Revealed: Running man Mark Blicavs on what made him a rare jewel on the playing field
After his son was drafted by Geelong, Cam Guthrie’s dad had a quiet word to recruiters about a kid he coached in the under-11s. A decade later that kid is one of the most dynamic players in the AFL and a key to the Cats’ flag hopes.
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It hit Mark Blicavs when he walked over to his teammates.
Not necessarily the ones who had just beaten Brisbane on Saturday night, but the those in the crowd who had spent just as long in the hub this season for little rewarded and limited opportunity.
“They were genuinely going crazy,” Blicavs said.
“They’ve worked so hard this year too and there’s a few who would love to be out there playing.
“They’ve all been amazing how they’ve trained, the way they’ve pushed the whole team together.
“We’re one big family working towards one common goal this weekend. That was pretty special.”
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After nine seasons on the list, eight of which as a permanent and highly adaptable member of a side that had lost four preliminary finals, Blicavs was finally in a Grand Final.
As Geelong players filtered back into the Gabba changerooms, his great mate Cam Guthrie was brought to tears.
Hugged by fellow Cat and younger brother Zach, Guthrie was photographed with his head in his hands as he digested clearing that preliminary final hoodoo.
He had played in three losing ones.
“(For Guthrie) to share it with Zach, and he had his mum and dad and older brother Ben in the crowd watching, I think that was something really special, not only for the club but them personally,” Blicavs said.
“It’s a fantastic photo and I think I’ll look back on that in a couple of years and think it’s really special.”
If not for lifelong family friendship with the Guthrie family, Blicavs would likely not be on this stage, instead chasing an Olympic dream.
When Guthrie played his first NAB Cup match for Geelong in 2011, just months after being drafted to the Cats, his old man Andrew somewhat audaciously sought out Cats list manager Stephen Wells to let him know about this Olympic hopeful he knew who might have a bit of AFL potential.
Guthrie Sr had coached Blicavs for one year in the under-11s at the Sunbury juniors, a place where the Guthrie boys honed their footy craft.
Cam endured a string of multiple losing junior grand finals before moving onto the Calder Cannons, while for Blicavs that one season — where he was teammates with the eldest Guthrie, Ben — was the last time he had played.
“We’re really close. I went to school with Ben and my sister (Sara) went to school with Cam in the same year level and we’ve been family friends since before Zach was born, actually,” Blicavs said.
“Guth’s parents and my parents continue to text during the game. They like to debrief and I think they’re having a great finals ride as well, enjoying it as parents. It’s a good bond.”
MR FIX IT
In old-fashioned footy speak, Blicavs is a utility.
Few players have played as many roles as successfully as Blicavs. In 2015 he won a best-and-fairest as a ruckman. In 2018 he won his second, this time as a key defender.
When he was moved from defence to a wing in last year’s finals series in the absence of Mitch Duncan, it caused angst among fans as Tom Lynch kicked five goals and took 10 marks in the preliminary final.
Like Patrick Dangerfield, the dilemma is always how to find the best position for a player who is equally important in another.
Between Rounds 1-7 this year, Blicavs played 97 per cent in defence, according to Champion Data. Since Round 8, when injuries unsettled the Cats’ ruck division, he has essentially split his time between the ruck and wing. The career revival of Lachie Henderson has also meant there is no need for him to go back into defence.
He still goes to the line meetings of both the defence and the midfield, just to ensure he is across all the machinations in case a curve ball comes midgame that forces him to make a swift positional change.
“It varies each week,” Blicavs said.
“I enjoy defence. I enjoy playing behind the ball, following it and influencing where I can, but I’ve just been trying to compete as hard as I can in the ruck and do some follow-up work.
“I’ve always said I think I’m a pretty versatile player. I’m pretty happy to play where the coaches need me and that changes each week.”
Blicavs is clocking about 12km a match in this season’s shortened games, compared to the 16km he logged weekly last year.
He puts his durability down to the fact he didn’t play footy through his teenage years; genetics (both parents played basketball for Australia); his running base and the virtues of preparation instilled in him by the likes of Joel Selwood, Harry Taylor and Andrew Mackie from almost the day he arrived at the club.
