Sam Blease

[Old Man Rivers 326]

bit of a strike below the belt there, but i will cop that haha, yeh i forgot to edit my team this week, meant i had one player not playing and i lost by 3 kicks sooo silly mistake.

but still, it was just annoying to me from the stands that he did the head shake chase, twice in the last, and they got two goals out of it? again it is definitely a fitness thing, but no doubt he will cop a spray from it! i would much rather him playing on a wing or fwd flank instead of the backline so he doesnt have to watch his opponent!

Just Kidding MM

At least you now have the No. 1 Draft Pick in 2012

[drdrake 3,178]

Unfortunately he doesn't have the tank at the moment to run both ways. Give him another preseason and he will be a gem, a least he kicks the footy low and hard some of his kicks yesterday were top class and does make good decisions.

[7-UP 107]

And he is best mate with sculls, where blease plays sculls will play at the same club

[Akum 2,660]

Really struggling to understand why posters want to be so harsh on someone because they don't have the complete game by their 2nd full match of AFL footy. Especially one who's missed so much with injury.

Blease showed heaps yesterday that he has some major talent. I too wondered whether he could use his weapons under pressure and at this level, and the answer seems to be ... well yeah! Like Wojo but better.

Of course he has plenty of work to do. How far he goes from here depends on the work he puts in from now on, and he has plenty of examples both good & bad at MFC of that. But he looked every inch the top-20 draft pick.

[rpfc 28,433]

Was really good.

It's funny, I would be trading for someone like Blease - plenty of run, quick, decent kick, 20 years old, good brain.

Turn him into a HBF and he and Nicho are exactly what we need down there.

[Demon Dynasty 17,109]

He is lacking serious fitness. Was struggling to run to the bench.

Let's just cut the kid some slack. His run out of the pack was quite honestly the highlight of the night for me (yes, that's how bad we were).

He has great speed and a very good kick and we know he can get his hands on the ball, so that's a start. I don't think he will necessarily end up playing down back, but it's a good learning curve for him, and I think he did OK defensively.

Agree. Hasn't had the pre seasons to develop a tank yet. He wasn't alone in the last quarter either. A few others were struggling a little with their tank.

The run off half back and delivery to Jurrah was also a highlight for me (i think their was one other passage too).

However, i also enjoyed Garlands steadiness off half back and for me the biggest highlight was his 2nd and 3rd effort (chasing/ tackles/inferred pressure) in a 3 to 1 contest on the Southern wing that resulted in enough pressure for a Tiger turnover (ball in stoppage) and a chance for us to win a clearance.

The ability/will to impose/contest in 2nd/3rd efforts was one of the key missing components for me this year from too many of our more experienced players in certain situations in other matches.

Certainly has dash and i like his ability to take them on and break lines.

I'd like to see at least 3 more pre-seasons plus 60 odd games before i start salivating prematurely though.

New players very early in their career often get off the leash sometimes until the opposition's had a good look at them and how they roll. Life often gets a little tougher thereafter. It was also only the Tigers and a game at the wrong end of the season to be placing too much emphasis re anyone's performance (our last 3 matches are 'junk time' games).

I wont say i'm not watching with interest however B)

Edited August 22, 2011 by Rusty Nails

[Guest Gareth Keenan]

And he is best mate with sculls, where blease plays sculls will play at the same club

EXACTLY.

Just like Trent Cotchin and Matthew Kreuzer.

Or Naitanui and Chris Yarran.

[old dee 23,792]

One of the main reasons I went yesterday was to watch Sam.

He was picked with an early pick so I have always assumed he could play at junior level

and that would hopefully translate into a good senior player.

However he has had to endure one of the worst injuries going before he even made it into his first year at the MFC.

Then in his come back year had another long injury.

Finally he started playing regularly at Casey,

I have seen him a few times in the flesh and a few on TV.

When I have seen him I thought he was " a good Battler" but nothing special.

Now after a couple of senior games I believe he has shown more than I thought was there at Casey.

Yesterday he played Ok I thought but as others have said I thought he was very tired in the last quarter.

He does IMO have a very accurate kick, however he made a couple bad errors trying to thread the needle yesterday.

I may be mistaken but they were directed at TS in very heavy traffic.

IMO the kid has shown enough to give him another couple of years on the list.

However he needs to get a lot fitter, his current fitnass level is not good enough for AFL level.

When the game was up for grabs yesterday he was noticably tired.

[Guest Gareth Keenan]

Just to slip off topic, old dee - any opinion on Bennell from yesterday?

[H_T 3,047]

Just to slip off topic, old dee - any opinion on Bennell from yesterday?

Off topic - I thought he made some critical contests when the ball was in dispute, good chases and timely tackles to create some much needed turnovers. If anything just needs to get his body behind the ball a bit more and learn to take the hits.

[old dee 23,792]

Just to slip off topic, old dee - any opinion on Bennell from yesterday?

See the Bennel thread

[Heart Beats True 1,233]

EXACTLY.

Just like Trent Cotchin and Matthew Kreuzer.

Or Naitanui and Chris Yarran.

Even though they are mates, it will have little bearing on his decision, plus the guys you listed were drafted to different clubs. They didn't leave on their own accord.

Scully will stay the fact his mate is Sammy, will have minimal influence on his decision.

Edited August 22, 2011 by Heart Beats True

[DemonDave 1,089]

Like most on here have already mentioned, I'd seen Blease play at Casey and thought he was nothing more than a battler, and the last two weeks its been a revelation to watch just how comfortable he is at senior level, and his confidence in himself to take on players using his asset of his pace. He doesnt just run straight lines either, and few people would have the ability to slice their way through a pack like he did in that third quarter.

Very excited by the prospect of him getting a full (first?) pre-season into his body, get a bit of core strength up and develop even further.