Blake v King

[Bakes]

I have a feeling that Blake might get over looked come finals time. I dont think we would want to go too top heavy in september and Bomber may decide to go with experience instead of the up and commer.
This week ommited with "soreness" and then bomber basically said he was rested, even when he previously said Geelong will not rest players.
If I was Blake, I'd be very worried ATM

 

[Sttew]

I have a feeling that Blake might get over looked come finals time. I dont think we would want to go too top heavy in september and Bomber may decide to go with experience instead of the up and commer.
This week ommited with "soreness" and then bomber basically said he was rested, even when he previously said Geelong will not rest players.
If I was Blake, I'd be very worried ATM

What a dilemna!! How many clubs would kill to have this problem? St Kilda, Collingwood, Bulldogs....

 

[cats2rise]

Its a no brainer for me.
Blake is sky high with confidence. Bullshit he was 'sore' pre game.

Blake > King for 2007.
Blake > King in hitouts, and hit outs to advantage
Blake has also improved 200% in his around the ground stuff since the start of the year.

 

[thegerman]

Agree that Blake is ahead of King, however, like this week we are coming up against a tall outfit and will probably need to have all 3.

Not too sure about where to go in the finals, good to get it out in the open now though instead of trialling it when it counts.

 

[crackerjacks]

Will take blake over King every time, blake seems to find the right spots on the ground he reads the play better than king.

 

[happy_eagle]

how many goals has kingy kicked this yr

 

[thehoff]

Blake must be selected in front of King. Should they choose King over Blake, I would not be surprised if Blake looks at another club and rightly so.

 

[kendall_cedric]

1. Ottens
2. Blake
3. King

I think King will come into some good form if he can stay injury free and make it really hard for Blake to hold his spot. As good as Blake has been this year he'll be second option as Bomber will go with experienced players in the finals. It's fantastic that we have such great competition for the ruck spots.

Chances are one of them will get injured between now and then anyway.

 

[Team Chemistry]

king has had it, as much as i used to love the guy he isnt capable of playing at a very high level anymore. IMHO Trent West is better than Kingy. Trade Kingy now while hes still worth a bit of value and then we can free up room in the "celary cap" (comic gold) and give bonus' to gaz, jimmy and sign joelzy selwood up for a ten year contract.

CHEOW (an italian take on meow) another great gag. Team Chemistry

 

[Cohzee]

king has had it, as much as i used to love the guy he isnt capable of playing at a very high level anymore. IMHO Trent West is better than Kingy. Trade Kingy now while hes still worth a bit of value and then we can free up room in the "celary cap" (comic gold) and give bonus' to gaz, jimmy and sign joelzy selwood up for a ten year contract.

CHEOW (an italian take on meow) another great gag. Team Chemistry

Give Selwood a lifetime contract now!

 

[Catman]

King had a real chance to put his stamp some authority on a game yesterday. Against two inexperienced ruckmen he collected just 7 touches, got flogged in the ruck contests and had no impact around the ground.

 

[DanA]

King had a real chance to put his stamp some authority on a game yesterday. Against two inexperienced ruckmen he collected just 7 touches, got flogged in the ruck contests and had no impact around the ground.

King won the ruck contests easily. He may not of done a lot around the ground but he definitely dominated the tap outs.

 

[Hood007]

Regardless of whoever gets that second ruck spot, it's great for both players to have some healthy competition. It's been a while since the Cats have had 3 quality ruckmen to choose from...

 

[Ling Sting]

King may of won a few tap outs on the weekend but his tap work is hardly as efficient as Blakes.

If King gets the nod before Blake for the finals, Bomber's old pea-brain ways will well and truely be back.

 

[Budda 230]

I'm a bit worried about the whole 3 ruckman thing. I hope it doesn't happen. I'd rather the extra midfield rotation. I just can't see the benefits of 3 ruckmen. We don't really need Otto as a forward for 80% of the game.

On form, Blake deserves the spot.

 

[DanA]

King may of won a few tap outs on the weekend but his tap work is hardly as efficient as Blakes.

If King gets the nod before Blake for the finals, Bomber's old pea-brain ways will well and truely be back.

I am not arguing King should be in before Blake. I believe the opposite. I am not so sure that Blake's ruck work is better than Kings though.

 

[darren forssman]

King won the ruck contests easily. He may not of done a lot around the ground but he definitely dominated the tap outs.

except for centre bounces...the guy cant get off the ground.

 

[DanA]

except for centre bounces...the guy cant get off the ground.

King got the same number of tap outs as Ottens and more than the two Adelaide's guys combined. Adelaide rucks started to jump early and King combated that by stepping around them. Most of the time that won him the tap.

 

[Ling Sting]

King got the same number of tap outs as Ottens and more than the two Adelaide's guys combined. Adelaide rucks started to jump early and King combated that by stepping around them. Most of the time that won him the tap.

