There was always an expectation that Mark Blicavs would have a back-to-earth moment at some stage. It duly came in a literal, brain-jolting, lung-emptying fashion late last Saturday afternoon, but won’t prevent a September chapter being added to his remarkable debut season story.
“I was dazed for a little bit; with athletics, there was never too much concussion,” he says of his face-first crash landing late in the game against the Brisbane Lions. It meant he was in the rooms seeing stars in the hectic final minutes; more dramatic than your average 3000-metre steeplechase stumble. Blicavs confirms it’s his biggest footy tumble – “so far”.
In truth, every one of his 19 games has made his head spin. When it was put to him in early March – after a second strong NAB Cup performance and with Geelong’s ruck stocks thinned by injury – that he might even play in the season’s opening round against Hawthorn, Blicavs laughed. He entertained the prospect only as a hypothetical, yet things have happened in such a rush that he already seems part of the hooped furniture.
“The season’s flown. I remember laughing at the thought of playing round one,” he says. “[But] going on I’ve set new challenges. It feels like only yesterday that I played my first game, and now I could be playing my first final this weekend. It’s been unbelievable.”
And a joy to watch – not just for Cats fans. Craig Mottram saw a runner when he watched Blicavs’ early games, but has noted his rapid evolution. Weight and muscle have been added yet Mottram says he remains “aerobically phenomenal” relative to his peers. Married to the clean hands genetically gifted by his basketballer parents, and a burgeoning liking for the contest, it makes Blicavs a serious footy package.
Barely 18 months ago he was among a group, including Mottram and Steve Moneghetti, who made their traditional evening stopover for dinner at a Ballarat pub on the way home from competing at the Stawell Gift. London 2012 was still uppermost in his thoughts; he didn’t make it, but Mottram has no doubt he could have next time.
“Had he stayed on another four years in running, with Rio around the corner, he had the ability – and still does – to go to the Olympics in Rio,” the four-time Olympian says. As much as he would love track and field athletes to stay the course, he can’t begrudge the defection.
“I think we celebrate it – the boys get to watch the footy on the weekend and say, ‘We know that guy!’ We love it,” Mottram says of the running community’s reaction. “In reality, the best call for him was to go into the AFL, and I think he’s shown that with his first year – he’s bloody good.”
Indeed. In the pre-season, Blicavs was so raw he could sense himself improving not just with every game, but within games. It’s staggering to think Saturday will be just his 26th game of football since the Taylors Lakes under-14s.
“The big improvement is my overall competitiveness and attitude in the contests, getting out after it. I’ve been watching a bit of Brodie Grundy, he’s a great example of that -doing the ruck contest then getting out after it again.”
Mottram’s running group includes one of Blicavs’ best mates, Ryan Jackson, who has told him the 22-year-old is a first-to-arrive, last-to-leave Cat, constantly asking questions and striving to better himself. For his part, Blicavs says he has made a mental shift away from the potential crutch of seeing himself as someone who is new to the game, still with less than a full season behind him. “I’m in the team, I’m there to play my role and I’m expected to do that well. I can’t use that as an excuse or a reason if it doesn’t go to plan.”
During the mid-season break, Blicavs joined Mottram’s group around the “Tan”, along the Maribyrnong River and on the track at Moonee Ponds. So soon after making the switch, staying in step was more challenging than he remembered.
“Motts is an elite runner, his group’s of elite standard, so just the slightest drop off and you’re going to feel like that.”
He thinks his old coach, Gregor Gojrzewski, would probably love him to be running still, although he keeps it to himself. Gojrzewski was at the MCG for his debut, full of pride, and has continued to offer a mentor’s wisdom. “When I was back with him he said, ‘Oh Mark, you’ve got a big opportunity, if you put the commitment in to footy that you did with running, you’ll go far’.”
If his old coach would secretly love to see an about-face, Blicavs gives up the game when he speaks of his development from someone who racked up big GPS numbers, to a player who is learning to use his running ability to dangerous effect as a footballer. “I used to be a runner, so that’s one of my strengths.”
This article originally appeared in The Age
Read more: