Opinion Mark Blake

[Gaz_Brownlow]

What a shame Achilles got itself red-carded, as it would have had to eat a large amount of humble pie, and I was ready to serve it up a huge slice of the stuff.

Blakey was awesome today! His hitouts in the centre more often than not hit a team-mate on the chest, and capped it off with 2.1, including a poster from a snap from the boundary S.J. would have been proud of.

Now that he's raised the bar on what he can do, hopefully he can produce that effort every week.

Blakey was ****ing phenomenal today. Had the pleasure of sitting on the wing and viewing quite a lot of his ruckwork, superb. He actually had a physical presence out there, and looked the part to...was extremely impressed. But perhaps most notably was the fact that he went screaming into the defensive half back area and was searching for a kick, i could hear his calling from level 3 - havent seen that much confidence from him ever! Lets hope he can keep it up - would almost suggest giving him and west another crack next week - but i think Otto will need the run.

 

[forrrestGump]

good team effort, and team played well

let us not get ahead of ourselves, he mucked up a number of times (and if it was tenance we would be hearing different stories now), he does not give his runners a clear advantage, ie he is not easy to read

and this was not a pressure run it was a drill, so yes, and next week he will have an ok game because of the opposition

it will be games against collingwood, brisbane, wce, and st kilda where he will be tested

the backline is awesome, and really strong

can someone ignite the forwards as they are not insinc
need to fire up mooney and johno

 

[Catman]

Blake fans - we've been vindicated!

 

[bingle]

best game i've seen him play ever. what an amazing day for the big man.
glad to say i have been there to witness all of blakes goals in the afl (inc 2 v Rich at SS last year)
keep it up big fella

 

[Catman]

Mark Blake - 2 goals, Matthew Lloyd - 0 goals.

Blake > Lloyd.

 

[Cohzee]

best game i've seen him play ever. what an amazing day for the big man.
glad to say i have been there to witness all of blakes goals in the afl (inc 2 v Rich at SS last year)
keep it up big fella

I have been to the two games that he has scored goals, but last year I had to urinate and missed his second Too much beer.

Mark Blake - 2 goals, Matthew Lloyd - 0 goals.

Blake > Lloyd.

Great logic!

 

[And_ROOS]

Re: Mark Blake - A question:

Was one of the weaker links in the side on Thursday, then again he is one of the more inexperienced players in the side, playing one of the most demanding positions for a younger guy on the park.

Harry Taylor would be a weak link at FB, Tom Lonergan would be a weak link at FF/CHF.

Now, that said he is coming into his fourth season and needs to show a fair whack of improvement. His ruckwork is fine. His footskills and hardness lack. Trent West looks far better in this department, yet his ruckwork is a fair way off the mark at the present time.

His performance on Thursday justified him being dropped for the Grand Final, because it showed he cannot yet match it against the better ruck duos in the comp.

Not if his first game was anything to go by

 

[djlowz]

Good on him. Today was a really really good effort by Blake, I was impressed. Today I realised that he is actually a good tap ruckman, however I still think that is all he will ever be.

There is no doubt that today was his best game in the Cats colors, but at the same time, there is no doubt in my mind that he is still a dud player. One contested mark in 37 games isn't anything to write home about, however his ruck work today was superb.

Maybe he will prove his worth just as a backup ruckman? Lets hope, but i am still hesitant...

 

[Cohzee]

Good on him. Today was a really really good effort by Blake, I was impressed. Today I realised that he is actually a good tap ruckman, however I still think that is all he will ever be.

There is no doubt that today was his best game in the Cats colors, but at the same time, there is no doubt in my mind that he is still a dud player. One contested mark in 37 games isn't anything to write home about, however his ruck work today was superb.

Maybe he will prove his worth just as a backup ruckman? Lets hope, but i am still hesitant...

After todays performance you call him a dud. Right

 

[someday-somehow]

Not a bad effort for a 22 year old ruckman, did his best to keep up with Hille who is fairly quick.

Guys like Ottens, Lade and Cox don't grow on trees and it's unfair to compare him to them but he will be a dependable ruckman as long as he works hard at it.....and I think he will

 

[candiehappy]

Re: Mark Blake - A question:

lets move on, he is playing this sunday, so sunday night i will start again

till then it will be great to see him beaten in the ruck by monfries, or someone with no height

time to apologise?

 

[chicachow]

The highlight of the match was watching 'The Gazelle' kick a couple of goals. Well done Mark!

 

[candiehappy]

I just don't understand all this bagging of Blake. He's still a devoloping player. Had a great season last year. Compare 07 to 06 to see how he's come on. He's the no.2 ruckman, and shouldn't be expected to be no. 1 (at this stage). Rank the current ruckman in the league with an eye on the future and not the past, and see where he comes in the list. He won't be last.
Is the problem that we have to complain about something and this is the best that people can come up with?
Now if want to talk about Byrne, that's different............

 

[CF]

I just don't understand all this bagging of Blake.

Some of us aren't happy unless they can bag a player. It is easy to be an armchair critic. Ling was bagged mercilessly in 06 but now is back in favor, Joel Corey & Corey Enright have been bagged on and off at times for their performances. Now it is Blake and Byrnes turn.

