Herald Sun Article on Jason Blake

[n1ck]

i love the blake.

[Pwoit]

Gotta love this line

"If the match-up is right I might go in there and do some damage, or I could be down back, or in run-with roles."

[ace]

[quote="B W and R all over"][quote="markp"][quote]former Cat Steven King has arrived[/quote]
Blake reminds me of Boxer from Animal Farm- "I will work harder"... the guy deserves much respect.[/quote]

Wouldn't this imply St Kilda is a communist organisation?[/quote]


Now I understand why league HQ has it in for St Kilda. Anyone on Demetriou's salary has to be raving capitalist out to get us.

[bigcarl]

...plugger played in the ruck...and at 190cm..i never heard anyone say that he was too short.......by the way... blake would still be a better option than rix...at least he knows what a football looks like.....

sorry rixy, had to laugh. a good line

[ace]

[quote="barks4eva"][quote="stinger"][quote="barks4eva"][b]BLAKES's played everywhere, man[/b]
Jon Ralph | March 07, 2008 12:00am


If Plugger plyed in the ruck then it was for what?>one game

I remember one match Victoria were being killed by South Australia. Victoria couldn't get there hands on the ball.
The Big V sent a young Tony Lockett into the ruck. No groin injuries, no knee injuries, all muscle, no fat. A fully fit, Lockett exploded at the centre bounces blew the packs apart, almost won the game by himself, only needed a little help from his prima donna team mates that he never got. Lockett could have played anywhere in those days. Then injuries and fat replacing muscle left him only one place to play and he killed them there too.

[FullMonty]

On ya blakey!
At last some recognition.

[The Jeff]

On ya blakey!
At last some recognition.

Agreed

[Teflon]

Will fess up to never being a great Blake fan but his season last year IMO was his best and the intensity and effort I saw going back with the flight of the ball two or three times against Essendon told me he is no doubt a courageous bugger who busts his gut.

[dsreg1]

former Cat Steven King has arrived

Yusuf Islam?...

Very Very sharp Mark. Best call i have read on Saintsational for a long time.

[iwantmeseats]

I still say his skills let him down and nearly make him a liability. Please prove me wrong Jason.

[The OtherThommo]

He keeps us and them honest.

[skeptic]

beats me how ne1 can think he's in our best 22.

Way way too inconsistent.

His absolute best is pretty good but he doesn't perform at that level any where near often enough and his worst is not him simply being ineffective, he's a liability.

Its very sad that JB says that year was his best ever... a lot of forumite's expectations of him were pretty low (myself included), a game where he didn't crash was considered good for him.

I struggle to see what position you'd really play him in that u wouldn't rather play a handful of other players first. He's not tall enough for the ruck and KP, he's not fast, skillful or enough of a ball winner for the midfield. Certainly not a goal kicker either...

Curiously, of the opponents listed, how many did he actually beat? I'm not sure but i'm betting not many.

Basically he's a role specific player... a defensive, tall, tagging midfielder who should only be in the team in weeks where there are appropriate match ups for him IMO

[The OtherThommo]

I don't think he is in our best 22 (not sure who "ne1" is, though).

But, he sets a tone for us. Selfless, courageous, durable. He ain't the best, but he is admirable.

[saintbrat]

Date: 1/3/2008

March 1, 2008: St Kilda recovery session at Elwood beach after their win over Essendon. Stephen Milne, David Armitage, David Blake and Nick Dal Santo. Published: Sunday Herald Sun - March 2, 2008 Page: 055 Edition: FIRST Pic. Aaron Francis


did this picture actually make it into the paper last week and did it really say DAVID Blake? .

[footy_first]

setanta is more versatile than blake will ever be

[stinger]

setanta is more versatile than blake will ever be

you guys better teach that irish git to play football...or this will be his last year........fell off the couch laughing when sentanta wet himself when he thought fraser was going to belt him......

[footy_first]

setanta is more versatile than blake will ever be

you guys better teach that irish git to play football...or this will be his last year........fell off the couch laughing when sentanta wet himself when he thought fraser was going to belt him......

setanta took fraser's GIRLY SLAP like a man

[stinger]

setanta is more versatile than blake will ever be

you guys better teach that irish git to play football...or this will be his last year........fell off the couch laughing when sentanta wet himself when he thought fraser was going to belt him......

setanta took fraser's GIRLY SLAP like a man

most men don't wet their pants and run away.....

[footy_first]

setanta is more versatile than blake will ever be

you guys better teach that irish git to play football...or this will be his last year........fell off the couch laughing when sentanta wet himself when he thought fraser was going to belt him......

setanta took fraser's GIRLY SLAP like a man

most men don't wet their pants and run away.....

he didnt run away...run away?

[BAM! (shhhh)]

Its very sad that JB says that year was his best ever... a lot of forumite's expectations of him were pretty low (myself included), a game where he didn't crash was considered good for him.

I struggle to see what position you'd really play him in that u wouldn't rather play a handful of other players first. He's not tall enough for the ruck and KP, he's not fast, skillful or enough of a ball winner for the midfield. Certainly not a goal kicker either...

And therein lies the rub for Jason Blake.

In most games, if you notice him at all (especially on TV), it means he's either made a mistake, or somethings gone wrong for the team. In most games where he plays well, you'll barely notice him at all, and so he's unlikely to receive any kudos.

It took me years of watching him play live to stop hating it when he was on the ground (including watching him personally, and trying to figure out what he was doing to make up for his clangers). I doubt I'll even stop getting nervous when he retains the all for more time than it takes to receive it and handball it off to another player.

Over time though, I've become a fan of the versatility he brings. He makes it difficult for other teams to try and work us over height wise, as he can be used on KPP sized opponents (he's got a great vertical leap), he's hard at the ball on the ground and tackles like a maniac, so he's useful against smaller players too. He's also incredibly smart about how he handles his opponents, especially those faster than him. Against someone like Crawford, he'll allow them free reign across CHB, but if they try to be more than a bit player across the backline, Blake will be all over them. He's not my first option anywhere... but he's a viable 2nd option just about any time, allowing the coach to free up a Sam Fisher, or cover for a missing Hudghton to protect a lead.

What Blake does is let the more talented players around him apply their talent more freely. I've said this before, but I wouldn't be surprised to learn that when Lyon started he had no place for Blake... 12 months on, I'd be equally unsurprised to learn that he doesn't buy lettuce without Jason Blake there to lay a shepherd for him.