“The coaches and I still see that as a strength, my running game, so I will continue to try to top that up each year and make sure I can cover the ground well,” Blicavs said.
“With the ruck position, I have tried to put on a little bit more size this year. I’m not massive but I feel quite strong. The running is going OK, but the football fitness is going well.”
LEAP OF FAITH
When the Cats won their most recent flag in 2011, Blicavs was seeking London Olympic qualification as a middle-distance runner and steeplechaser.
It is a story well-told, but in Grand Final week it is worth quickly revisiting.
Two months after that premiership, Blicavs was on the athletics circuit and ran 5000m in 14min31sec. A few months later he covered the 3000m steeplechase in about nine minutes.
His times were a little off automatic qualification but his peak as a runner was still years away, potentially now as a 29-year-old.
It was a bold call to forego that to chase a footy career that had no guarantee of materialising.
He joined Geelong as a Category B rookie in 2012 after missing Olympic selection and was so raw in a handful of VFL games he was overlooked for selection in the VFL grand final.
That summer’s transformation was meteoric. Since Round 1, 2013, he has averaged more than 22 AFL games a season.
“We’ve got a lot of teammates with cool stories who have come from different sporting backgrounds,” Blicavs said.
“Jordan Clark was a gun cricketer, Bewsy (Jed Bews) once upon a time could have pole-vaulted at a pretty high level.
“Hopefully later on in my career, and when I’m retired, I will look back on with fond memories.”
JOB TO DO
Geelong allowed itself a few hours to enjoy Saturday night’s win over Brisbane, but the game face was back on almost immediately in preparation for this weekend’s Grand Final against Richmond.
“We’re not naive to think it will just happen,” Blicavs said.
“To make it is a fantastic achievement, but our minds are firmly set on this week.
“We need to have a great training week and we need to prepare well.
“We go into the game knowing that Richmond are going to bring it and we need to bring it too. We can’t just rely on last week or the week before.
“We know we’re going to have to really bring it and play at our best.
“It (a flag) would be fantastic. Every player puts in the hard work and that’s why we play this game, to win and be a premiership player.
“It would be something very special to spend with the players, the squad and the coaches.”
HOW CATS GAINED EXTRA WEAPON IN FLAG RACE
Lachie Henderson was at peace with the prospect of his career being over.
As he holidayed across Europe and America with teammates Jed Bews and James Parsons last off-season, Henderson was no longer an AFL player.
Cut by the Cats last October, he was his own man as the travel party started in the States and took in the sights of Paris, Turkey, Berlin among other stops.
In the background he was having chats with Geelong about a potential lifeline, but he was equally content to call time, travel the world and dive into his latest career venture – an African travel business with his sister, Chloe.
He is thankful Geelong gave him that last chance.
On Saturday night, Henderson, 30, will play his first AFL Grand Final after the Cats used their final pick in the rookie draft to bring him back onto the list for defensive insurance.
“I was reasonably content with it being over if it (getting picked up again) didn’t eventuate,” Henderson said.
“I chatting with the club and knew that it (re-rookied) was a possibility, depending on how the cards fell. I was OK with that.
“But the club was great, chatting all the way through, and looking back now I’m very glad it wasn’t the end.
“But if you take me back to then, I was happy either way.”
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Had Geelong passed on Henderson, he said he would have gone overseas, found his way to Africa and then likely been stranded once COVID-19 struck.
The pandemic, for now, has put the brakes on the travel company but it remains firmly on the agenda.
Henderson caught the bug of African life when he went on a 10-day trip to Botswana and Zimbabwe in 2014 with his much-travelled sister.
“That gave me a real love for it and also for conservation, in terms of what I can do to help over there, but also around the world as well,” he said.
“It was just an amazing experience.”
THE KEY INCLUSION
Henderson returned to the Geelong line-up in Round 8 this year and has played every match since, freeing up Mark Blicavs to be deployed wherever the Cats feel he is best suited.
He is a key part of the backline, rated above average with Champion Data for ranking points, disposals and metres gained, and elite for marks.
