News Mark Blicavs

[FredLeDeux]

We're talking in terms of aerobic capacity here. Blicavs can run 3km in 9 minutes, putting him as a KPP in the forward/backline is a waste when he is able to cover so much ground in such a short time, without being an explosive sprinter as such. His kicking ability is not even really a factor here because he can run and carry through zones, repeatedly, over the entire game, once his confidence and nous of the gameplan is there - this is why I have suggested he play as a wingman and not bulk up too excessively, because he is currently a stamina machine. Let him play to his strength instead of pandering to some notion that he has to be (X) kind of player due to him being 198cm. Also CharacterFirst, 100kg may not be too much on a 6'6 KPP, but Blicavs was never running for distance at that weight now was he? Adding too much weight to his frame will drag him back into the pack.

It seems to me that his potential assets are his pace, stamina, agility and height, and we should try to maximise his potential across all of the elements of this unique combination.
There needs to be some balance. He needs to get big and strong enough to use his height when competing against other players, including shorter players; but, as you say, you don't want him so big and heavy that it significantly reduces his stamina/pace advantage.
I see no point in him playing as a KPD, because it simply wouldn't maximise his running advantage.
Ditto, to a lesser extent, as a KPF - though Reiwoldt and Franklin are obvious examples of how pace and stamina can be used in those positions.
It seems to me that he would be best used where he can constantly push back and forward up the ground, allowing him (as you put it) to run and carry through the zones a la Goodes. I don't think it matters whether you call him a wingman, ruck-rover or outside runner, whatever, provided you don't consistently have him isolated on a smaller more agile player who can beat him at ground level for explosive pace.

 

[catswhiskers]

If he is to play midfield he will have to learn quickly not to get done on defensive issues. If his ability in this area is not well developed an opposition coach will soon find a way to exploit him.

I see Blicavs as the perfect off list rookie who fits Scott's 2015 plan perfectly. He may be handy occasionally this year but I would think his ability to learn fast will see him best 22 or even one of our "locks" in a couple of years.

He has been fun to watch so far.

 

[meto]

Possibly he could be used as a taller version of Joel Corey, Joel's 191cm a lean but wiry runner like Mark, I'm not sure where Joel plays, at times he seems to be anywhere he wants to be.
He can still contest in the ruck, in fact would make the ideal fill in player.

 

[vinum coupe]

When I used to run 5k in 18 minutes I knew guys that could get close to 15.
And that was low level flying. The difference between 18 and 15 might not sound like much but it is enormous. You've got to have natural ability to get that quick.

 

[you pick one]

When I used to run 5k in 18 minutes I knew guys that could get close to 15.
And that was low level flying. The difference between 18 and 15 might not sound like much but it is enormous. You've got to have natural ability to get that quick.

I got close to that one night with Geoff Rosenow chasing me down Pako.

 

[meto]

When I used to run 5k in 18 minutes I knew guys that could get close to 15.
And that was low level flying. The difference between 18 and 15 might not sound like much but it is enormous. You've got to have natural ability to get that quick.

My son Stephen could run sub 30 for 10km..... but one night at Olympic Park ran 800 in 1:49 flat against the visiting Kenyans, after getting a late call up he'd been doing duathlons a month prior, the kid had amazing range but very high speed, could've done anything but for the knees.
Won State and Nationals but cut down early. So I know what I'm talking about!

Mark Blicavs is a freak because to change from the extremes of elite running to the bump and grind of AFL football is something I thought I'd never see, elite runners are far to refined for the rigors of football at least that's what I thought up to now!

 

[Farmer2Goggin]

Mark Blicavs is a freak because to change from the extremes of elite running to the bump and grind of AFL football is something I thought I'd never see, elite runners are far to refined for the rigors of football at least that's what I thought up to now!

You're spot on Meto , it's not like Jordan who went from NBA to Baseball. Blicavs is attempting something far more difficult.
Ryan Gregson is obviously elite and he has very good genes - old man was very handy at Rugby League and Mum a decorated hockey player - as good as Ryan is can't see him doing something similar to Mark.
This could be a real Cinderalla Story - and we get front row seats !!