Last year Blakey showed he was a pretty good tap ruckman but his other skills were fairly lacking (which was why he was dropped for the GF). This year so far he has still shown he is a decent tap ruckman but I can see his on-ball skills have improved. His kicking is much better and he is learning from Otto in that his 2nd and 3rd efforts are much better. The guy has shown a lot of improvement in the last few years and if he can keep that up he will be a decent ruckman. I don't think he will ever be thought of as one of the greats, but he will be serviceable.

In Round 1, he (and West) were up against the AA ruck combination IMO and was handed his butt on a plate. I am sure he would have learnt from that.

 

[DanA]

Some of us aren't happy unless they can bag a player. It is easy to be an armchair critic. Ling was bagged mercilessly in 06 but now is back in favor, Joel Corey & Corey Enright have been bagged on and off at times for their performances. Now it is Blake and Byrnes turn.

Last year Blakey showed he was a pretty good tap ruckman but his other skills were fairly lacking (which was why he was dropped for the GF). This year so far he has still shown he is a decent tap ruckman but I can see his on-ball skills have improved. His kicking is much better and he is learning from Otto in that his 2nd and 3rd efforts are much better. The guy has shown a lot of improvement in the last few years and if he can keep that up he will be a decent ruckman. I don't think he will ever be thought of as one of the greats, but he will be serviceable.

In Round 1, he (and West) were up against the AA ruck combination IMO and was handed his butt on a plate. I am sure he would have learnt from that.

The fact that he was resting up forward alone shows he has made massive strides.

 

[Casey Cat]

CatmanForever, I've seen posted elsewhere (CatsClaw) statistics showing that Lade and Ottens are on their own level but Brogan, King and Blake all statistically similar games - in short, they're the next level down. In the last game against Port it was Lade who did all the damage. Brogan had a draw with Blake and even West did okay against him - statistically speaking.

My point of view all along is that Blake is a good 2nd string ruckman at 22 and is getting better all the time. He was stuffed around last year when he was dropped after his best game for the club (verses Richmond) and that affected his confidence notably. The club has now committed to Blake for the future and it will reap the rewards. Blake will be inconsistent for a while yet but the fact is he is a good young ruckman who can run, jump, win a hit out, kick long bombs from outside 50m, good when the ball hits the deck and works hard around the ground. He won't always play to his potential, though.

I have never understood the extreme criticism displayed on here and CatsClaw and - to my detriment - I have waded in on CatsClaw to defend Blake.

Anyway - well done to Blake on yesterday's game!

 

[Copernicus]

Have to say I don't have too many qualms about how Blakey is coming along after yesterday's performance. As a young ruckman he is bound to be inconsistent, but he was superb yesterday. Those who have devoted themselves to slagging him off need to take a deep breath. He's still young and will improve, and from yesterday's showing, there are a lot of good signs.

 

[Bryceson]

very happy with his performance yesterday. he looks very determined to have a good year. he looks stronger in the ruck and around the ground fighting for the ball. he can win his own ball around the ground and has the confidence to actually kick the ball. looks to be coming long nicely

 

[djlowz]

After todays performance you call him a dud. Right

Correct.

 

[forrrestGump]

Blake fans - we've been vindicated!

yep

no pressure, massive point win, the game to stand up and show what you really mean to the team

and when the pump is on, and the mids need help go missing

i know what i would prefer

he needs to prove himself in a gutsy win, ie against a collingwood or a port, to be vindicated

as at now, he still useless in big games.

 

[Woof Dog]

Blake
23 Tapouts 6 marks 15 possessions 2 goals

That is a phenomenal effort from Blakey. Essendon got a total of 19 hitouts!

Hille had 23 touches also

 

[BlueNWhite]

Go Blakey. Prove all of these haters wrong.

For F's sake people, he has yet to hit the 50 game mark and he showed on Sunday that he has plenty of upside. Give it a rest at least for a week can you one-eyed anti-blake-ites?

 

[Achilles]

Re: Mark Blake - A question:

to all

blake needs to play well in close games, where he shows true colours

when you are winning games by 100 points even brownless in his current state would have kicked a few

lets get real, and i hope all you blake lovers are here after the st kilda game

maybe blake might sook, coz it is a hard game

 

[hbk_aus]

Re: Mark Blake - A question:

to all

blake needs to play well in close games, where he shows true colours

when you are winning games by 100 points even brownless in his current state would have kicked a few

lets get real, and i hope all you blake lovers are here after the st kilda game

maybe blake might sook, coz it is a hard game

I would say that dominating the first quarter when the game was still there to be won qualifys as playing well in tight situations...you are showing urself to be very close-minded on him, give him credit where credit is due, or people might think you had some sort of agenda....

 

[Crancon]

Some of us aren't happy unless they can bag a player. It is easy to be an armchair critic. Ling was bagged mercilessly in 06 but now is back in favor, Joel Corey & Corey Enright have been bagged on and off at times for their performances. Now it is Blake and Byrnes turn.

That is a good point CF; I will admit to being critical of Blake at times during the 2007 Season (not actually on BF, but to others). I now concede that this was unfair. It is not an excuse or a justification; but last year I was probably pushing the Cats in my mind so hard to win a flag, that any hint of a weak link fired me up. This is why I (and probably so many others) was in favor of King for the Grand Final.

Of course; it is just so easy for us all to sit back and throw stones from afar.