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Very happy with this. Think he has some excellent attributes.
Player Watch Welcome James Blanck. Extends to 2026!
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terrific news, seems like he's had an excellent off/pre-season
Absolutely. Brilliant news.
Sturty
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Love this
KermitJagger
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From a shaky 1 year extension to a neat extra 2. Must be ticking the boxes!
HappyHawk_1
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Very pleased to see this. He’s got the athletic attributes and mongrel to make it.
Blanck & Ramsden for me are the players which, if they progress and be what we think they can be, will be the most important for our structure.
Also - great rap from Sammy to send to the group about his progression from Box Hill to now, noting that there will be plenty of unlucky players who need to spend some time at Box Hill this year.
Blanck & Ramsden for me are the players which, if they progress and be what we think they can be, will be the most important for our structure.
Also - great rap from Sammy to send to the group about his progression from Box Hill to now, noting that there will be plenty of unlucky players who need to spend some time at Box Hill this year.
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- Sep 5, 2008
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Great to see. Always had a soft spot for the key defenders so to have the club show faith is a great sign of his attitude and work ethic.
I always look back at our 3 peat era and appreciate how much Lake improved our side defensively. Was a really key moment in showing that a team defence is so much better when you can rely on a KPD to win those one on one battles and not require the defensive unit to breakdown to provide a third man coming across. I really hope we will see Blanck mature and evolve into a reliable defender for the big talls for years to come and that will bring the whole defensive unit up to the next level also.
I always look back at our 3 peat era and appreciate how much Lake improved our side defensively. Was a really key moment in showing that a team defence is so much better when you can rely on a KPD to win those one on one battles and not require the defensive unit to breakdown to provide a third man coming across. I really hope we will see Blanck mature and evolve into a reliable defender for the big talls for years to come and that will bring the whole defensive unit up to the next level also.
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Blanks next step is to actually become a backman that can influence the game in the way Sicily, Andrews, Weitering does.
That is start to actually win the ball in the air ot just be a pure stopper
Flukey!
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The AFL article on his re-signing is poor.
It reads as if his contract was extended because we missed out on key backs during the trade period.
No credit at all to Blancky.
It reads as if his contract was extended because we missed out on key backs during the trade period.
No credit at all to Blancky.
spudmaster
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Great to read. A bit of added security to make the position his own if he's capable. Fingers crossed he does.
If this guy comes from the clouds it changes everything.
I'm not sold yet. He should improve but how much can he?
Can he play tall enough? He seems surprisingly good at ground level.
Good luck to him and congrats on the contract.
I'm not sold yet. He should improve but how much can he?
Can he play tall enough? He seems surprisingly good at ground level.
Good luck to him and congrats on the contract.
Hard not to like this guy, always seems to give his all and hates being beaten.
From memory it was against the Giants in Western Sydney last year that he really showed what he's capable of, hopefully we see much more of that going forward!
From memory it was against the Giants in Western Sydney last year that he really showed what he's capable of, hopefully we see much more of that going forward!
Well I thought the one year extension late last season was a bit odd so there's every chance that there is some truth to the article
I think this shows the fans that we should be expecting a lot from Blanky over the next few years. I feel like mid last season the club was a bit on the fence with him and gave him 1 more year (2024) to see if he can step up. Later half of the year he has some really solid games and may have been why we didn't make a certainty of landing Ratagolia or McKay even though we had probably had the cash to give those guys even bigger offers than they got (crazy high) we went for chol and ginnavan as well knowing that if we missed out we still had Blank. I'm sure we still went hard for those guys but glad we didn't go as hard as we could have and let the others overpay.
This resigning shows that his preseason has changed their minds as they could have easily kept him in limbo and gone shopping again.
This resigning shows that his preseason has changed their minds as they could have easily kept him in limbo and gone shopping again.
Brant
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He's about 22yrs old with 25x games (give or take).
I reckon his next step (over the next 75ish games) is to develop into an elite stopper & work through his positioning deficiencies so that he's the bedrock of a Team Defensive Unit.
- Jun 4, 2016
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Maybe I am putting too much pressure on him that's true enough.
But looking back over recent premiership teams it's a common theme that they usually have two very good attacking key defenders (think May and Lever).
Or going back further the Hawks with Lake and Gibbo.
Makes a big difference when your defenders can actually beat their opponents, not just negate them.
Brant
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Dont forget that Lake & Gibbo had Spangher (2014) & Frawley (2015). Their roles weren't to intercept or rebound (as such), but to focus on & disrupt their particular Forward (opponent).
IMO, we'll be extremely well served if Blanck can keep FF's to <2 goals a week & the intercept/rebound stuff is left to Sicily, Scrimshaw & our fleet of power-running defenders with good foot skills.
Don't get me wrong - I want him to develop into a May/Lake type as well - just think he's got stuff to work on in the meantime.
DogDaySonny
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His nickname will become Blanck 'Cheque' as the gorilla on the backline. From Sammy's video, it appears that Blanck has won his contract through determination and grit, second only to Newc. That attitude never goes astray when you're lined up week after week against the most athletic tall men in the country. I'm hoping he becomes as mean (and as feared) as a jailhouse enforcer.
Agree. Blank as the pure stopping Key (for now, I expect him to improve his attacking as time goes on) McCabe, Sicily, Scrimshaw, Serong, DGB (Weddle, CJ and Day will also still drop back from time to time) will provide the tall intercept/rebound roles.
blanky has a bit of Arthur b in him which is great.
Strapping Young Lad
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James Blanck @ 37:45 (recording of Sam Mitchell singing praises) interview starts 39:25
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