ? is that all you're giving them? Geelong will break the 3peat from Brissy
 

Rubberducky

Senior List
Joined
Oct 6, 2003
Posts
213
Likes
115
Location
Shoe Box
AFL Club
Geelong
Other Teams
Indiana Pacers
#25
Re: If Mark Blake wants to leave....

What an interesting world in which we live. I believe that we missed seeing more of Mr S King by rushing him back from injury so often over the years. A franchise player when we didn't have many that kept coming back and giving his best.

Mark Blake was the 2nd string this year. We made the call and played him in the finals, not because King wasn't fit, but because we needed to make a call and King didn't have enough under his belt to take that risk.

The tables turn when Blake plays a shocker. The risk against Brogan and Lade is Blakes smaller frame but it's componded by his game against the Pies.

Kings body isn't a risk, his form is less of a risk than 4 weeks earlier. He gets the nod.

It's common sense and it was the right call.

If Blake can't suck it up then he should move on and all the best to him. Whilst I'll feel he sold himself short from what I can see, we can't judge him for it.

We owe King a contract, we don't owe him 22 games next year, he earns those, but you don't shop a player that has shown his commitment to our club. You don't have to offer him the world either, but you don't shop him for our benefit- you leave that decision to him.
 
Top Bottom