I have been watching Blake Howes closely and like a lot of young talented players he has continued to work hard on his strength and conditioning and having the new coaches support has lifted his confidence and self belief, he now feels like he belongs and it shows. Well done Blake.

Havent noticed him standing out but hes done some nice things here and there. Deserves his spot

He's looking a lot more composed ball in hand, Perhaps the coach has given him that confidence, perhaps he is not worried about being dropped, perhaps he just played enough games (32) to get the feel for senior football.

Well done young man. Keep up the good work

On 05/04/2026 at 20:01, dazzledavey36 said:

Had to play on a much taller Jye Amiss snd beat him comprehensively in round 2.

Didn't realise he went to Amiss. Real positive in an ordinary team day.

Who did he spend most of the time on against Cold Coast?

🥳 HAPPY BIRTHDAY BLAKE!!! 🥳

Our wonderful #22 was 22 but is now 23!

He’s a keeper

He's developed nicely into an ok role player. Seems to defend well enough and safe with the ball in hand when rebounding. That's all I want from him and it's great to see the young kids getting better and better with more confidence.

He reminds me a bit of Col Garland in the fact he's out there, playing his role with minimal fuss and you can right now trust him to do it very well.

And I still think he is a winger/hff.

Happy Birthday Blake and enjoy your footy.

As mentioned above, I still don't think he's found his best position yet as well as he's doing in this one.

In the youth system he was highly touted for his leap and marking in the forward half and we know about his athleticism. What we are seeing with guys like Sharp, Chandler and the like in terms of the up and down running he could easily do.

Keen to see how he evolves.

Having a good year, but he'll need to keep on his toes to keep Rivers, Bowey, and eventually XT out of the side

Stiff competition

3 hours ago, adonski said:

Having a good year, but he'll need to keep on his toes to keep Rivers, Bowey, and eventually XT out of the side

Stiff competition

I'd rather play a more mobile back half.

AMW Petty Howes

Taylor Turner Bowey

With Lever and Salem for support.

But as with King's philosophy, he wants players to be able to play multiple positions.

Blake could play a wing or half forward as well.

Happy birthday, Blake. 🎉

5 minutes ago, Adam The God said:

I'd rather play a more mobile back half.

AMW Petty Howes

Taylor Turner Bowey

With Lever and Salem for support.

But as with King's philosophy, he wants players to be able to play multiple positions.

Blake could play a wing or half forward as well.

Happy birthday, Blake. 🎉

This year?

We may build to that but our backline is helped by having lever and Salem in there having the lion share on their shoulders.

The lesson from our previous ‘rebuild’ is the need to have senior players to support the development of the likely types.

1 hour ago, rpfc said:

This year?

We may build to that but our backline is helped by having lever and Salem in there having the lion share on their shoulders.

The lesson from our previous ‘rebuild’ is the need to have senior players to support the development of the likely types.

I don't think this year, no. Perhaps towards the end of the year, but more 2027-2028.

Break

Out

Year

Utility defender.

Beauty!

21 hours ago, Bowserpower said:

Havent noticed him standing out but hes done some nice things here and there. Deserves his spot

Every team needs those no frills, solid, reliable players.

Great that Blake has been able to grind away and make a spot in the team his own for now. Looking forward to seeing what he can do as the season continues.

Will be plenty of competition for spots with Riv and Bowser coming back, but then unfortunately there's also often injuries. Still, different sort of player, but I think he's ahead of at least CJ at this point and has a bit of height that I think T Mac is probably the next out with his more limited mobility.

On 07/04/2026 at 13:37, Deeko2 said:

He's developed nicely into an ok role player. Seems to defend well enough and safe with the ball in hand when rebounding. That's all I want from him and it's great to see the young kids getting better and better with more confidence.

He reminds me a bit of Col Garland in the fact he's out there, playing his role with minimal fuss and you can right now trust him to do it very well.

Never thought he was very good, but.

In the last two games that i have watched he IS more composed than other years, and I think this is the difference . He now has, or takes a bit longer to be balanced before he passes the ball. Does not fumble or make errors as much. Having said these wonderful things about him. my MFCSS says there will be eggs all over faces on Saturday. hope not fingers crossed.

I admit I thought he was another NQR but I've been impressed this year, he has really stepped up and become more consistent in his output. Add him to the list of players who we are getting the best out of atm (Sharp, Culley et al).

5 minutes ago, Dr. Gonzo said:

I admit I thought he was another NQR but I've been impressed this year, he has really stepped up and become more consistent in his output. Add him to the list of players who we are getting the best out of atm (Sharp, Culley et al).

It’s amazing what a gameplan committed to by the whole team does for NQR players and ‘list cloggers’ and ‘pure depth’…

55 minutes ago, rpfc said:

It’s amazing what a gameplan committed to by the whole team does for NQR players and ‘list cloggers’ and ‘pure depth’…

Glad to see Howes/Sharp take steps forward. They've got the running/athletic capacity needed for the system. Add in Chin, clog players/role players that run all day are crucial now.