Mark Blicavs Biography

Geelong coach Chris Scott asks the AFL to crack down on dangerous centre bounce knee contact after Mark Blicavs was floored by Lloyd Meek in the Cats' 82-point mauling of Hawthorn on Easter Monday.

Blicavs received a free kick after the incident left him crumpled on his haunches in the middle of the MCG for more than a minute, before coming from the ground to be checked by doctors.

"The AFL sent out a memo that couldn't have been clearer, saying not only is that a free kick, that it is reportable. You cannot do it. It has to be taken out of the game," Scott said.

Mark Blicavs looks set to make a permanent move into the backline in 2021.

"We're throwing up different scenarios as well for different looks during the year. The plan last year was to play back for the majority of the year and injuries happened so the team shifts a bit," he said.

"You always prepare to play anywhere, wing and ruck as well. But at the moment I'm enjoying playing down back."

After a breakout All-Australian season, Cam Guthrie wins Geelong's best and fairest award for 2020.

Guthrie (228 votes) edged out Tom Hawkins (224) and Mark Blicavs (221) in a tight finish to the 'Carji' Greeves Medal count.

Mark Blicavs apologises for hosting a house party in contravention of government coronavirus measures following the suspension of the 2020 AFL season due to the escalating COVID-19 pandemic.

"Some of our players were thinking, 'We've spent the weekend away together in Sydney in a hotel room, played together, got on a plane together, travelled from the airport in a bus together' and then a few of them went to a house together," Cats coach Chris Scott explained.

"Their logic in the moment was that, 'What we're doing is not any different to what we have been doing over the last couple of days'.

"I know for a fact now that they would look back on the perception of that behaviour and the leadership role that is expected of us in the community (and realise) that was a grave mistake."

Joel Selwood will remain as Geelong skipper for a ninth consecutive season in 2020.

Patrick Dangerfield and Mark Blicavs will continue as co-vice captains alongside last year's members Mitch Duncan, Tom Stewart and Zach Tuohy.

Rounding out the seven-man leadership group is Mark O'Connor, who replaces veteran defender Harry Taylor.

Joel Selwood will captain Geelong for an eighth season in 2019.

Selwood will be joined by All Australian defender Tom Stewart in Geelong's seven-man leadership group, which sees Scott Selwood fall out.

Dual best and fairest Mark Blicavs has been elevated to co-vice-captain alongside Patrick Dangerfield, the pair retaining their positions on the panel with Mitch Duncan and Zach Tuohy.

2018 deputy vice-captain Harry Taylor relinquishes his title, however remains in the group.

Mark Blicavs wins his second Carji Greeves Medal, edging out Patrick Dangerfield and Tim Kelly by just half a vote in a thrilling count at Crown Palladium in Melbourne.

Blicavs polled 234 votes to edge out superstar midfielder Dangerfield (233.5) and mature-age sensation Kelly (233.5), who tied in second place.

Blicavs enjoyed the best season of his 133-game career in 2018, forced into the key defensive post when Harry Taylor went down with a foot injury in round one and with Lachie Henderson unavailable for the first 15 rounds of the season.

"It was something different, a new challenge and something that probably simplified the game for me," Blicavs said.

"We had a really good bunch of guys back there that enjoyed playing together, we were pretty close-knit. It's something that I just want to be a part of going forward."

Mark Blicavs signs a five-year deal with Geelong to remain at the club until the end of 2023.

"Being a one-club player is important to me, and the club has shown a lot of faith in me in providing that opportunity," Blicavs said.

"I love the club and the people, and from the first time I stepped inside the club I have wanted to be here.

"Everything here is first-class and there is no other group I would want to run out with each week."

Joel Selwood will captain Geelong for a seventh-straight season and is set to become the longest-serving skipper in the club's 159-year history.

Selwood will lead a seven-man leadership group with Patrick Dangerfield again appointed as vice-captain and key defender Harry Taylor to act as deputy vice-captain.

Mark Blicavs, Mitch Duncan and Scott Selwood will continue in their leadership roles, while defender Zach Tuohy has been voted into the group in his second year at the club.

Mark Blicavs could return from injury if the Cats make finals after the club decided he would not need surgery on his injured leg.

