Is Mark Blicavs a symptom of what is wrong with the Cats?

[feelinfeline]

I would look to see if he had any takers, looks a mere shadow of previous years.

If he looks like a mere shadow of previous years to you, then surely all the astute football professionals at other clubs can see that too.

 

[Footy_Fan2007]

Good thread. Completely agree. We love athletes. Not footballers.

 

[catman2006]

If he looks like a mere shadow of previous years to you, then surely all the astute football professionals at other clubs can see that too.

someone like the suns need a good backup backmen so 2nd rd pick if we are really lucky

 

[catscratchfever]

While Blitz has played some good footy during his career, it’s pretty obvious he didn’t grow up playing the game. He can look indecisive and confused when under pressure.


On iPhone using BigFooty.com mobile app

 

[Spazz Cat]

He does seem to mirror the new school Geelong Football Club as a whole.
He got his first game as a band aid solution. And that's been the mantra of the club since 2013.
Band aid solutions. Plugging holes. Pouring chem weld in the car instead of changing the head gasket.
And he mirrors our values. He is the worst finals player from any club I have seen in my time, yet is rated so highly internally.

 

[catman2006]

He does seem to mirror the new school Geelong Football Club as a whole.
He got his first game as a band aid solution. And that's been the mantra of the club since 2013.
Band aid solutions. Plugging holes. Pouring chem weld in the car instead of changing the head gasket.
And he mirrors our values. He is the worst finals player from any club I have seen in my time, yet is rated so highly internally.

Rohan takes that mantle but Blitz would be close behind and Kolo in 3rd

 

[Spazz Cat]

No question 2015 he won it because that season there were only two performers, himself and Joel.

But last year he won because he was a super consistent performer. Constantly beat his man.
harsh thread
Grade A bullshit.

Completely deserved B&F and he should have been AA as well. He could actually beat a man 1v1 unlike Rance.

But we shouldn’t expect anything less from someone who has never warmed to Blicavs and to this day still waffles on

Nakia also called it

In 2015 we had 2 performers. Motlop and Selwood.
The fact that Blitz beat either of them was a disgrace and just another reason why Motlop wanted to leave.
Also comparing him to Rance is so utterly ridiculous. I'll just leave that one there.
Lonegan would be a decent comparison. Except while not a great kick Lonegan did not cause turnovers, and also beat his man more than Blitz.
Now riddle me this? Did Lonegan ever come close to winning a B+F?
Of course not. He didn't deserve it. Just like Blitz didn't.

 

[Spazz Cat]

Rohan takes that mantle but Blitz would be close behind and Kolo in 3rd

I'm going to take Rohan over Blitz. Just cause Rohan has played one good one.

 

[Strange Cat]

In 2015 we had 2 performers. Motlop and Selwood.
The fact that Blitz beat either of them was a disgrace and just another reason why Motlop wanted to leave.
Also comparing him to Rance is so utterly ridiculous.
Lonegan would be a decent comparison. Except while not a great kick Lonegan did not cause turnovers, and also beat his man more than Blitz.
Now riddle me this? Did Lonegan ever come close to winning a B+F?
Of course not. He didn't deserve it. Just like Blitz didn't.

Motlop is s**t so no great loss there

 

[kickazz]

Yeah - players like Clark and Narkle who can take the game on and do things are on the outer. Maybe justified because they don't work hard enough defensively but at some point we need to play these types - can't really be any worse than last night's result can it?

 

[Spazz Cat]

Motlop is sh*t so no great loss there

So is Blitz. At least Mots was great to watch and could win matches.

 

[Spazz Cat]

Yeah - players like Clark and Narkle who can take the game on and do things are on the outer. Maybe justified because they don't work hard enough defensively but at some point we need to play these types - can't really be any worse than last night's result can it?

When we can't kick a goal like 50% of our finals, it gets hard to appreciate the players running up and down the ground and doing circle work.

 

[Seeds]

Rohan takes that mantle but Blitz would be close behind and Kolo in 3rd

Rohan goes missing.

blicavs doesnt just go missing but has been destroyed by opponents in so many finals its hard to count. This was one of blicavs better finals series to be honest. Thats just how bad some of his others have been.

 

[Seeds]

Motlop is sh*t so no great loss there

motlop was ravaged by injuries. And still has performed better then blicavs in finals.

 

[catman2006]

Rohan goes missing.

blicavs doesnt just go missing but has been destroyed by opponents in so many finals its hard to count. This was one of blicavs better finals series to be honest. Thats just how bad some of his others have been.

It sealed it for me when both he and brown had a clean run up and blitz couldn't make the spoil, think it was Browns second mark inside first 8 min, you may as well have atkins up against Brown for the effort Blitz put in.

 

[STPer18]

Yeah - players like Clark and Narkle who can take the game on and do things are on the outer. Maybe justified because they don't work hard enough defensively but at some point we need to play these types - can't really be any worse than last night's result can it?

Half our team don't work hard enough defensively or offensively - some are just held to a higher standard than others, at least from the outside looking in.

 

[Trek]

He looks at sea without Stewart down back, they play well off each other, but Blics struggles to hold his own for the most part. Conditionally good footballer but still essential to our structure into next year.

 

[SkittleCats]

Mark Blicavs

46

Mark Blicavs

Age

33

Ht

198cm

Wt

101kg

Pos.

M/R

Career

Season

Last 5

D

14.5

4star

K

6.6

3star

HB

7.9

5star

M

4.1

4star

T

4.2

5star

CL

1.7

4star

D

11.1

3star

K

7.1

3star

HB

4.0

3star

M

3.9

4star

T

1.9

3star

CL

0.1

2star

D

8.6

3star

K

2.0

1star

HB

6.6

4star

M

1.8

2star

T

1.6

4star

CL

2.0

4star

and Mark O'Connor

42

Mark O'connor

Age

27

Ht

189cm

Wt

88kg

Pos.

