Cats take casual approach as Dockers blockbuster looms

Cats take casual approach as Dockers blockbuster looms

The fashionable trailblazer for cell ruckmen admits Walyalup’s* (Fremantle’s) red-hot mixture of Sean Darcy and Luke Jackson current a stern check for the understaffed reigning premiers.

Without injured premiership ruckman Rhys Stanley, athletic tall Mark Blicavs and ruck deputy Jon Ceglar are left to shoulder the load in opposition to the Dockers pair who steered a midfield dominance of their street win over Sydney final week.

Mark Blicavs.
Camera IconMark Blicavs. Credit: Jackson Flindell/The West Australian

Doing the majority of the faucet work, Darcy mixed with Jackson for 55 hit-outs and the Dockers blitzed the clearance battle — notably from the centre.

Speaking to The West Australian as nearly all of Geelong’s touring occasion touched down in Perth precisely 24 hours earlier than Saturday’s Optus Stadium conflict, Blicavs stated the rising duo commanded respect.

Sport. AFL. The Geelong Football Club land in Perth ahead of their game against the Fremantle Dockers at Optus Stadium tomorrow night. Cooper Whyte has a feed while waiting for his bags.
Camera IconCooper Whyte. Credit: Jackson Flindell/The West Australian
Sport. AFL. The Geelong Football Club land in Perth ahead of their game against the Fremantle Dockers at Optus Stadium tomorrow night. Jeremy Cameron.
Camera IconJeremy Cameron. Credit: Jackson Flindell/The West Australian

“They’ve been really good. They’re always good,” Blicavs stated.

AFL Match Centre

“Darcy is a Geelong boy, so (he’s got) a few mates here or there. We’ve played against them both in previous years but we’ll prepare like we normally do, give them the respect they deserve and try and see where our strengths lie.”

Oli Dempsey.
Camera IconOli Dempsey. Credit: Jackson Flindell/The West Australian
Esava Ratugolea.
Camera IconEsava Ratugolea. Credit: Jackson Flindell/The West Australian

In the league’s most well-known hybrid function, Blicavs has been named on-ball, with Ceglar the beginning ruck.

Without Stanley Blicavs has attended at the very least 80 per cent of centre bounces prior to now three video games as a dual-use on-baller.

It’s a mannequin just like the one Fremantle need Luke Jackson to turn into, with the 21-year-old dubbed a ‘unicorn’ used via the midfield and up ahead — the place he kicked three targets final week.

But Blicavs wouldn’t be drawn into evaluating himself with the 2m Dockers beanpole, regardless of their remarkably comparable attributes.

*APAC Sports Pictures of the Week - 2023, May 15* - SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - MAY 13:  Errol Gulden of the Swans is chellenged by Luke Jackson of the Dockers during the round nine AFL match between Sydney Swans and Fremantle Dockers at Sydney Cricket Ground, on May 13, 2023, in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Mark Metcalfe/AFL Photos/via Getty Images)
Camera IconJackson and Sean Darcy dominated the ruck final week. Credit: Mark Metcalfe/AFL Photos/through Getty Images

He was, nevertheless, effusive in his reward of former Walyalup captain Nat Fyfe, who he described as a “legend of the game”.

For the primary time in a full sport since spherical one, Darcy and Jackson may have Fyfe as a midfield choice as the twin Brownlow medallist makes his largest step again into the sport amid an ongoing plantar fasciitis damage.

“He’s a legend of the game, we always love playing when he’s playing,” Blicavs stated.

The Cats landed in Perth per week after their first loss in six video games and with a mounting damage record that has claimed seven of its possible starters, together with celebrity captain Patrick Dangerfield, essential defender Sam de Koning and veteran West Australian Mitch Duncan.

Source: www.perthnow.com.au