Blakey's chance for 100

[rocker_oz33]

I'd love to see Blakey come in. I think he's an ok tap ruckman.

I am sick of Hawkins though. Absolutely sick of him getting games with less than standard performances. I am not a Hawkins hater either, I'm just not sure anymore if he is up to AFL standards.

well you might get your wish vardy is prob a better ruck than hawk.now all he has to do is get some more games under he's belt and he could push hawk out.

 

[couchy555]

I feel sorry for Hawkins in the ruck coz he's not a ruckman. Kinda like saying Apples make for shit oranges

 

[cynical]

lol blake, he already got his premiership he doesn't need 100 games

we were too top heavy which is why vardy went off, i think he will be no1 ruck next week

 

[Turbocat]

Some people on here have a blind spot on Blake. Blake has issues but I think it would be crazy not to play him and see him go elsewhere on 99 games. As well as that , he may very well help us by allowing a rest for Ottens who has been fantastic this year but should now be rested for a week or two. I haven't seen anything in Vardy or Hawkins which says they are ready to be the number 1 ruck.

 

[tiredcat]

If Ottens is to be rested there is only one ruck option as a replacement.

Blake is the only viable option as the West and Simpson are injured and have not played reserves for a couple of weeks and Vardy plays mainly forward in the reserves and needs a lot of gym work before being considered first ruck on last nights form.

While there is little respect for Blake on this forum he is still a mile ahead of any replacement we have in form, durability and ability.

Blake might not be with us next year but while we are looking at still being a finals contender play the best we have and not on potential or forum love.

For those that say we may have lost games with Blake we didn't do too bad in 09 when Ottens played 6 Gms and Blake carried the Ruck.

 

[Pure_Ownage]

Sick of hearing about West and Simpson time for them to put up or be moved on.

personally I can't see them playing 99 games between them at this club.

Hawkins and Vardy will be our second (mobile) rucks in to the future.

Simpson's going no where, always got a bent eye lash or broken fingernail.

Like it or not the only other bloke at the club that can give our on ballers first use of the pill is good old Blake.

Better hope Otto go's on next year or we can jag a no1 ruck in the trading period or were screwed.

What the flipping heck? Look I'm not going to sit here and say I am confident they will become good AFL players, but how many opportunities have they been given in 9 years on the list between them? About 12 games? Conversely Blake's had 99 and had his chance and hadn't taken it.

I'm not anti Blake, and no doubt if he played on Sat he might do ok, but that's the biggest reason he shouldn't play. If Blake won't be here next year, as seems increasingly likely, every game he plays is a wasted game. Conversely West and Simpson will be here next year (whether anyone likes it or not) and I agree with you we need to find out if they can cut it, which is why they should play, because every game they play has a purpose in terms of finding that out. Playing Blake has no purpose unless he sees himself as part of our future and the club does too, and I doubt that is the case.

Oh, that and the fact that West was in much better form than Blake up until a couple of weeks ago when he got injured.

 

[rocker_oz33]

playing blake is win/win next best tap ruc- work getting a game would mean the world to him plus put him on display for poachers to use there highest pick for him. = win

 

[JUBJUB]

I'm not anti Blake

"Lies make baby Jesus cry"

 

[GoCattas]

Shoudl let him play his 100th. Never know if a good father/son might come up.

 

[leorex]

If he is our best ruckman at the moment then I can't see why we can not play him

 

[Pure_Ownage]

"Lies make baby Jesus cry"

It's the truth.

Maybe you should read the entirety of my post next time.

 

[you pick one]

What the flipping heck? Look I'm not going to sit here and say I am confident they will become good AFL players, but how many opportunities have they been given in 9 years on the list between them? About 12 games? Conversely Blake's had 99 and had his chance and hadn't taken it.

I'm not anti Blake, and no doubt if he played on Sat he might do ok, but that's the biggest reason he shouldn't play. If Blake won't be here next year, as seems increasingly likely, every game he plays is a wasted game. Conversely West and Simpson will be here next year (whether anyone likes it or not) and I agree with you we need to find out if they can cut it, which is why they should play, because every game they play has a purpose in terms of finding that out. Playing Blake has no purpose unless he sees himself as part of our future and the club does too, and I doubt that is the case.

