Sam Blease
THIS week we look at Sam Blease, our priority pick from 2008.
One of the key relationships in the football department is between the recruiting manager and the coach. It’s very important that you are on the same page and that a great deal of trust exists in this relationship.
The coach has a big reliance on the recruiting department making good choices and as a result he invests a lot of trust.
When Dean Bailey arrived at Melbourne I was the opposition analyst at the club.
Bails was still living in Adelaide and my first meaningful encounter was when he came to our house for dinner.
I remember picking him up from hospital as he had a minor thumb operation after a dropped catch playing cricket. For those who don’t know, Bails was an elite junior cricketer and on our recruiting trails, we conducted an interview with a player in Adelaide, whose father had taught Dean and played district firsts with him at Ringwood.
He told us how Bails, as a schoolboy in his first game, waltzed up the pitch and told him to put his head down in no uncertain terms, after a wayward shot. Some people are born for leadership.
In 2008, Dean was in his first year as coach and I was in my first year of recruiting.
As good as that relationship can be you don’t really know if the bloke in charge of picking them can get the job done until you see it, so great faith is needed.
One of great Dean’s strength is to let people do their job and as head coach he has been very supportive of our process and decisions.
One of the directions of our list management at that time was to get more speed and good kicks. The coaching staff, having now spent a year with the playing list in 2008, had a huge priority in these areas, which brings us to Sam Blease.
THIS week we look at Sam Blease, our priority pick from 2008.
One of the key relationships in the football department is between the recruiting manager and the coach. It’s very important that you are on the same page and that a great deal of trust exists in this relationship.
The coach has a big reliance on the recruiting department making good choices and as a result he invests a lot of trust.
When Dean Bailey arrived at Melbourne I was the opposition analyst at the club.
Bails was still living in Adelaide and my first meaningful encounter was when he came to our house for dinner.
I remember picking him up from hospital as he had a minor thumb operation after a dropped catch playing cricket. For those who don’t know, Bails was an elite junior cricketer and on our recruiting trails, we conducted an interview with a player in Adelaide, whose father had taught Dean and played district firsts with him at Ringwood.
He told us how Bails, as a schoolboy in his first game, waltzed up the pitch and told him to put his head down in no uncertain terms, after a wayward shot. Some people are born for leadership.
In 2008, Dean was in his first year as coach and I was in my first year of recruiting.
As good as that relationship can be you don’t really know if the bloke in charge of picking them can get the job done until you see it, so great faith is needed.
One of great Dean’s strength is to let people do their job and as head coach he has been very supportive of our process and decisions.
One of the directions of our list management at that time was to get more speed and good kicks. The coaching staff, having now spent a year with the playing list in 2008, had a huge priority in these areas, which brings us to Sam Blease.
I first came across Sam that year as part of the AIS program.
Like Jack Watts, he was bottom age and born in the first four months of the year, so he was eligible for the draft in the last year of 17 year olds.
He had limited preparation, as he was recovering from a hip operation. As a result, his preparation for the year was severely hindered and as you can imagine he was very skinny at the time.
I first saw him in a full game early in the year against Northern Territory, where he was on and off the ground to manage his loads, but he put on a clinic. His speed with run and carry, chase downs and his kicking especially his delivery into 50 metres was outstanding.
I remember walking away thinking: ‘well, given where our season was heading, he probably isn’t top three or so and he definitely won't get to our second pick’, which are some of the things you consider as the season progresses.
Sam made the Vic Metro team, which was very strong. The games were only 80 minutes and they had a policy of rotation, which allowed bottom age players to only play 40 mins early on.
I think his game at the MCG against Vic Country was the best six-possession game I have seen. That game was meandering along a bit until he burst out of congestion on a couple of occasions with long runs to set up goals.
He was then rested the next game so we didn’t get much more evidence until we all went to Etihad Stadium to watch the final games of the Championships. It was Vic Metro and WA for the title.
The first quarter was the best quarter of under 18 football I have seen.