It's not the number of taps that counts, it's the quality. Even when through a myrical King wins a centre bounce it's usually just a tap down to his feet.

Blake can time his leap and tap to advantage much better then King at this stage of his career.

 

[Bryceson]

Its a bloody tough call, but i reckon King is the man who will stand up come finals.

 

[Stripey PJs]

5 weeks, 1,000 posts, 1 poll later, and we're still debating this issue! Ain't it great!

King's performance against Adelaide was not as poor as some have portrayed. Yes, he only had 7 possies, but the track was heavy. Would anyone expect more from Blake? Like DanA, I disagree that Kingy was beaten in the ruck. He had 16 hos, a tally higher than both Adelaide rucks combined, and at 19% to advantage, which was also better than both the Adelaide rucks. I thought he played well, though this was to be expected.

Where's this notion of Blake's dominance in the ruck suddenly sprung from? 3-4 weeks ago, posters were insisting we play Ottens in the middle because the opposition controlled the contest while Blake was rucking. All season his hos to advantage have statistically hovered around 10-15%, compared to Ottens' superior 20-30%. Last week against Richmond only 8% of Blake's 24 hos were to advantage versus a mammoth 44% of King's 18. IMO King was the best ruck on the ground and his one-percenters and shepherding work was fantastic, his lack of pace my only concern.

I like the Gazelle, he makes a great cult hero. He's improved dramatically this season, and will be a very good player in years to come. There aren't many 21yo rucks who sit 10-11th for average hitouts when they're only playing 50% of the match. But Blakey's kicking is suspect and he ******s our running game. It's easy to chuckle when we're 50 points up, but in a close game those shanks of his could hurt. At this stage of his career Blake is tentative, he can panic and concede poor frees, especially when plugging gaps in defence. I question whether he's psychologically prepared for finals football. My primary concern with King is his potential to break down in the middle of a match, but this season I've greater confidence in Ottens' fitness and his ability to soldier on unassisted.

This contest is close. I'm leaning towards King, but I won't be disappointed should Blake get the nod -he's up to the task. This weekend will be the decider. Whoever performs better between Blake and King, against the strong Kangas' rucking contingent, shall be the preferred second ruck for rounds 21-22 and the finals. If it is Blake, then I hope King supports him all the way. If it is King, Blake can still be comforted knowing his time will come in '08 + beyond.

 

[Cattery]

But Blakey's kicking is suspect and he ******s our running game. It's easy to chuckle when we're 50 points up, but in a close game those shanks of his could hurt. At this stage of his career Blake is tentative, he can panic and concede poor frees, especially when plugging gaps in defence. I question whether he's psychologically prepared for finals football.

Good post overall but I couldn't disagree more with these points.
Sure his kicking is suspect [ to say the least ] but despite that, rather then "******" our running game he actually compliments it with his quick and accurate use of handball, and rather then panic he seems very cool when under pressure in heavy traffic, always looks for the best option before dishing off the pill.

May be wrong but I'd reckon the frees he's conceded this year would be minimal.

 

[DanA]

Good post overall but I couldn't disagree more with these points.
Sure his kicking is suspect [ to say the least ] but despite that, rather then "******" our running game he actually compliments it with his quick and accurate use of handball, and rather then panic he seems very cool when under pressure in heavy traffic, always looks for the best option before dishing off the pill.

May be wrong but I'd reckon the frees he's conceded this year would be minimal.

Blake
FF: 10
FA: 17

King
FF: 4
FA: 2

To be honest I don't think there is a hell of a lot that separates the two and with King having only faced dud ruckmen the last 2 weeks I don't think we have enough information to go off of.

 

[Stripey PJs]

Good post overall but I couldn't disagree more with these points.
Sure his kicking is suspect [ to say the least ] but despite that, rather then "******" our running game he actually compliments it with his quick and accurate use of handball, and rather then panic he seems very cool when under pressure in heavy traffic, always looks for the best option before dishing off the pill.

He deserved a little latitude after snaring that bag against the Tiggies.

You know what they say, Cattery, one man's hesitancy is another man's composure. Quick handball? Very cool under pressure? I do think you're guilty of gilding the Blakey, but what adds validity to your interpretation is the way he tackled the challenge of King's return by standing up and playing with confidence, rather than meekly conceding his position. Hopefully he takes a similar approach into the finals, should he be chosen.

We'll know more by 1800 Sunday.

 

[Claude Balls]

king has had it, as much as i used to love the guy he isnt capable of playing at a very high level anymore. IMHO Trent West is better than Kingy. Trade Kingy now while hes still worth a bit of value and then we can free up room in the "celary cap" (comic gold) and give bonus' to gaz, jimmy and sign joelzy selwood up for a ten year contract.

CHEOW (an italian take on meow) another great gag. Team Chemistry

Nice work on the gags