Remove this Banner Ad

Toast Mark Blicavs

🥰 Love BigFooty? Join now for free.

for mine ahead of west now easily. if macintosh becomes fit after the bye I would omit west and have hamish and blcavas with vardy rotating to the forward line.
 
I see him as the ultimate ruck rover, does not need to be confined to A spot. Back up ruck, winger, on baller, one of those Goodes/ Kouta types. His follow up work AFTER a contest is exceptional, as is his fitness.

Bet other teams are looking now for another Blicavs. Somewhere.
 
ZosoCat said:
for mine ahead of west now easily. if macintosh becomes fit after the bye I would omit west and have hamish and blcavas with vardy rotating to the forward line.
Click to expand...
West is still useful; in a tight contested situation last pm, one of his punches created a ball to the running Mackie for a goal to Burbury, classic clever play. They complement each other, both mobile and cover for each other. We are 9/1, nothing broken to fix. Let's see if HMc, DS can force their ways back in. Won't be overnight.
 
VEEDUBS said:
West is still useful; in a tight contested situation last pm, one of his punches created a ball to the running Mackie for a goal to Burbury, classic clever play. They complement each other, both mobile and cover for each other. We are 9/1, nothing broken to fix. Let's see if HMc, DS can force their ways back in. Won't be overnight.
Click to expand...


West is still a far superior knock ruckman to Blicavs, and is essential at least until we have an effective replacement in that role.
 

Log in to remove this Banner Ad

VEEDUBS said:
West is still useful; in a tight contested situation last pm, one of his punches created a ball to the running Mackie for a goal to Burbury, classic clever play. They complement each other, both mobile and cover for each other. We are 9/1, nothing broken to fix. Let's see if HMc, DS can force their ways back in. Won't be overnight.
Click to expand...

if macintosh plays alright then simpson hasn't got a chance... Lock in MV and Vardy... Macintosh and West to fight for the other big man spot in the team.
 
Reckon we get ahead of ourselves a bit. We are talking best 22 for the 2013 finals campaign.

Water still go undr the bridge this season with 12 senior games to go. A fair bit can happen in that time - especially injury wise. perhaps some improvement in some younger players as well.

Blicavs has been fantastic in his performances given his footy experience. Just read early posts when he was up for selection in his first senior game. How far has h come since then - for some posters to say he is ahead of West and best 22 !!!

I think he has been good but if rated on his performances is still 20-25 in the rankings. He may in the next few months take even more steps in securing his position in the senior side. But he does not have dominating games just yet - and no one really expects that at this stage of his career. We see a future where he could dominate games.

The ruck situation presently makes us maybe assess his performances in a better light. West - a serviceable ruckman, Hmac not on the park yet and Simpson still an unknown quantity at senior level.

So we have little idea yet of what maybe the final line up re our rucks come the end of the season.

My thoughts are that if Blicavs is our second ruckman come finals we will dominate ruck contests - maybe break even. It depends who his partner is a bit as well - Hmac, Simpson or West.

Cannot see Simpson and Hmac in the same side - so Blicavs, all going well, will be competing with West.

I admire what Blicavs has done but my eye is on a flag. He will be most likely a decent player come finals but probably a weaker link in th 2013 team. Come 2014/5 who knows ?

That said - this is my position on West as well.
 
Jon Douglas said:
Reckon we get ahead of ourselves a bit. We are talking best 22 for the 2013 finals campaign.

Water still go undr the bridge this season with 12 senior games to go. A fair bit can happen in that time - especially injury wise. perhaps some improvement in some younger players as well.

Blicavs has been fantastic in his performances given his footy experience. Just read early posts when he was up for selection in his first senior game. How far has h come since then - for some posters to say he is ahead of West and best 22 !!!

I think he has been good but if rated on his performances is still 20-25 in the rankings. He may in the next few months take even more steps in securing his position in the senior side. But he does not have dominating games just yet - and no one really expects that at this stage of his career. We see a future where he could dominate games.

The ruck situation presently makes us maybe assess his performances in a better light. West - a serviceable ruckman, Hmac not on the park yet and Simpson still an unknown quantity at senior level.

So we have little idea yet of what maybe the final line up re our rucks come the end of the season.

My thoughts are that if Blicavs is our second ruckman come finals we will dominate ruck contests - maybe break even. It depends who his partner is a bit as well - Hmac, Simpson or West.

Cannot see Simpson and Hmac in the same side - so Blicavs, all going well, will be competing with West.

I admire what Blicavs has done but my eye is on a flag. He will be most likely a decent player come finals but probably a weaker link in th 2013 team. Come 2014/5 who knows ?

That said - this is my position on West as well.
Click to expand...
It's rd 10, another15 games before GF, at Blicavs current rate of improvement, he'll be our first picked player. Not really, but...
 
He got like 6? clearances on Saturday. We seem to like playing 2 ruckmen at clearances, so he may fit in as a follower, but not necessarily rucking. Best performance so far this season.