Oh, that and the fact that West was in much better form than Blake up until a couple of weeks ago when he got injured.

Lets worry about this year first,if Blake can fill in for Otto and give our mids good service I'd back them to do the rest with out Blake having to go forward and kick goals.Iike wise the backs to do there job.

And any game if any he was to play in and we win is not a wasted game.

If West or Simpson are any good let them show it in the 2s I thought it was you who didn't want players gifted games.

 

[Vdubs]

I'm gonna pass on this idea.

Blake had 99 chances. He is a ****ing shit footballer. We are undefeated and I dare say there is a greater chance we'd have lost one of these close games if Blake was in the 21.

well just for the record, why don't you tell us all Blake's win/loss record in the games he played when Ottens did not play, and tell me if he had NO ROLE in those games.

 

[Vdubs]

What the flipping heck? Look I'm not going to sit here and say I am confident they will become good AFL players, but how many opportunities have they been given in 9 years on the list between them? About 12 games? Conversely Blake's had 99 and had his chance and hadn't taken it.

I'm not anti Blake, and no doubt if he played on Sat he might do ok, but that's the biggest reason he shouldn't play. If Blake won't be here next year, as seems increasingly likely, every game he plays is a wasted game. Conversely West and Simpson will be here next year (whether anyone likes it or not) and I agree with you we need to find out if they can cut it, which is why they should play, because every game they play has a purpose in terms of finding that out. Playing Blake has no purpose unless he sees himself as part of our future and the club does too, and I doubt that is the case.

Oh, that and the fact that West was in much better form than Blake up until a couple of weeks ago when he got injured.

It's just the way you like to look at it, which may be accurate, but we were NOT losing games with Blake in the ruck, and he was NOT dropped because we were losing, but because Ottens and Hawkins were available. Already preparing for the Pies introduction of Jolly/ Brown combo.

And iyo, West played better, but at that stage they were experimenting with 3-4 rucks, and we all know Blake is a #1 ruck only, not a FP resting ruck. West will never be the answer either. Blake in reality is the only proven ruckman who can replace Ottens in a COMPETITIVE and meaningful way if Ottens has a break.

 

[Cat in the West]

Thought it might be interesting to compare one of the better ruckmen going around at the moment, Mark Jamar and Blake. Blake matches up extremly well. but draw your own conclusions. One point though, I would have thought that Jamar has had more game time than Blake.


Player Statistics Comparison from footywire.com


Mark Blake Name Mark Jamar
Geelong Cats Team Melbourne Demons
Ruck Position Ruck
99 Career Games 101
Geelong Falcons Origin North Adelaide
September 9, 1985 Date of Birth August 9, 1983
25yr 8mth Age 27yr9mth
200cm Height 198cm
102kg Weight 104kg
2003 National Draft Last Drafted In 2001 Rookie Draft
Round 3, Pick #38 Last Draft Position Round 1, Pick #6
Geelong Cats Last Drafted By Melbourne Demons
Career Stats for Season Career
99 Games 101
2.5 Kicks Per Game 2.3
6.9 Handballs Per Game 5.6
9.4 Disposals Per Game 7.9
2.7 Marks Per Game 2.4
0.1 Goals Per Game 0.4
0.2 Behinds Per Game 0.2
1.0 Tackles Per Game 1.8
19.1 Hitouts Per Game 17.4
0.8 Frees For Per Game 1.3
1.1 Frees Against Per Game 1.2

 

[Vdubs]

Thought it might be interesting to compare one of the better ruckmen going around at the moment, Mark Jamar and Blake. Blake matches up extremly well. but draw your own conclusions. One point though, I would have thought that Jamar has had more game time than Blake.


Player Statistics Comparison from footywire.com


Mark Blake Name Mark Jamar
Geelong Cats Team Melbourne Demons
Ruck Position Ruck
99 Career Games 101
Geelong Falcons Origin North Adelaide
September 9, 1985 Date of Birth August 9, 1983
25yr 8mth Age 27yr9mth
200cm Height 198cm
102kg Weight 104kg
2003 National Draft Last Drafted In 2001 Rookie Draft
Round 3, Pick #38 Last Draft Position Round 1, Pick #6
Geelong Cats Last Drafted By Melbourne Demons
Career Stats for Season Career
99 Games 101
2.5 Kicks Per Game 2.3
6.9 Handballs Per Game 5.6
9.4 Disposals Per Game 7.9
2.7 Marks Per Game 2.4
0.1 Goals Per Game 0.4
0.2 Behinds Per Game 0.2
1.0 Tackles Per Game 1.8
19.1 Hitouts Per Game 17.4
0.8 Frees For Per Game 1.3
1.1 Frees Against Per Game 1.2

Thank you. I have made that comparison before, and it wasn't long ago Jamar was regarded as crap.

 

[pinion]

would like to see him get to 100. would give us a crack at any sons he may have. and who knows, perhaps like haemophilia footballing talent skips a generation in the blake family

of course, blake's probably still a virgin so this may never be an issue

 

[Pure_Ownage]

Lets worry about this year first,if Blake can fill in for Otto and give our mids good service I'd back them to do the rest with out Blake having to go forward and kick goals.Iike wise the backs to do there job.

And any game if any he was to play in and we win is not a wasted game.

If West or Simpson are any good let them show it in the 2s I thought it was you who didn't want players gifted games.

I recall that one of the first things the new coach said after his appointment (as did the club) was it was about 2015 as much as anything.

Just to be clear about what I was trying to say (this should be read by that nuff nuff who seems to think I'm anti Blake) I don't have any problem playing Blake this week, but he does play, it should only be so if they think he's a realistic chance to be a part of the future (i.e. the post Ottens ruck setup). To say it would be wasted to play Blake if they don't think he'll be here next year (and given trade week of last year that's a reasonable thing to say we think might happen) was probably the wrong word, but the point I was getting at is that given realistically on present form none of Blake West or Simpson will play in finals this year if Ottens is fit (Vardy may but that remains to be seen), surely games like this (i.e. whenever Ottens is rested) our selection of alternative ruckman/ruckmen has to be viewed as an exercise into looking at that future which Scott keeps saying is important. My point wasn't more that Blake shouldn't play, but that he should only play if he's considered the best ruck option for next year, not simply because he may or may not be the best ruckman for this week. I’d be saying different if Ottens was injured for the year, and contrary to what you’d think, I may well push for Blake in that situation, but that’s not the situation right now, and so unless he gets injured the selection shouldn’t be viewed that way IMO.

It's not an anti Blake point, it applies to all of them, if the club doesn't think Simpson is the answer or part of it future wise, then he shouldn't be the one picked. Same with West, you get my point. In all reality what we might see is that the club doesn't know one way or the other on the future of them all yet so they'll rotate the games Ottens misses among all three, and Blake might be the first one this week.

In regards to your last point I've watched every game of the 2's this year bar 1, and I'd say all three have been good, Blake hasn't been the best of them if you want to talk form with me, although he hasn't been poor either . West has been the best as Scott himself has alluded to, although to be fair some of his best play has come around the ground (particularly backline) rather than his ruckwork so how much you take that into consideration I'm not sure. Both Blake and Simpson have played reasonably well without standing out, so purely on form I don't think you can say Blake is ahead. He's in the mix, as they all are, that's about it.

Heck, they might just play Vardy and Hawkins and this whole conversation becomes irrelevant

 

[Pure_Ownage]

It's just the way you like to look at it, which may be accurate, but we were NOT losing games with Blake in the ruck, and he was NOT dropped because we were losing, but because Ottens and Hawkins were available. Already preparing for the Pies introduction of Jolly/ Brown combo.

And iyo, West played better, but at that stage they were experimenting with 3-4 rucks, and we all know Blake is a #1 ruck only, not a FP resting ruck. West will never be the answer either. Blake in reality is the only proven ruckman who can replace Ottens in a COMPETITIVE and meaningful way if Ottens has a break.

I agree that the games we were losing weren't because of Blake.

And I agree on why he was dropped.

In regards to the bolded, you simply can't say West (or Simpson for that matter) will never make it as 'no1 ruck'. Not given enough opportunities in that role at AFL level, nor does he get to play it enough at VFL level. Blake by contrast does (did it a lot when Otto was out, and has done it at VFL level).

