Old Blakey and his boy.

hoody

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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'.
 

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Gaz_Brownlow

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#2
Great Analysis,

Just missed Old Blake - began watching really in about 84' as a young'un (and we all know who was playing that year!), but did hear a bit about Blake and that he did develop into a very handy player.

Mark is taking the right steps - is definitely improving his ruckwork, and i consider him to be in the top 5 for actual ruck duties. Clearly out-rucked Jolly last night. His ability to play as a link man has been improving, definitely has his moments, but on the whole is fairly reliable (as evidenced in last years GF).

The string to his bow that i think everyone wants to see him develop is of course his aggression at the contest. If he could learn to take a grab, or at least be a more effective spoiler then i would rate him very very highly.

He is getting there - i no longer get worried at life without Otto', the big question is whether or not we can play Hawkins, Blake and Otto in the same team? I would suggest that Otto' / Hawkins will be trialled.
 

Turbocat

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#3
I remember a fair bit of Blake sr success coincided with Goggin coming to coach the club. One would think he would know what one wants from a top ruckman and perhaps know how to get cajole the most out of him. I think he used the 20M slam to great effect and the other player would run on to it
 

Vdubs

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#5
Do you know how long i've been saying this for?
Me too. I knew Rod a little back then , we were both students doing 6 year courses, and I was rapt we got Mark as a father - son, and Rod has publicly stated Mark is way ahead relatively in terms of skill and success. Having seen Rod being THE dominant ruckman in the VFL 1980, I am convinced we have something special developing with Mark.

If Mark keeps up his current very good form he could NOT be dropped. It is an embarrassment of riches, but the way Ottens breaks down so often and predictably, I'm glad we have the physically super-reliable Blake as 1st ruck. I'd like to see him keep that and use Ottens, when/if fit, as a forward 2nd ruck swapping with Hawkins.

Who thinks Ottens will play next year?

Who thinks we could be successful in September with exactly the team we had last night? No Corey, Ottens or Max?? I think last night's team had a perfect balance. 3 smalls Varcoe,Byrnes, Stokes; Bartel, Ablett, Kelly, Selwood, Chappy as mids, Ling as tagger, Blake/Hawkins rucking, Mooney/Pods forward with Dog and our ever reliable defence. Somehow, last night's team seems spot on. Would not envy the selectors IF we ever get a whole list, fit and in form, to select from.

IMO, Pods has replaced Max. As good as Corey is/was, who is out for his return if no injuries? Stokes? I guess my point is , I believe there is life after Ottens and Corey and Max if they were to succumb to season ending injuries given our current form.
 

year of the cat

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#6
Who thinks Ottens will play next year?
I would think probably one more year. Milburn to finish this year, Ottens at the end of 2011, and who knows after that.. Scarlett is not slowing down but perhaps Rooke and Ling may be next in line. Scarlett may be like Fletcher and just keep going and going...
 
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#10
based on this theory nathan would be primed to kick a ton
Nathan could have gone on and been a more than handy footballer. Had he wanted to. I'm not going to pay any attention to his current Queensland foray.

On that note. it's time for me to dig up what I've said about Blakey in the last 12 months....

From July 18, first from VEEDUBS....

A lot of us older supporters remember fondly his dad Rod, who was tall, gangly, awkward and only there as backup. Then at age 27 he got really fit and became the best ruck in 1980, 2nd or 3rd in the Brownlow, and dominated the competition for 2-3 years. Mark looks very similar, and looks as if he lacks confidence, and even I'll admit, he has not progressed this year. I'm hoping he can turn it around and gain some fitness and speed. Last year against Ess, he dominated Hille, and was very influential around the ground, may have got a vote, the point being he showed something. If this is the last year we have Blake, I personally admit disappointment. Watching the Hawks clean up the Pies at the moment in the 3rd/4, we may need some backup in the ruck next week.
My reply....

I've been saying this since we drafted him.

Some folk in here might be happy to write him off, but he went back to the VFL today and played well. That's a positive sign in my books, and i'm still confident he will bounce back a better player.
Then this on July 31...

Here's a little something that makes interesting reading, especially in light of the fact i've been saying for years his dad ended up a more than handy player after starting out exactly the same way as his son....

I've been sorting out my football record collection today, and came across this little snippet from the Geelong player profiles in the 1978 EF record where we played Carlton at Waverley....

Rod Blake
First Played: 1971
Games 1978:10 Total:94
Goals:4 Total:36

A wiry ruckman who gets his chance at the expense of the suspended Manson. An awkward follower who can produce effective efforts, he is not a reliable kick and misses many goal chances.

Fast forward to his profile in the record for the 1980 PF v Collingwood at Waverley.....

Rod Blake
First Played: 1971
Games 1980:23 Total:140
Goals:12 Total:57

Has had his most consistent season and is rated a Brownlow Medal prospect. Blake's long reach is difficult to counter and he marks strongly too.

Now don't get me wrong, i'm not saying this is in any way proof that Blake the Younger will improve to that extent, but the difference in just 2 years in his dad's finals profiles show just how quickly he went from being a borderline back up ruckman to a B&F winner and who went on to finish third in that 1980 Brownlow Medal.

Worth keeping in mind.

***And just as a note....David Manson, who was first choice ruck in 1978, never played another game for Geelong seniors after that suspension.
On Oct 9

I still think Blake is no 2, but some of his second efforts, or lack thereof, are of concern to me. I have been of the belief that this part of his game would come on this year.

Unfortunately for me, I have been wrong thus far.
 
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#11
from my memory of Rod Blake, Mark has more meat on the frame. Blakey is definately on the improve, great game friday night. Usually looks like a bunny in the headlights when he gets the ball in general play though...
 

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hoody

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Do you know how long i've been saying this for?
Excuse my unintended plagiarism Diablo, but I hadn't read your posts and I didn't claim exclusive recall.

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.
 
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#13
Excuse my unintended plagiarism Diablo, but I hadn't read your posts and I didn't claim exclusive recall.
I'm not worried about you saying it.

I was more thinking how now that Blakey is starting to play some good footy around the ground that it's no surprise comparisons to his dad would fire up.

People like myself and VEEDUBS, who have been supporting Blakey most of his career have had to put up with a mountain of crap from the haters.
 

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#14
Blake is certainly coming along nicely. I'm a big fan of how he goes about it. He does exactly what GFC needs him to do, and gets alot of unwarranted criticism. He may seem a little out of his depth, but how could he not, being surrounded by those guys. I would say only 4 or 5 other ruckmen in the league would be able to keep up in our linkage as blake does (just), when the rest would seem even more immobile.

He even faked someone out before driving the ball long inside 50 for an easy GFC goal. I called it the Shake n' Blake.

This thread should be a toast.
 
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