THERE ARE GENTLE introductions to senior football and then there are the baptisms of fire that Geelong rookie Mark Blicavs enjoyed at Patersons Stadium on Saturday night.

The one-time Olympic steeplechase prospect, who only embraced football as a full-time occupation last July, found himself opposed to Fremantle giant Aaron Sandilands during their NAB Cup clash.

Blicavs stands 198cm and the Cats have high hopes that his natural athleticism and his acquired football intelligence will make him the prototype ruckman/forward of the future.

So what better way to see how well he is tracking after his first pre-season than to pit him against Sandilands, who at 211cm is the tallest player in AFL history?

"It was very interesting," Blicavs told AFL.com.au on Sunday as he prepared to return home. "I found out during the week that I might be playing on him so I worked on my leap."

"I was trying to combat his height and reach and give him a contest as best I could."

Blicavs had just two possessions in his 15 minutes on the ground, but had three hit-outs and broke even with the giant Sandilands on some occasions.

"I'm a competitor and I want to play the best I can whenever I'm out there. I was pretty happy. I did the best I could."

If ever there was a project player in the AFL, then surely Blicavs fits the bill. He turns 22 at the start of the season but Saturday night's clash against Freo was just his fifth game of football since his junior days.

His parents, Andy and Karen (nee Ogden) both represented Australia in basketball, and it was his sport of choice until he was 16 when he turned his attention to athletics.

Blicavs was an elite steeplechaser who set his sights on representing Australia at last year's London Olympics. It was only after he missed selection that he turned his attention to football, knowing he was on Geelong's rookie list for the next three years.

"When footy presented itself, I looked into it and felt optimistic.

"I felt good about what club offered me. They blew me away with their facilities and their support network. Geelong gave me an opportunity to pursue my running and I probably took it about as far as I could."

He played four matches in the VFL but missed the finals as the Cats stormed home to win an unlikely premiership. But the benefits of the full-time football environment were quickly apparent, as he bulked up quickly without losing any of his athleticism.
The Cats like what they have in Blicavs.

"I put on seven kilos pretty quickly and I found the transition to footy pretty smooth. I was able to maintain my ability to run around the ground," Blicavs said.

With pretty much a blank canvas to work on when he came to the club, Blicavs was encouraged to learn from the best at the Cats. He is something of a sponge, watching and learning from the best kicks at Geelong during the skills sessions and with the beasts of the gym when it comes to weight sessions.

"I just try to find one player who is better than me and then try to stay on par with them," he said.

When it comes to running, it works the other way, with Blicavs usually the pacesetter, although he has found a worthy challenger during the time trials. "Jesse Stringer gives me a bit of grief when we're running," he said.

His goals for the start of the year are to cement his place in the VFL side and towards the end of the year, press for an AFL berth.

"I'm looking to keep improving, working hard on my knowledge of the game and my physicality and eventually be considered for senior selection whenever that comes because that's what I'm here to do."

AFL Media senior writer Ashley Browne is on Twitter @afl_hashbrowne