After joining the Cats in 2016, Henderson played in three losing preliminary finals – and vowed not to feel that anguish again.
“I went into last week thinking, ‘I can’t lose another prelim’,” he said.
“I just needed to have that chance of getting into a grand final, experiencing the week and experiencing the day.
“We’ll be giving it everything we possibly can to win the game.
“I couldn’t handle losing another (prelim), to be honest.”
KEEPING FRESH
Henderson likes to keep a good work-life balance.
Back home on the Surf Coast he has a number of secret surfing hideaways and he is often in the water along the Gold Coast, though not as much as he thought he would be. Golf is another release.
Even when his AFL career was in limbo late last year, he kept fit – not necessarily in case the lifeline came but because it is the way he is naturally wired.
“It was actually a bit of a relief, just training for myself,” he said.
“I was just really enjoying not having to think about it. I was constantly thinking, ‘I’m not even an AFL player anymore’. I could just say, ‘I feel like going for a run’.
“It was a little bit refreshing and nice to just do it and not think too much about it.
“I love training. I like staying in good nick. It’s something I’ll do for the rest of my life.”
The finals series in Brisbane has also provided some nice symmetry on his career, having started his career with two seasons at the Lions.
“Even to play the prelim at the Gabba on the weekend, it felt like a full circle to me,” he said.
“Even though you want to do it at the MCG in front of 100,000 and have your friends and family there, there is a nice part of it that I started by career there back in 2007.”
THE FLAG DREAM
Henderson said he would wait until the end of the season to determine his future with the club.
The focus is a grand final and a premiership that he was seeking when he joined Geelong from Carlton.
“It would mean everything,” he said.
“It’s everything you play for. It’s my 13th year and I haven’t had a chance at it in 13 years.
“If it is the end, then it would be a great culmination to the 13 years and it would just feel like you’ve achieved what you set out for all those years ago.
“It would just make everything feel complete, I suppose.
“I’m sure that would be the same answer for a lot of people – it’s what you strive for.
“I had a good mate of mine, Will Schofield, get one a couple of years ago (at West Coast in 2018) and it’s just awesome to be able to watch him do it and see the joy and happiness that it brings.
“The culmination of all those training sessions and the days and years spent stressing, all those things.”
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NO SECOND THOUGHTS FOR ABLETT ON RETIREMENT
Geelong superstar Gary Ablett has declared he has no regrets about his decision to retire as he chases the ultimate finish to his legendary career.
The 36-year-old believes he could have squeezed out another season next year but has no plans to backtrack on his commitment to finish up after Saturday’s Grand Final.
“(There’s) no second thoughts. No second thoughts,” Ablett said on Sunday fresh off Geelong’s 40-point win over Brisbane at the Gabba.
“The game doesn’t get easier. I think for me, over the last couple of years, my body hasn’t been able to do what it could do in my younger years.
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“I think going into pre-seasons I just had to adapt to that and work out other ways that I could help the team. That’s around my footy IQ, positioning myself in the right spot.”
Ablett is one of five premiership players remaining at Geelong heading into Saturday’s showdown with Richmond.
Joel Selwood is looking for his fourth flag and first as skipper; Tom Hawkins and Harry Taylor their third, while Mitch Duncan was part of the 2011 success in just his second season.
Ablett plans to lend his experience to the Cats younger players, but there is one player he feels does not need any guidance.
“No advice for Patty (Dangerfield). He is a superstar,” Ablett said. “He knows what he needs to do and I am sure that, now he has the opportunity, he will perform on the big stage.”
Ablett said only hindsight could judge where a 2020 premiership would sit in comparison to his 2007 and 2009 medals.
“It’s been 11 years since I played in a Grand Final,” he said.
“I’m really excited. I’ve been blessed through the past 19 years, just to play the game for that long.
“The average career is four years and I’ve been able to achieve so much in my career.”
Ablett was in vintage touch against Brisbane on Saturday night, kicking two telling goals in the third quarter to help the Cats capitalise on their dominance.
He still finds the right spots, but says the physical demands take their toll.
“I could probably get my body through another 12 months, but … it is a physical game,” he said.
