Opinion Mark Blicavs

[Stan The Caddy]

He's far from alone in that regard

Tell me about it precious.

 

[Hinkley29]

How hard is it to understand?

He is in the team due to his flexibility. If a ruck goes down, he is sent to the 2nd ruck role. If we lose a key defender, he goes down back. If we need a reshuffle up forward, he goes back as cover for Taylor it Hendo going forward. If an opposition mid gets away from us, he is a primary option to play a run-with role.

If none of these things happen, he plays as an adequate midfielder who is very good as second man up and runs all day and stretches his man going forward.

Not a superstar, but a solid performer and very important to our team balance. He is very valuable in this regard and thus why he plays EVERY WEEK.

 

[Seeds]

Blicavs all year has been a bits player- a bit of this and a bit of that- tackling, run-with, hitouts, link up play, pressure.
Not a winger, not a mid.
You can't define him, and at this stage of proceedings, they clearly think he still contributes to our team.

Those arent positions. Those are football acts that every footballer on the ground is expected to do including players who play on the wing. Blicavs has been a tagger this year (but his spot has been taken by selwood), he had a small amount of time in the ruck (spot has been taken by stanley) he was trialled briefly as a third tall ( spot was taken by no one cos no one prooved more capable at marking) and he spent sometime as an accumulating midfielder (but couldn't accumulate possessions) so now he is playing a loose man on the wing probably used in the Murdoch role to help sure up defensive positions when teams try to quickly swap sides of the ground (but runs to the wrong position and gets caught in the overlap). They do thnk he contributes, they thought Murdoch contributed, Smedts contributed, Kersten contributed. But they all failed and were eventually dumped. I thought he contributed to. But his form has fallen away to not being in the best 22 anymore. He was best 22 at the start of the season. Not now.

 

[Seeds]

*slow clap*

If his best and fairest was so good. Why did they change his position? He spent almost the entirety of that season playing as a ruck in a second or first ruck role. Yet he was dumped of that position this year. Yes you could argue they thought he would be even better as a mid given he played a couple of good games there early last season but when that didn't work out why didn't they put him back into the ruck? Stanley and smith aren't exactly on track for their own best and fairest yet are considered better options then a player who won last years best and fairest in their position. Can you please explain this? Nope you can't. This decision by the coaches downgrades the value of the best and fairest. How do you not see that?

 

[Seeds]

How hard is it to understand?

He is in the team due to his flexibility. If a ruck goes down, he is sent to the 2nd ruck role. If we lose a key defender, he goes down back. If we need a reshuffle up forward, he goes back as cover for Taylor it Hendo going forward. If an opposition mid gets away from us, he is a primary option to play a run-with role.

If none of these things happen, he plays as an adequate midfielder who is very good as second man up and runs all day and stretches his man going forward.

Not a superstar, but a solid performer and very important to our team balance. He is very valuable in this regard and thus why he plays EVERY WEEK.

So he is not best 22 but plays anyway because of insurance value.

 

[catempire]

If his best and fairest was so good. Why did they change his position? He spent almost the entirety of that season playing as a ruck in a second or first ruck role. Yet he was dumped of that position this year. Yes you could argue they thought he would be even better as a mid given he played a couple of good games there early last season but when that didn't work out why didn't they put him back into the ruck? Stanley and smith aren't exactly on track for their own best and fairest yet are considered better options then a player who won last years best and fairest in their position. Can you please explain this? Nope you can't. This decision by the coaches downgrades the value of the best and fairest. How do you not see that?

How hard is it to understand that a B&F is a comparison of players within a year?

Winning it last year means Blicavs was the best.

He won't win it this year = not the best.

 

[Seeds]

How hard is it to understand that a B&F is a comparison of players within a year?

Winning it last year means Blicavs was the best.

He won't win it this year = not the best.

And yet you ridiculed partridges point that it was a dud year. All our best players were either injured or had their worst seasons in years.

 

[Seeds]

True dat,he's mate Guthrie also been stinking if up.

Guthries form has fallen away a bit inthe second half of the season but some posters still think he is in our top five players this year. Has averaged 23 touches vs blicavs 17 even though they both play midfield. Also carries the ball unlike blicavs and has kicked a number of big goals this year.

 

[catempire]

And yet you ridiculed partridges point that it was a dud year. All our best players were either injured or had their worst seasons in years.

Not ridicule, disdain. It's pathetic to attempt to undermine the achievement of a B&F winner.

 

[cats_09]

And yet you ridiculed partridges point that it was a dud year. All our best players were either injured or had their worst seasons in years.

How is that Blocavs fault? He put in consistent performance across the season and deserved his b&f last year.

As for this year - he is still having an impact out in the middle each week, just that this year he is playing a different role to last year and some people can't get their head around the idea that the role he is playing is still seen as a positive for the team by those who select the side each week.

It will actually be interesting come our b&f night this year to see how the coaches have actually viewed his season - while he won't be challenging for the top award he may still finish higher in votes than we expect him too because he is playing his role and doing his job each week.

Would it be nice to see more from him, sure - but could say the same about majority of the team.

 

[Partridge]

Not ridicule, disdain. It's pathetic to attempt to undermine the achievement of a B&F winner.

My view is that he had a good but not great season (much like everyone else). I didn't think he was our best player last year, just as I didn't think Selwood was in 2010 (or going further back, Couch in 1989). It doesn't diminish his personal achievement in the slightest.