 

[CharacterFirst]

Possibly he could be used as a taller version of Joel Corey, Joel's 191cm a lean but wiry runner like Mark, I'm not sure where Joel plays, at times he seems to be anywhere he wants to be.
He can still contest in the ruck, in fact would make the ideal fill in player.

Ruck Rover. A la Goodes.

 

[witsend]

It seems to me that his potential assets are his pace, stamina, agility and height, and we should try to maximise his potential across all of the elements of this unique combination.
There needs to be some balance. He needs to get big and strong enough to use his height when competing against other players, including shorter players; but, as you say, you don't want him so big and heavy that it significantly reduces his stamina/pace advantage.
I see no point in him playing as a KPD, because it simply wouldn't maximise his running advantage.
Ditto, to a lesser extent, as a KPF - though Reiwoldt and Franklin are obvious examples of how pace and stamina can be used in those positions.
It seems to me that he would be best used where he can constantly push back and forward up the ground, allowing him (as you put it) to run and carry through the zones a la Goodes. I don't think it matters whether you call him a wingman, ruck-rover or outside runner, whatever, provided you don't consistently have him isolated on a smaller more agile player who can beat him at ground level for explosive pace.

That Reiwoldt/Franklin role is diminishing imo. They are becoming more and more kick-chasers out on the wing rather than dangerous forwards. I agree he is best used as a very tall, dangerous ruck-rover type who can simply out-run taller and smaller opponents. Could be a nightmare match-up.

 

[meto]

You're spot on Meto , it's not like Jordan who went from NBA to Baseball. Blicavs is attempting something far more difficult.
Ryan Gregson is obviously elite and he has very good genes - old man was very handy at Rugby League and Mum a decorated hockey player - as good as Ryan is can't see him doing something similar to Mark.
This could be a real Cinderalla Story - and we get front row seats !!

Thanks for qualifying my rant about Blicavs, so far so good and it's great,.......... but as we know you've got to cement a position in the starting line up before you can claim to have truly made the bigtime.

Personally I think Mark can make it, the family are elite sports people who know what dedication is necessary, at least he's managed to get Chris Scotts attention and consideration.

 

[MC Extra Dollop]

Even with the news of West potentially being good for Round 1, I still like Blicavs as the second ruck (marginally ahead of Walker). I think he can really perform a valuable role for us in the last five minutes of each quarter just trying to wear out Hale and Roughead. I'd be happy with a pretty simple rotation of West-10/Blicavs-5 throughout the game, depending on how ready West would be to shoulder the bulk of the ruck work. At least we know Blicavs will have the tank to spend more time in the middle than that, if necessary.

 

[vinum coupe]

I agree MC.
I heard that Jolly had bleeding kidneys after the game on Friday.
Probably from trying to keep up with Blitz all day

 

[Turbocat]

My son Stephen could run sub 30 for 10km..... but one night at Olympic Park ran 800 in 1:49 flat against the visiting Kenyans, after getting a late call up he'd been doing duathlons a month prior, the kid had amazing range but very high speed, could've done anything but for the knees.
Won State and Nationals but cut down early. So I know what I'm talking about!

Mark Blicavs is a freak because to change from the extremes of elite running to the bump and grind of AFL football is something I thought I'd never see, elite runners are far to refined for the rigors of football at least that's what I thought up to now!

Interesting stuff Meto.

Does Blitz have more potential to play a game like football than a norm running Athlete. I say this based only on his genetic heritage. Perhaps he was was always good at running and he tailored his body shape to attempt to make the grade. Now that he is in a different type of sport environment , his body shape will respond to the weights and, training etc. Its an assumption but I doubt if both parents played for Aust. in basketball that they both would be weak , limp , twigs

 

[strauchnyy]

I dont think he has the skill set to become a mid at AFL level.

Doesnt matter if you have the endurance of a Kenyan on peptides, to be a top mid at AFL level, you need a football brain, know where to position yourself, awareness and, top kicking skills etc.

Rather, I think Blicavs may be more suited to a floating KPD in the Dustin Fletcher mould. He could keep running and running (and running) to contest after contest being 3rd man in. His height combined with his (improving season by season) overhead marking would make him ideal for that position.

He could also help out in the ruck part time.. But we lack KPD, we need to find a good young one sooner or later.

Am I the only one who thinks this?

