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When considering the development of Mark Blake, it is not too hard for the some of us old-timers to recall his father's career as a point of comparison.
Some of the parallels of the two are interesting - height, weight, sometime clumsiness and in particular the ridicule they received from many GFC supporters in the early stages of their careers.
I would imagine many BF posters weren't around in Rod's time and for their benefit here are a few facts to contemplate:
Rod Blake - 199 cm 94 kg
Rod was recruited from Inverleigh and played his first game in 1971 two weeks shy of his 19th birthday.
He retired in 1983 after 176 games and 113 goals for Geelong FC.
As a beanpole ruckman, he took seven seasons to become a regular member of the team, before showing glimpses of improvement in 1979, and although still inconsistent he picked up 6 Brownlow votes in that year.
To the astonishment of almost all football followers, including loyal Cat fans, his output sky-rocketed in 1980.
In what seemed like an overnight improvement, his previously unreliable marking became one of his strengths.
He regularly punched the ball up to 40 metres forward from ruck contests.
His ground play went from awkward to better than handy for a man of his size.
His kicking improved out of sight; he was suddenly reliable in front of goal and even snagged seven goals in one match.
His consistency was unbelievable, especially after his earlier years.
He won the GFC Best & Fairest in 1980 – his tenth year at the club
In that breakout year he managed to finish outright 3rd in the Brownlow Medal with 19 votes (Kelvin Templeton won it with 23 votes)
Played 85 games in his first 8 seasons - total of 2 Brownlow votes.
Played 68 games in his next 3 seasons - total of 29 Brownlow votes.
Played 17 games in his final 2 seasons – no votes
Career spanned 13 years at the club.
Mark Blake - 200 cm 103 kg
Mark played his first game in 2005 at 19 years of age (currently 24yo)
He played 11 games in his first two seasons
He then played 68 games in his next 3 seasons - total of 2 Brownlow votes
He is currently in his 6th year at the club.
Of course there are no guarantees that the current Blake will go on to emulate his old man's feats, but it would be fair to say that his rate of improvement is currently outpacing his dads'.
Some of the parallels of the two are interesting - height, weight, sometime clumsiness and in particular the ridicule they received from many GFC supporters in the early stages of their careers.
I would imagine many BF posters weren't around in Rod's time and for their benefit here are a few facts to contemplate:
Rod Blake - 199 cm 94 kg
Rod was recruited from Inverleigh and played his first game in 1971 two weeks shy of his 19th birthday.
He retired in 1983 after 176 games and 113 goals for Geelong FC.
As a beanpole ruckman, he took seven seasons to become a regular member of the team, before showing glimpses of improvement in 1979, and although still inconsistent he picked up 6 Brownlow votes in that year.
To the astonishment of almost all football followers, including loyal Cat fans, his output sky-rocketed in 1980.
In what seemed like an overnight improvement, his previously unreliable marking became one of his strengths.
He regularly punched the ball up to 40 metres forward from ruck contests.
His ground play went from awkward to better than handy for a man of his size.
His kicking improved out of sight; he was suddenly reliable in front of goal and even snagged seven goals in one match.
His consistency was unbelievable, especially after his earlier years.
He won the GFC Best & Fairest in 1980 – his tenth year at the club
In that breakout year he managed to finish outright 3rd in the Brownlow Medal with 19 votes (Kelvin Templeton won it with 23 votes)
Played 85 games in his first 8 seasons - total of 2 Brownlow votes.
Played 68 games in his next 3 seasons - total of 29 Brownlow votes.
Played 17 games in his final 2 seasons – no votes
Career spanned 13 years at the club.
Mark Blake - 200 cm 103 kg
Mark played his first game in 2005 at 19 years of age (currently 24yo)
He played 11 games in his first two seasons
He then played 68 games in his next 3 seasons - total of 2 Brownlow votes
He is currently in his 6th year at the club.
Of course there are no guarantees that the current Blake will go on to emulate his old man's feats, but it would be fair to say that his rate of improvement is currently outpacing his dads'.