The ball flew up and down, as WA with the likes of Nic Natanui, Daniel Rich and Chris Yarran ran around and really challenged an outstanding Vic Metro team.
Sam Blease was front and centre with some absolute elite acts.
Those who were there will remember the rundown tackle on defensive 50 - he then sprinted back, got a handball receive and kicked a 50-metre goal on the run.
He also gathered a ball in congestion, avoiding Natanui with a perfect kick to Shaun McKernan, who then kicked a goal.
The run and bounces to slot a goal on the run were also on show. In a high quality game it was elite stuff. The conclusion was not in top three, so not getting to our club.
Sam is from the Eastern Ranges where I coached for five years. One of our part-time recruiters was my runner at that time and worked with Sam in the football program at Yarra Valley Grammar.
Ian Flack, our welfare manager, who was my regional manager at Eastern had a great handle on Sam and his role. So we had good mail on him and we were aware that Fremantle had strong interest on Sam with its first pick, as did other clubs.
The draft was strong and we rated him top 12. With injury and a few misconceptions out there, and clubs with premiership windows open looking for other needs, we felt he could be the slider.
Given our need and direction for speed and kicking, this was going to be a bonus. As it turned out he fell to us.
When I turned my phone back on after the draft, I had a rival recruiting manager’s text message lamenting our luck to get him at selection 17.
What did we see in Sam Blease?
We saw elite pace and kicking on both sides of his body. A burster from congestion, in the mould of Chris Judd and Shaun Burgoyne, we didn’t have any of on our list. He is a player who could break open a game and turn it to your advantage. While he is noted for being more outside, he is very clean with his hands in congestion and someone who is comfortable at stoppages. Sam brings a package that is very hard to find and brings an important dimension to our list mix. We saw a bloke who had to improve his endurance, but with outstanding runners around him and rotations this wasn’t a concern. We also took into consideration that he hadn’t had any continuity in his playing or training. So there was plenty of scope.
What did we expect in Sam Blease?
We expected he would take time. In a list build, it is always best to kick off with talls or elite speed, given they tend to take a bit longer than the insiders. In Sam’s case we got that opportunity. We had to build his body. He was very young and in some ways still adapting to a significant event in his life, the death of his father who had been his coach at under 11 and 12 level. We didn’t expect a serious break of his ankle in the schoolyard, which threatened his career and put him back more than a year. We expected him to play wing as he has done, half-back and go into the centre bounce if needed. We expected a player who will take the game on and use the full extent of his attributes. Players who really back their speed with the ball are rare.
What are we getting from Sam Blease?
Given what has occurred, the signs at the moment are good. He is now getting continuity of playing and training. In fact, he is on his longest game sequence for many years. He is still in a strong learning phase in respect to life as an AFL footballer and has just recently moved out of home. His defensive side is being developed, given he has had a very offensive outlook at junior levels. The ankle injury has provided a great physical and mental challenge, which will hold him in good stead. He has put on 10 kilograms since being drafted and has played 14 games for Casey, 10 being in the seniors from 2010-11, after missing 2009. He has kicked off 2011 with good continuity in playing and training, including the first two senior games of the year, which have demonstrated cameos of his talent. Importantly as recruiters, what we now see in Sam Blease after his trials and tribulations is what we drafted.
In finishing, the selection of Sam Blease is like baking a cake. He is a very important ingredient to get right to make it taste good. If you leave the ingredients out he brings to the mix, then the rest of the ingredients better be bloody good.
Like Jack Watts, he was bottom age and born in the first four months of the year, so he was eligible for the draft in the last year of 17 year olds.
He had limited preparation, as he was recovering from a hip operation. As a result, his preparation for the year was severely hindered and as you can imagine he was very skinny at the time.
I first saw him in a full game early in the year against Northern Territory, where he was on and off the ground to manage his loads, but he put on a clinic. His speed with run and carry, chase downs and his kicking especially his delivery into 50 metres was outstanding.
I remember walking away thinking: ‘well, given where our season was heading, he probably isn’t top three or so and he definitely won't get to our second pick’, which are some of the things you consider as the season progresses.
