Jason Blake! Is he our most under-rated player?

[borderbarry]

I just noticed that Nick is No. 1 in the AFL for Marks, and Jason is No.4. Great effort.

[SENsei]

Great stuff Neil.

[roxanne]

You'll get no argument from me. Very courageous, versatile and completely under-rated. Only one of two players to play every game this year even though he's so taped up he looks like something out of Revenge of the Mummy.

[Animal Enclosure]

It would have been nice if he was within 40m of Aaron Edwards in the first quarter on Sunday.

Blake has been solid but I'm not sure how he has become everyone's favorite (the same people who are hooking into Max & Zac). He plays his role, which is all you can ask I suppose.

Good on him for getting off the whipping boy wagon though.

[degruch]

It would have been nice if he was within 40m of Aaron Edwards in the first quarter on Sunday.

It was those long leads Edwards was starting from the bar of the local pub...very confusing. Blake thought it was Aaron's round and then, whammo, before he knew it Edwards was taking a shot at goal.

[BaysideSaint]

I just noticed that Nick is No. 1 in the AFL for Marks, and Jason is No.4. Great effort.

if you look at the 'Stats Central' box on AFL.com that lists the top 8 in all three categories (marks, goals, possessions) STK are the only team that have respective representatives on every list.

[plugger66]

He is that underated he is now overated.

[sunsaint]

the guy puts his body through the ringer contest after contest, week in week out, he looks like a walking advertisement for 3M adhesive tape.
sadly fans judge backmen more harshly
Kosi drops a mark or gets outplayed, no big deal.
If a backmen does it, it is deemed directly responsable for the loss, and because Blake is in the backline under constant pressure the disposal is often hurried.
Did ANYONE make mention of the cm perfect 40mt pass to Roo to setup the final shot on goal against the Roos??? If it was goddard people would be creaming themselves.
But no it was "just" Blake. Good 'ole Blakey.

[Saint Bev]

I have always been a Blake fan, gives his all. Last weekend we managed to get some tickets into the players rooms after the game. Blake was a mess, his body had markes all over it from where he had been hit. Ice everywhere, he could hardly move and looked to be in alot of pain. Really felt for the guy.

[St Fidelius]

I just noticed that Nick is No. 1 in the AFL for Marks, and Jason is No.4. Great effort.

Yep a great effort, I have always liked Blake.

But on averages he is currently 7th, with Gilbert equal 8th( with Brad Johnson) and Sam Fisher equal 9th (with Robert Murphy).

1 Matthew Richardson... 6 matches with an average of 10 marks a match

2 Nick Riewoldt............20 matches with an average of 9.8 marks a match

3 Jack Grimes.............11 matches with an average of 8.5 marks a match

4 Brian Lake...............21 matches with an average of 8.4 marks a match

5 Brett Thornton..........19 matches with an average of 8.2 marks a match

6 Jonathan Brown........21 matches with an average of 8.1 marks a match

7 Jason Blake..............21 matches with an average of 7.6 marks a match

8 Sam Gilbert..............18 matches with an average of 7.5 marks a match

[reincarnated]

Its a symbol of our composure, skill and patience in getting the ball out of the back 50 going forward

Reincarnated would suggest that bugger all of those marks are somewhat contested however someone has to do the job, and Blake is doing it well

[3rd generation saint]

Blake is all heart, he get's the best out of himself and always give 100%.
You can't ask for anything else.

[saintsRrising]

I just noticed that Nick is No. 1 in the AFL for Marks, and Jason is No.4. Great effort.

Apples and oranges.

One is a forward where virtually every mark is contested..as his opponent does not want to leave him alone.

The other plays back where most marks are received uncontested by being in space alone after having zones off..

Blake often plays the role of being the guy that hangs back that others kick back too if they cannot find a way forward.

Necessary role for the team...but the marks are pretty meaningless as a statistic.

[Milan Faletic]

Regardless of stats I am and have always been a huge fan of Blake.

He is survived so many coaches which in itself means that he is a required player. There was no publicity about his 150th.

If all of our players had the heart of Jason Blake, we would win the premiership, no question.

[St Fidelius]

I just noticed that Nick is No. 1 in the AFL for Marks, and Jason is No.4. Great effort.

Apples and oranges.

One is a forward where virtually every mark is contested..as his opponent does not want to leave him alone.

The other plays back where most marks are received uncontested by being in space alone after having zones off..