D/M

Career

Season

Last 5

D

13.2

3star

K

8.1

3star

HB

5.1

4star

M

4.4

4star

T

2.3

4star

MG

174.8

3star

D

12.4

3star

K

8.9

4star

HB

3.5

2star

M

4.5

4star

T

1.6

3star

MG

199.8

3star

D

10.4

3star

K

4.8

2star

HB

5.6

4star

M

3.8

4star

T

2.0

4star

MG

67.4

1star

are symptomatic of the problem for sure; two guys who show basically no capacity to play football at all...But they can run all day. Okunbor will probably fall into the same category. Simply being a good athlete is not enough when you clearly dont want the ball in your hands. Which is what id say is wrong with both Blicavs and O'Connor, you can see when Blicavs takes possession of the ball that all he is thinking about is: "how can i get it away from me as quickly as possible?". Which is why he will dispose of it to the wrong option and put that player under more pressure than he was, he also simply refuses to kick it unless it is the get out kick along the boundary line to a pack off half back. I've also noticed that he will spoil the ball when he should mark it, and my only rationalisation for that stupidity is that if he marked it then he'd inevitably have to kick it to someone and he simply wont put himself in that position.

O'Connor is the same basically, refuses to take responsibility with the ball so disposes of it quickly therefore putting another player under more pressure which leads to turnovers etc. The bottom line is we are carrying players who arent being selected because they are good at football, they are being selected because they are good at running a lot. They lack the capacity to handle the pressure of AFL football and have shown that time and time again. Yet we keep going back to them and expecting a different result...

 

[#cats2021]

Mark Blicavs and Mark O'Connor are symptomatic of the problem for sure; two guys who show basically no capacity to play football at all...But they can run all day. Okunbor will probably fall into the same category. Simply being a good athlete is not enough when you clearly dont want the ball in your hands. Which is what id say is wrong with both Blicavs and O'Connor, you can see when Blicavs takes possession of the ball that all he is thinking about is: "how can i get it away from me as quickly as possible?". Which is why he will dispose of it to the wrong option and put that player under more pressure than he was, he also simply refuses to kick it unless it is the get out kick along the boundary line to a pack off half back. I've also noticed that he will spoil the ball when he should mark it, and my only rationalisation for that stupidity is that if he marked it then he'd inevitably have to kick it to someone and he simply wont put himself in that position.

O'Connor is the same basically, refuses to take responsibility with the ball so disposes of it quickly therefore putting another player under more pressure which leads to turnovers etc. The bottom line is we are carrying players who arent being selected because they are good at football, they are being selected because they are good at running a lot. They lack the capacity to handle the pressure of AFL football and have shown that time and time again. Yet we keep going back to them and expecting a different result...

Good post, don't rate O'Connor either and unsure why he is an automatic selection at this stage.

Maybe he can develop into a decent tagger, but he'll need to show a lot more next year in that role.

Just another 'nothing' player in my opinion.

 

[iameviljez]

I'm not knocking Blicavs, he's a good honest goer, but is he really worthy of being a dual b&f winner?

To me that just reeks of rewarding someone who's playing their role exactly how the coach wants, no matter how limited.

The first B and F, yes (in 2015). But not the second - he was genuinely excellent at fullback, and should have been All-Australian in the role.

 

[iameviljez]

In truth, I think that Bews, Hendo, O'Connor and Rohan are bigger symptoms of the same problem: role players with a very limited role, who keep getting a crack over the talented-but-very-raw Jordan Clark

6

Jordan Clark

Age

23

Ht

185cm

Wt

83kg

Pos.

Def

Career

Season

Last 5

D

13.7

4star

K

9.4

4star

HB

4.3

3star

M

4.2

4star

T

2.6

4star

MG

172.0

3star

D

12.5

3star

K

8.5

3star

HB

4.0

3star

M

4.0

4star

T

1.5

2star

MG

172.0

3star

D

12.2

3star

K

10.4

4star

HB

1.8

2star

M

3.4

4star

T

2.4

4star

, Constable, Narkle, Kreuger and de Koening.

If this was 2001 or 2012, the younger players would have been blooded harder.

 

[Herne Hill Hammer]

The first B and F, yes (in 2015). But not the second - he was genuinely excellent at fullback, and should have been All-Australian in the role.

He's a horrible defender.

The below was posted by cynical who has since cancelled their account.

Blicavs is a limited player with unique running ability. His running ability makes him a good player if it's used correctly.

He found his niche as a tall defender because they dont need great skills if they can defend well enough.

Unfortunately when you have poor skills you need to be "protected" and you need other players to make up the difference.

 

[Cataholic]

He's a horrible defender.

The below was posted by cynical who has since cancelled their account.

Blicavs is a limited player with unique running ability. His running ability makes him a good player if it's used correctly.

He found his niche as a tall defender because they dont need great skills if they can defend well enough.

Unfortunately when you have poor skills you need to be "protected" and you need other players to make up the difference.

Seems a great guy / team player, but the brutal, ruthless reality is that he is not a natural footballer.

He's done well to give it a crack, but his lack of footy background shows.

 

[joe444]

Two things I wish Blitz could do:
- be meaner
- kick straighter

But that sums up just about the entire team.

 

[you pick one]

The first B and F, yes (in 2015). But not the second - he was genuinely excellent at fullback, and should have been All-Australian in the role.

Thought he won the first one in his role as 3rd man up in the ruck not at fullback?