Sam made the Vic Metro team, which was very strong. The games were only 80 minutes and they had a policy of rotation, which allowed bottom age players to only play 40 mins early on.
I think his game at the MCG against Vic Country was the best six-possession game I have seen. That game was meandering along a bit until he burst out of congestion on a couple of occasions with long runs to set up goals.
He was then rested the next game so we didn’t get much more evidence until we all went to Etihad Stadium to watch the final games of the Championships. It was Vic Metro and WA for the title.
The first quarter was the best quarter of under 18 football I have seen.
The ball flew up and down, as WA with the likes of Nic Natanui, Daniel Rich and Chris Yarran ran around and really challenged an outstanding Vic Metro team.
Sam Blease was front and centre with some absolute elite acts.
Those who were there will remember the rundown tackle on defensive 50 - he then sprinted back, got a handball receive and kicked a 50-metre goal on the run.
He also gathered a ball in congestion, avoiding Natanui with a perfect kick to Shaun McKernan, who then kicked a goal.
The run and bounces to slot a goal on the run were also on show. In a high quality game it was elite stuff. The conclusion was not in top three, so not getting to our club.
Sam is from the Eastern Ranges where I coached for five years. One of our part-time recruiters was my runner at that time and worked with Sam in the football program at Yarra Valley Grammar.
Ian Flack, our welfare manager, who was my regional manager at Eastern had a great handle on Sam and his role. So we had good mail on him and we were aware that Fremantle had strong interest on Sam with its first pick, as did other clubs.
The draft was strong and we rated him top 12. With injury and a few misconceptions out there, and clubs with premiership windows open looking for other needs, we felt he could be the slider.
Given our need and direction for speed and kicking, this was going to be a bonus. As it turned out he fell to us.
When I turned my phone back on after the draft, I had a rival recruiting manager’s text message lamenting our luck to get him at selection 17.
What did we see in Sam Blease?
We saw elite pace and kicking on both sides of his body. A burster from congestion, in the mould of Chris Judd and Shaun Burgoyne, we didn’t have any of on our list. He is a player who could break open a game and turn it to your advantage. While he is noted for being more outside, he is very clean with his hands in congestion and someone who is comfortable at stoppages. Sam brings a package that is very hard to find and brings an important dimension to our list mix. We saw a bloke who had to improve his endurance, but with outstanding runners around him and rotations this wasn’t a concern. We also took into consideration that he hadn’t had any continuity in his playing or training. So there was plenty of scope.
What did we expect in Sam Blease?
We expected he would take time. In a list build, it is always best to kick off with talls or elite speed, given they tend to take a bit longer than the insiders. In Sam’s case we got that opportunity. We had to build his body. He was very young and in some ways still adapting to a significant event in his life, the death of his father who had been his coach at under 11 and 12 level. We didn’t expect a serious break of his ankle in the schoolyard, which threatened his career and put him back more than a year. We expected him to play wing as he has done, half-back and go into the centre bounce if needed. We expected a player who will take the game on and use the full extent of his attributes. Players who really back their speed with the ball are rare.
What are we getting from Sam Blease?
Given what has occurred, the signs at the moment are good. He is now getting continuity of playing and training. In fact, he is on his longest game sequence for many years. He is still in a strong learning phase in respect to life as an AFL footballer and has just recently moved out of home. His defensive side is being developed, given he has had a very offensive outlook at junior levels. The ankle injury has provided a great physical and mental challenge, which will hold him in good stead. He has put on 10 kilograms since being drafted and has played 14 games for Casey, 10 being in the seniors from 2010-11, after missing 2009. He has kicked off 2011 with good continuity in playing and training, including the first two senior games of the year, which have demonstrated cameos of his talent. Importantly as recruiters, what we now see in Sam Blease after his trials and tribulations is what we drafted.
In finishing, the selection of Sam Blease is like baking a cake. He is a very important ingredient to get right to make it taste good. If you leave the ingredients out he brings to the mix, then the rest of the ingredients better be bloody good.
