One of the most remarkable stories in football will add another chapter this weekend, when Mark Blicavs plays his 250th AFL game against the Western Bulldogs on Saturday night.
The journey from middle distance runner and steeplechaser to Cats champion has been nothing short of extraordinary, with Blicavs becoming an All Australian and a Premiership player in his 12 years at Geelong.
Blicavs was picked as a Category B Rookie in the 2011 draft, beginning his AFL career in the opening round of the 2013 season before playing 22 games in his first year at the top level.
The versatile Blicavs’ rapid ascension in football was highlighted during the 2015 season, when he won his first Carji Greeves Medal in just his third year of AFL football.
Blicavs spoke during the week about his AFL career, touching on some of the biggest influences that helped to shape his game when he arrived at Geelong.
“I'm very fortunate that Chris Scott, the Geelong Football Club and Stephen Wells gave me the opportunity to learn and play footy at this club,” Blicavs said.
“I have tried to learn as much as I can from everyone around me, it's been a very enjoyable journey and something I will look back on very fondly.
I feel like my improvement was fast tracked, and that was due to the club and the players around me.
I really gravitated to Andrew Mackie, Harry Taylor and Max Rooke early and continued to ask questions to understand the game.”
Blicavs quickly proved to be a versatile asset for the Cats, playing numerous positions ranging anywhere from full back to half forward during his 12 seasons with the club.
Along with his Carji Greeves Medal in 2015, the 33 year old added a second club best and fairest award in 2018 along with an All Australian selection in 2022.
Blicavs played a vital role in the Cats 2022 Premiership, averaging 18 disposals and five tackles per game while supporting Rhys Stanley in the ruck throughout the year.
Cats coach, Chris Scott spoke on Blicavs career and the incredible legacy he has built throughout his time at the club.
"It's a remarkable career,” Scott said.
“If you go back to the first meeting we had, we sort of made the decision based off a recommendation from Cam and Zach Guthrie's Dad who coached Mark as a junior.
He has worked out to be critical to the way we have played.
In his second year he came in and played round one, then never looked back.
He is a great example for our younger players, all our players really with his capacity and desire to learn and if any player wanted to learn from the best, I'd suggest going to Mark."
Blicavs will run out for his 250th career game this Saturday night, when the Cats take on the Western Bulldogs at Adelaide Oval.