 

[MC Extra Dollop]

I'd just stick him a kick behind the play as an extra man when he's on the ground, but not in the ruck. Keeps our forward line open and if he's roaming loose in our defensive area, he could be a nightmare for an opponent looking for avenues to make a forward entry.

 

[CharacterFirst]

I dont think he has the skill set to become a mid at AFL level.

Doesnt matter if you have the endurance of a Kenyan on peptides, to be a top mid at AFL level, you need a football brain, know where to position yourself, awareness and, top kicking skills etc.

Rather, I think Blicavs may be more suited to a floating KPD in the Dustin Fletcher mould. He could keep running and running (and running) to contest after contest being 3rd man in. His height combined with his (improving season by season) overhead marking would make him ideal for that position.

He could also help out in the ruck part time.. But we lack KPD, we need to find a good young one sooner or later.

Am I the only one who thinks this?

Read the thread and find out!

 

[CharacterFirst]

Interesting stuff Meto.

Does Blitz have more potential to play a game like football than a norm running Athlete. I say this based only on his genetic heritage. Perhaps he was was always good at running and he tailored his body shape to attempt to make the grade. Now that he is in a different type of sport environment , his body shape will respond to the weights and, training etc. Its an assumption but I doubt if both parents played for Aust. in basketball that they both would be weak , limp , twigs

His little sister is a big lump of a girl.

I think he would naturally carry a few kilos more than when he was in training for middle distance. The endurance is natural, along with height and competitive nature.

He will fill out, work his guts out on skills, still maintain his tank, and be a very hard working future member of our club. He learns very quickly and has the gifts to have had a go at a few sports at a very high level - two of which we have/are already seeing.

 

[Turbocat]

Meto , how would he go as a tagger?

Watching 360 tonight , both the "experts" think the Weagle's will finish 1. So from my point of view , it makes a a finals matchup likely. We must find a way to nullify the influence of NicNat and Cox.

Well id say.. "we think" , Hmac can hold his own V Cox ,..if fit etc. but Nicnat he is like a wildcard. His 10 minutes of footy , maybe only 5 minutes of footy can destroy a team. The stats on NNats effect on WC are quite high.Any team playing them in a big final must work on a way to to stop their ruck duo and not many people , many players have the skillset that could go near blunting Natanui run from the centre.

But imagine us , with Blitz in the midfield. When NicNat is rucking , he can stay with him , he can nullify his tall run. He could be the NicNatNullifier !

I cant imagine any player being able to out run him. If he can develop enough strength and his footy nous, he would be an enormous pain to any midfielder. Yes their smarts would be higher but even Robert Harvey wouldn't be able to run enough to escape him.

 

[David the Cat]

NicNac wont be much good if he has osteitus pubis...He's had a poor pre season and still looks unlikely to be ready for at least Round 1...

I imagine he will be in prime condition just in time for us

 

[AM]

I'd just stick him a kick behind the play as an extra man when he's on the ground, but not in the ruck. Keeps our forward line open and if he's roaming loose in our defensive area, he could be a nightmare for an opponent looking for avenues to make a forward entry.

It’s an interesting thought. However, I’m not sure he’s ready to be used as a plus one in the back half at this stage. I don’t think he reads the game well enough or his disposal is good enough. Possibly when he matures as an AFL player.

 

[MC Extra Dollop]

It’s an interesting thought. However, I’m not sure he’s ready to be used as a plus one in the back half at this stage. I don’t think he reads the game well enough or his disposal is good enough. Possibly when he matures as an AFL player.

My main issue with it would probably be at the other end: if they decide not to man Blicavs (or one of our other defenders) up, it gives them an easy opportunity to put two men up against Pods or Hawkins when the ball comes down our end. Still, with those long arms and his ability to cover the ground, it would be a very interesting experiment.

 

[AM]

My main issue with it would probably be at the other end: if they decide not to man Blicavs (or one of our other defenders) up, it gives them an easy opportunity to put two men up against Pods or Hawkins when the ball comes down our end. Still, with those long arms and his ability to cover the ground, it would be a very interesting experiment.

Hmm! Still reckon if you haven't got good disposal or can't read the play well, plus one in the back half isn't your spot. A huge number of scoring opportunities originate in the back half. So you want the plus one player to know where to run and as the player likely to often end up with the pill in space hit targets or at least place it to advantage. We'll just have to disagree on this one Dollop.