“It is a tough game and if we can win a premiership this Saturday it would be a nice way to go out.”
Ablett plans to spend the first 12 months of retirement with his family while also exploring several business opportunities.
“(But) it’s going to be hard for me to leave the game,” he said.
“I’ve been doing it for 19 years, so I am sure I will struggle with that for the first 12 months, but at the same time I am excited about what’s next.
“I’m looking forward to transitioning into life after football, whatever that looks like. There’s plenty of great players coming through, so I don’t think they’ll miss me too much.”
ABLETT FEELS THE LOVE IN FINAL WEEK OF CAREER
Gary Ablett can feel the love.
His phone is constantly lighting up with messages of support from family and friends, while Cats fans are flooding his private messages on social media.
When Ablett left Gold Coast for his Geelong homecoming at the end of 2017, he did so with one dream in mind: to win a final flag at the Cats.
On Saturday night, in what will be his 357th and final game, he gets the opportunity for a fairytale finish that has all the potential of a box-office classic.
“When I got back to Geelong, I always said it was about winning a premiership,” he said.
“I’ve been back there for three years and we got into a prelim final last year.
“We had a real opportunity of winning that game and I had a big decision to make at the end of last year: do I go again?
“And the reason that I did is I believed we had the list to go all the way. We get a shot this Saturday and we’ll see how we go.”
Ablett admits there have been times when he wrestled with self-doubt as he evolved his game from midfield dynamo to forward-half specialist.
No longer was it about counting possessions, but making those possessions count. Just like his running goal out of the middle in the third quarter that was so vintage Ablett it could have been lifted from any of his previous 18 seasons.
“I always know you are going to get those opportunities and when they come you need to make the most of them,” he said.
“For me, it was understanding that I didn’t need to touch the ball 30 times.
“It is not an easy game. The older you get, the harder it gets on your body.
“For me, it was just about setting those little goals from week to week and just making sure that I knew I was not going to be able to be the best player every week.
“It was about my role within the team and I believe one of my strengths is when I get the ball, I do something with it.
“It was just making sure that if I was touching it 10-12 that I was able to have a real impact.”
On that goal on Saturday night from the back edge of the centre square, Ablett said: “I felt I was in range and I had the shot and the ball went through. The old legs have still got a bit in them, so hopefully I can put a few more through this weekend.”
Ablett spent two months out of the Geelong bubble to be with his family to support his partner Jordan after their son Levi was diagnosed with a rare degenerative condition.
During that period, Jordan’s mother Trudy passed away after a battle with cancer.
Ablett rejoined his teammates a month ago with clarity about his role after having discussion with coach Chris Scott.
The Cats had made a few tweaks to their game plan in the two months he spent out of the bubble, but he was constantly kept in the loop with a series of calls and messages as he trained with Andrew Mackie at GMHBA Stadium.
“I still believe I am in Geelong’s best 22 and I did a good month of work before I got up here, so I knew my body was going to be able to handle football games,” he said.
“It was just a matter of working out what that looked like.
“I spoke to Scotty about when I come back, does he see me running a little through the midfield or playing more down forward.
“We both agreed that my best position for the team was down forward.”
Ablett has exchanged a few messages with his dad this week and will give him a call in the coming days.
“My old man has been taking about making a comeback, so you never know,” Ablett joked. “You might see him in a forward pocket.”
Dad’s message this week?
“Like always, he will be super supportive. He’ll tell me to go out and enjoy myself, have fun, do your best and that’s all you can do. So hopefully we can come away with the win and we can celebrate with the family.”
Ablett only needs to look at his phone to know how much a flag would mean. His last Grand Final appearance was 2009 (he was at Gold Coast in 2011) and a flag would mark 13 years between his first and last premiership.
“I have received so many messages over the last couple of weeks,” he said.
“Not just from family and people I know, but private messages on social media from people wishing me all the best.
“That’s really nice to know everyone is behind me. Hopefully we can finish off well, get that premiership cup, take it back to Geelong and celebrate with all of our fans.”
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Originally published as Revealed: Running man Mark Blicavs on what made him a rare jewel on the playing field