The other point in regards to your bolded is Blake is a 'FP resting ruck', he has to be now with 21, they all do. Blake will never be able to play seniors again spending as much time on the bench as he did previously, because it puts too much stress on the other players who are already down one rotation. The club clearly see it this way because in the games that all three have played together this year, Simpson has rucked (along with West when he hasn't been in the backline) and Blake has played more in the forward line than he ever has. It's clear what they're trying to get him to improve on. It's also the reason Vardy was promoted first, because he has shown great promise in forward play. The fact that Blake is a proven competitive ruckman (on which I agree with you) will not alone get him a game IMO.

 

[David the Cat]

There's little doubt Otto will rest this week. West and Simpson haven't played enough football lately to be considered.

Scott says he will give Vardy more games..he made that clear. IF there's a doubt on Vardy, Blake will play.

Will Scott go in with Hawkins and Vardy? IF he did, it would be a statement he doesnt think much of the GC.

My tip is Blake will play.

 

[you pick one]

.

. I’d be saying different if Ottens was injured for the year, and contrary to what you’d think, I may well push for Blake in that situation, but that’s not the situation right now, and so unless he gets injured the selection shouldn’t be viewed that way IMO.

The way I'm looking at this PO is it really comes down to Blake v Simpson,Vardy,Hawkins and West are in there own battle for the no 2 spot.
What you have to say above and the fact we are 8 and zip and you would think finals bound has a huge influence in my reasoning to to have Blake fit and ready to go and to that end you need to get a few games in to him.

Hopefully Otto can remain relatively injury free, but he could go down late in the season or even during the finals, we need to be ready.

Now if we were 3 and 5 and struggling to make the 8, I would have to reconsider my position and Simpson would come in to the frame to see if he was an option for the future.

The fact of the matter is were been a strong team for so long there have been players who have missed there opportunity at Geelong and West and Simpson may be the next victims, who knows.

Do you know there contract status,I think Simpson end of this year and West end of 2012 but not sure.

 

[thegerman]

West only signed on for one year I believe.

Otto will be rested this week for sure. We need either Vardy or Simpson to play as the GC's ruck combo is tall, albeit a bit soft.

 

[cynical]

I'd have Vardy + Simpson/West, that way 2 young players get around 50% rucktime and hawkins gets to play forward the whole game

Would also rest one of scarlett/taylor and bring in lonners, dont think we need 3 tall defenders against GC.

 

[Vdubs]

I agree that the games we were losing weren't because of Blake.

And I agree on why he was dropped.

In regards to the bolded, you simply can't say West (or Simpson for that matter) will never make it as 'no1 ruck'. Not given enough opportunities in that role at AFL level, nor does he get to play it enough at VFL level. Blake by contrast does (did it a lot when Otto was out, and has done it at VFL level).

The other point in regards to your bolded is Blake is a 'FP resting ruck', he has to be now with 21, they all do. Blake will never be able to play seniors again spending as much time on the bench as he did previously, because it puts too much stress on the other players who are already down one rotation. The club clearly see it this way because in the games that all three have played together this year, Simpson has rucked (along with West when he hasn't been in the backline) and Blake has played more in the forward line than he ever has. It's clear what they're trying to get him to improve on. It's also the reason Vardy was promoted first, because he has shown great promise in forward play. The fact that Blake is a proven competitive ruckman (on which I agree with you) will not alone get him a game IMO.

All good, my only point really is we are playing for now, not 2015, otherwise Ottens would have been retired by now. Fortunately for us he has been superb this year, but if he needs a break, surely we play the next best proven, which is Blake, even if only a week.This week makes sense. 100 games is surely something he deserves, after his service in previous years, and he would do everything to prove he was worthy of AFL teams showing interest, if he is to be delisted from us next year. That, and West/Simpson have not done anything in the last month to demand selection ahead of Blake. We probably agree , but have different emphases. I would not be confident of a Hawkins/Vardy combination being competitive enough against GC, NOT YET.

 

[tiredcat]

According to injuryupdate.com.au Simpson has Quad stain sustained in Rnd 4 due back Rnd 10.
West out in Rnd 6 with unknown injury due back Rnd 11.
There is really only one option if Ottens is to be rested for Gold Coast