 

[cynical]

he did well in a crap team last year because we had major holes in the ruck and midfield

he was a good player in a crap team, but now he is a crap player in a good team

this comes from having average skills

it annoys me when people become too loyal to players instead of doing what is best for the team

Blicavs form has dropped off enough that he is now ruck and midfield depth and not best 22, it's unfortunate but its the reality

 

[Art Vandelay_]

He's best 22 and will play finals.
Sometimes things are simple. They are here.

 

[catempire]

My view is that he had a good but not great season (much like everyone else). I didn't think he was our best player last year, just as I didn't think Selwood was in 2010 (or going further back, Couch in 1989). It doesn't diminish his personal achievement in the slightest.

*ahem*

Congratulations to Blicavs anyway. Well deserved.

 

[cats_09]

So he is a depth player who is ranked #1 at the club for pressure applied to the opposition and #22 in the league - maybe if his teammates lifted that aspect of their games then he would find himself out of the side. But ultimately, he is ahead of his teammates for the defensive aspects of his game, especially the pressure he applies through the midfield and that will be key going forward into finals; you need players who won't make things easy for the opposition and that is what Blicavs does.

It's the same as those people who argue we need McCarthy and Cockatoo in the team for the pressure they apply to the opposition in our forward 50, but in reality it is Hawkins who ranks #1 at the club in that aspect and #6 overall for forwards in the league. So where do our small forwards really rank for the pressure they apply and are we better off without both Linc & Cockatoo going into finals and play the extra midfielder instead.

People perceive the roles or qualities that certain players bring to games and are happy to back in certain players for those perceived qualities while ignoring them in other players, when the point they are trying to defend isn't backed up by stats to show what's actually happening.

 

[longtimecat]

You set a very low standard for a star. Or have a very high standard of yourself

I know what it takes , work, sacrifices, to play sport at the top level , consequently I admire those who do for our pleasure. I also believe the coaches know more about Geelong Footy players/team than any of us posters , so if they voted Blitz as B&f then he was B&F.

 

[year of the cat]

So he is a depth player who is ranked #1 at the club for pressure applied to the opposition and #22 in the league - maybe if his teammates lifted that aspect of their games then he would find himself out of the side. But ultimately, he is ahead of his teammates for the defensive aspects of his game, especially the pressure he applies through the midfield and that will be key going forward into finals; you need players who won't make things easy for the opposition and that is what Blicavs does.

It's the same as those people who argue we need McCarthy and Cockatoo in the team for the pressure they apply to the opposition in our forward 50, but in reality it is Hawkins who ranks #1 at the club in that aspect and #6 overall for forwards in the league. So where do our small forwards really rank for the pressure they apply and are we better off without both Linc & Cockatoo going into finals and play the extra midfielder instead.

People perceive the roles or qualities that certain players bring to games and are happy to back in certain players for those perceived qualities while ignoring them in other players, when the point they are trying to defend isn't backed up by stats to show what's actually happening.

I assume that data is skewed by the fact that Hawkins has played pretty much every game whereas McCarthy and Cockatoo have missed large chunks of the year? Or is it on an average/game basis?

 

[Seeds]

Not ridicule, disdain. It's pathetic to attempt to undermine the achievement of a B&F winner.

You just undermined its value yourself though by saying the year was incomparable to other years.

 

[Seeds]

I know what it takes , work, sacrifices, to play sport at the top level , consequently I admire those who do for our pleasure. I also believe the coaches know more about Geelong Footy players/team than any of us posters , so if they voted Blitz as B&f then he was B&F.

And yet those coaches don't want him to play in the position that he won his best and fairest in because we have another player playing in that position who isn't close to best and fairest level this season.

 

[catempire]

You just undermined its value yourself though by saying the year was incomparable to other years.

Never said anything of the sort.

 

[Cattery]

Not ridicule, disdain. It's pathetic to attempt to undermine the achievement of a B&F winner.

Bit over the top isn't it, I mean he's just a bloke who's won a B&F for his footy club and surely there's nothing wrong with questioning whether he was deserving of it, it's not like he's a Victoria Cross recipient.

 

[catempire]

Bit over the top isn't it, I mean he's just a bloke who's won a B&F for his footy club and surely there's nothing wrong with questioning whether he was deserving of it, it's not like he's a Victoria Cross recipient.

There is no question whether he was deserving of it.

 

[Cattery]

There is no question whether he was deserving of it.

Obviously there is in some peoples minds.

 

[Vdubs]

Obviously there is in some peoples minds.

Some people just don't count.
Even if they attended every game last year, including interstate, their knowledge of what was required of each player, and how they performed what was asked, attitude, training, etc would not stack up with those in the know.
Even our own voting system here is different to the coaches votes most weeks.
We are entitled to opinions, but they are just an outlet.

 

[Vdubs]

Yes I'm particularly broken up at the prospect of people having the same view of me they already did anyway. Devastated in fact.

Others and yourself may think he was brilliant last year. Fair enough. I don't think anyone had a great year for us. To me he had some good games, and also some poor ones. I also think he's the worst Best and Fairest winner since Ray Card in 1983.

He beat Selwood, Taylor, Hawkins, Motlop, SJ, Boris, and the rest, pretty good players there- and furthermore, plenty predicted it.
Again, if he was available as a trade, plenty of teams would be interested.You must talk to non Cat fans.
We don't appreciate how lucky we are to have a player with his versatility. He can be played in multiple positions depending on need, and the coach can rely on him to give 100%.