Still needs to improve hit outs .... there are hit outs to advantage, nothing hitouts, hitouts to the opposition and then there's putting it straight down Gazza's throat ;)

But from what I see of him, he's going to work really hard over the off season to improve his rucking and kicking, which at the moment are his main weaknesses. As much as anything, his diligence in learning the game and acumen are his main assets. You can see him learning every week. Its like he's a prodigy
 
Just heard Chris Scott's press conference for the first time then. He said something like "He (Blicavs) got a game at the start of the year because we had nobody else. Now of all our ruckmen on our list he's just about first picked."

Just amazing. I really do see a spot for him as a winger/utility even if others are preferred as rucks.
 
catempire said:
Just heard Chris Scott's press conference for the first time then. He said something like "He (Blicavs) got a game at the start of the year because we had nobody else. Now of all our ruckmen on our list he's just about first picked."

Just amazing. I really do see a spot for him as a winger/utility even if others are preferred as rucks.
Click to expand...
He does play a ruck/rover type role.

Thought he was great last night. Still has deficiencies as you'd expect but his work rate is fantastic. Most hit outs. Top in contested possessions.Top in clearances. Equal second in pressure acts. Equal second in tackles. And second in score involvements.
 
catempire said:
Just heard Chris Scott's press conference for the first time then. He said something like "He (Blicavs) got a game at the start of the year because we had nobody else. Now of all our ruckmen on our list he's just about first picked."

Just amazing. I really do see a spot for him as a winger/utility even if others are preferred as rucks.
Click to expand...

that's pretty amazing. Almost the story of the year.
 

Remove this Banner Ad

flatcat said:
Its like he's a prodigy
Click to expand...
Well yeah, that was half the reason as to why we recruited him. He was spotted as a highly naturally talented footy player up to the age of 14, but gave the game away until we talked him back into it.

It would be interesting to speculate how he would have developed had he stuck to footy. His skills may be better - or they may be worse if he had picked up bad habits. His endurance would probably be nowhere near what it is now but given his pedigree of both parents being elite sports people, it wouldn't be too shabby either.
 
FredLeDeux said:
Don't know, but he spent virtually the whole 2nd half in the ruck on his own, with West mainly in thr back line (though he, HT and Lonergan each drifted forward at times).
Blicavs held his own in the ruck til 3/4 time, but he tired and Nicholls got on top of him in the last 1/4 in hitouts; partly because of Blicavs' revolutionary new tactic of not contesting the hitout, rather roving to the hitout by the other bloke.
Click to expand...

Yeah, thought that was a bit weird. Reckon it was under instruction?
 
Lunchlady Doris said:
Yeah, thought that was a bit weird. Reckon it was under instruction?
Click to expand...

Not the first time he has employed that tactic though - I have seen him in earlier games where he has allowed the opposition ruck to jump at the center bounce while he has stayed on the ground, watched where the opp ruck is going to tap the ball and essentially given us 4 on 3 once the ball hits the ground, rather than get tangled up actually contesting the bounce.

I think it might be something he has taken on himself, maybe he feels he isn't having luck or not being effective contesting the hitout and is of better value by roving to the opp ruck.
 

🥰 Love BigFooty? Join now for free.

cats_09 said:
Not the first time he has employed that tactic though - I have seen him in earlier games where he has allowed the opposition ruck to jump at the center bounce while he has stayed on the ground, watched where the opp ruck is going to tap the ball and essentially given us 4 on 3 once the ball hits the ground, rather than get tangled up actually contesting the bounce.

I think it might be something he has taken on himself, maybe he feels he isn't having luck or not being effective contesting the hitout and is of better value by roving to the opp ruck.
Click to expand...


Could be several reasons why he tended to do it in the last 1/4 - deliberate tactic (under instruction or not); a few bounces certainly disadvantaged him; and plain old physical/mental tiredness when it came to the leaping/competing.
 
FredLeDeux said:
Could be several reasons why he tended to do it in the last 1/4 - deliberate tactic (under instruction or not); a few bounces certainly disadvantaged him; and plain old physical/mental tiredness when it came to the leaping/competing.
Click to expand...

There was an article on him after round 3 or 4, and in it he spoke about one area of his game he had to work on was concentrating for 2 hours and playing out the matches; with his background his event is over in a matter of minutes, but not the case anymore.
So you might be onto something with the mental tiredness or a lack of concentration as to remembering to jump - because other than at bounces he still seems mentally with it around the ground.
 
cats_09 said:
There was an article on him after round 3 or 4, and in it he spoke about one area of his game he had to work on was concentrating for 2 hours and playing out the matches; with his background his event is over in a matter of minutes, but not the case anymore.
So you might be onto something with the mental tiredness or a lack of concentration as to remembering to jump - because other than at bounces he still seems mentally with it around the ground.
Click to expand...


Yes, it's just the combined physical/mental effort of "getting yourself up" each time that could have been an issue, and there were quite a few goals in the last 1/4.
 

Remove this Banner Ad

Similar threads

cats_09
    • Like
    • Love
List Mgmt. Blicavs re-signs through to 2026
2
Replies
29
Views
2K
Generalissimo
G
winty
    • Love
    • Like
Toast Mark Blicavs - 250 games
2 3
Replies
64
Views
4K
Spearman
Spearman

Remove this Banner Ad

🥰 Love BigFooty? Join now for free.

Back
Top Bottom