 

[MC Extra Dollop]

Hmm! Still reckon if you haven't got good disposal or can't read the play well, plus one in the back half isn't your spot. A huge number of scoring opportunities originate in the back half. So you want the plus one player to know where to run and as the player likely to often end up with the pill in space hit targets or at least place it to advantage. We'll just have to disagree on this one Dollop.

No problem with that.

Not sure about it either, but he's definitely got the physical attributes (including the advantage of being able to make up for being a couple of metres out of the perfect position with his running ability). Definitely a massive query on his disposal at this stage. Maybe a permanent role for him when he plays in the VFL (which will be the vast majority of 2013)?

I think something about that reading the play instinct that you've brought up (quite right, by the way), is that it's something that a lot of basketballers just have naturally. It's a similar principle when you're running a press in basketball. The idea is to constantly pressure the ball-carrier (double teaming them and forcing them out of the middle of the court), until they're forced to make a cross court pass, that spends a bit of time to get to its target. Then it's up to one of the next line of defenders to peel off their direct opponent and steal the ball. Like in football, there's a similar philosphy in the distance you keep from your direct opponent, depending on how far away the ball is. Ideally, you want to give your opponent enough latitude to tempt the ball carrier to pass it to them, while remaining close enough that you can pick the pass off if it isn't absolutely perfect and you have time to recover if the pass does get to its target.

I also think if he develops in the way we all hope, there could be a bit of an American Football element to having him behind the play: other teams may just try to avoid his area completely, because if the pass to the leading forward isn't perfect, there's a good chance Blicavs (after a lot more seasoning, of course) will at least get a hand on it.

Now, I'm not sure how much basketball experience Blicavs has, but he's certainly got the pedigree in that area. I agree that being able to read the play in football is a different kettle of fish, but there's also a natural aspect to it and some guys are able to pick it up quicker than others. Hopefully with some seasoned campaigners taking the lead in both the AFL and VFL sides, there'll be a lot of direction as to the correct spots to go.

 

[CharacterFirst]

Meto , how would he go as a tagger?

Watching 360 tonight , both the "experts" think the Weagle's will finish 1. So from my point of view , it makes a a finals matchup likely. We must find a way to nullify the influence of NicNat and Cox.

Well id say.. "we think" , Hmac can hold his own V Cox ,..if fit etc. but Nicnat he is like a wildcard. His 10 minutes of footy , maybe only 5 minutes of footy can destroy a team. The stats on NNats effect on WC are quite high.Any team playing them in a big final must work on a way to to stop their ruck duo and not many people , many players have the skillset that could go near blunting Natanui run from the centre.

But imagine us , with Blitz in the midfield. When NicNat is rucking , he can stay with him , he can nullify his tall run. He could be the NicNatNullifier !

I cant imagine any player being able to out run him. If he can develop enough strength and his footy nous, he would be an enormous pain to any midfielder. Yes their smarts would be higher but even Robert Harvey wouldn't be able to run enough to escape him.

The NicNat-Paddywack!

 

[meto]

Interesting stuff Meto.

Does Blitz have more potential to play a game like football than a norm running Athlete. I say this based only on his genetic heritage. Perhaps he was was always good at running and he tailored his body shape to attempt to make the grade. Now that he is in a different type of sport environment , his body shape will respond to the weights and, training etc. Its an assumption but I doubt if both parents played for Aust. in basketball that they both would be weak , limp , twigs

Guys that get to underage State and National level then aspire to World Juniors and after that Olympic qualifiers, are naturals just like in football cricket or any other sport has with their junior elite.

The same with weightlifting, no good trying to be an Olympian if the genetics are all wrong and the talent is just not there to start. The top of the mountain is far to high unless you're blessed with talent.

But it's very unusual having a middle distance runner being 198cm.....I think his genetics (height) worked against him in his running aspirations, nevertheless he's a very versatile athlete/footballer.

I agree having parents that were big solid athletes would possibly flow through to Mark that he could easily gain muscle mass, yet maintain a hard ripped build. Certainly has a square set of shoulders and big runners rib cage.
I'd say yes to your first question and agree with your assumption, knowing the heritage of the family.
CharacterFirst says little siss is pretty big, so I guess it must be in the genes.