Blake often plays the role of being the guy that hangs back that others kick back too if they cannot find a way forward.

Necessary role for the team...but the marks are pretty meaningless as a statistic.

Agreed, but he is having his best season ever and I feel he does enjoy his new role down back

[Spinner]

It would have been nice if he was within 40m of Aaron Edwards in the first quarter on Sunday.

Unfortunately no stats for that.


All Im going to state is that I dont agree with this thread.

[bergholt]

1 Matthew Richardson... 6 matches with an average of 10 marks a match
2 Nick Riewoldt............20 matches with an average of 9.8 marks a match
3 Jack Grimes.............11 matches with an average of 8.5 marks a match
4 Brian Lake...............21 matches with an average of 8.4 marks a match
5 Brett Thornton..........19 matches with an average of 8.2 marks a match
6 Jonathan Brown........21 matches with an average of 8.1 marks a match
7 Jason Blake..............21 matches with an average of 7.6 marks a match
8 Sam Gilbert..............18 matches with an average of 7.5 marks a match

the presence of thornton and grimes on this list somewhat lessens the achievement.

[Animal Enclosure]

Does anyone have Blakey's contested mark ranking?

That would mean more than getting uncontested 'switching the play' marks across half back.

Can't fault his courage, commitment, etc but if you're going to have a love in, at least find a stat that proves something.

[Thinline]

I have always been a Blake fan, gives his all. Last weekend we managed to get some tickets into the players rooms after the game. Blake was a mess, his body had markes all over it from where he had been hit. Ice everywhere, he could hardly move and looked to be in alot of pain. Really felt for the guy.

He was the only one to really put his head over it in a situation where it really counted and it looked like it was going to be ugly for a tick. But Blake being blake he gest up, dusts himself off, and hobbles away to the next contest.

No doubting his courage etc.

But gee I agree with the other poster who mentioned how Aaron Edwards (who is really a bit of a spud if anyone sticks it to him) had free rein for way too long on Sunday arvo. Wasn't won or lost in that match up, but on reflection it did stand out.

[eel33]

Good backmen rarely take a contested mark. They are drilled to punch the ball away. When the ball is coming in, your first job is to stop the opposition forwards from getting a set shot at goal. Once that is achieved, you worry about clearing the ball from the area, and then possibly setting up a forward thrust. Why do you see all our backmen going the punch in contested situations? (maybe Gram excepted, who just doesn't seem to grasp the concept of punching the ball away? - but he brings other attributes to the side). And most particularly they punch the ball early in a match? Even when it's perhaps not totally necessary? Because it sets a tone. It communicates to the opposition that our players are committed to negating them at all costs, and it will be a tough day at the office for them. This is classic SOS playing tactics/coaching.

Blake gets lots of uncontested marks because he's doing his part in the team plan to find the best way forward through opposition flooding. He takes his share of marks when repelling the opposition and it is "safe" to mark because it is uncontested. Gilbert is probably the best at this for us, floating across in front of a pack. Blakey does his fair share of punching the ball away. It's actually fairly rare I think these days for him to be beaten one out in marking contests.

Do any of the stats sites record player spoils? I doubt it, but it would be a more meaningful stat for comparing the effectiveness of backmen.

[vacuous space]

Do any of the stats sites record player spoils? I doubt it, but it would be a more meaningful stat for comparing the effectiveness of backmen.

The AFL site has 1%ers, which I believe is mostly comprised of spoils. All of the top 25 are defenders. The only player in the top 25 for both 1%ers and contested marks is Brian Lake. St Kilda has three players in the top-25 for 1%ers - Blake, Dawson and Fisher. Out of all our backs the one with the most contested marks is Gilbert with 15.

[St. Luke]

I remember some brain-dead hack on this forum stating that we'd never win a Grand Final with him...seems to me we're heading to one with him ....He's a very versatile and reliable player who has stood up when needed. Gets the big thumbs up from me!

[matrix]

the guy puts his body through the ringer contest after contest, week in week out, he looks like a walking advertisement for 3M adhesive tape.
sadly fans judge backmen more harshly
Kosi drops a mark or gets outplayed, no big deal.
If a backmen does it, it is deemed directly responsable for the loss, and because Blake is in the backline under constant pressure the disposal is often hurried.
Did ANYONE make mention of the cm perfect 40mt pass to Roo to setup the final shot on goal against the Roos??? If it was goddard people would be creaming themselves.
But no it was "just" Blake. Good 'ole Blakey.

thats a great post