Blicavs will instead let the ankle heal naturally and Geelong remains hopeful he will be available in September.

Mark Blicavs faces an extended period on the sidelines, with the Cats to decide whether he needs to have surgery to repair a fracture in his right leg.

Blicavs visited with specialists to determine whether he will need to go under the knife to fix a crack in the tibia bone in his right leg.

Further scans also revealed syndesmosis damage in the midfielder's right ankle.

"That type of ankle injury can last anywhere between two weeks to six weeks, it just depends on how individuals respond to that type of injury," Geelong football manager Steven Hocking said.

"The fracture is about whether there needs to be any surgery. It's looking unlikely but it's something the doctors need to work through and make a decision on once they have the information available."

Former Cat Jimmy Bartel says that Geelong will need to find a position for Mark Blicavs to settle in after the third-man up rule robbed him of one of his major strengths.

"Blicavs is horribly, horribly out of form," Bartel said on RSN.

"He's a best and fairest winner (2015), and I'm not targeting him but when you win a best and fairest you're held to a higher standard.

"He's playing as a pure midfielder and he plays 90 per cent of game time … but he's only averaging 15 touches and five kicks. Three of them are ineffective.

"[The Cats point to his] defensive pressure and running, well he's only having two-and-a-half intercept possessions and two tackles a game."

Joel Selwood will lead Geelong once again after the club announced at its season launch on Wednesday night he would be Cats captain for the sixth consecutive season in 2017.

The 28-year-old's brother, Scott Selwood, will join him in the eight-man leadership group for the first time with 24-year-old Cam Guthrie also making his debut in the group.

Harry Taylor, Patrick Dangerfield, Tom Hawkins, Mitch Duncan and Mark Blicavs round out the Cats' leadership group for the year.

With ongoing debate as to whether the centre bounce should be removed, Mark Blicavs says he would prefer if it remained.

"I reckon keep it," Blicavs said.

"I tend to ruck better if it's a lower bounce. Other ruckmen tend to ruck better if it's a higher bounce so it keeps it interesting and changes from ground to ground."

Patrick Dangerfield, Mitch Duncan and Mark Blicavs are new additions to Geelong's leadership group for 2016.

The trio join existing leaders Joel Selwood, Harry Taylor and Tom Hawkins while veterans Corey Enright and Andrew Mackie have stepped down to make room for the new members.

Selwood will be captain for the fifth successive season while Taylor remains vice-captain.

Mark Blicavs signs what is understood to be a three-year deal with Geelong that will tie him to the club until the end of 2018.

"I'm very excited to have signed with the football club. It's something I'm very happy with," Blicavs said.

"Other players have been signing throughout the whole year, and to see so many guys commit to the club shows that there's a lot of trust there.

"Everyone's on board to see the club succeed."

More players than ever before are going third-man up in ruck contests in 2015, with Geelong's Mark Blicavs leading the way.

Blicavs has taken just half of 2015 to smash the previous record haul of 'third-man-up' ruck hit-outs recorded in a single season.

This season, as debate heats up about whether a rule is needed to stop non-competing ruckmen from jumping to contest a ball-up or throw-in, Blicavs has surged ahead with 71 from just 11 games.

Geelong coach Chris Scott is full of praise for Mark Blicavs on the eve of the youngster's 50th game.

"His willingness to learn and his application to life as a professional footballer is second to none in my experience, and that is across my experience as a player as well," Scott said.

"He is a star."

Geelong place Allen Christensen, Nathan Vardy and Daniel Menzel on its long-term injury list with only Mark Blicavs being upgraded from their rookie list at this stage.

Despite wearing a plaster cast after a recent wrist operation, Mark Blicavs has dominated the opening day of Geelong's pre-season.

The mobile ruckman and former steeplechaser demolished his first- to fourth-year teammates in a 2km time-trial held at the Landy Field athletics track on Monday morning.

"I think (Blicavs) has been running with a few of his mates," fourth-year midfielder George Horlin-Smith said.

"He showed in the time-trial that he hasn't lost it, which is good."

Mark Blicavs makes his AFL debut for Geelong at the MCG with 9 disposals (a kick and 8 handballs), 2 tackles and 11 hitouts in a 7-point win over Hawthorn.

With injuries to Trent West, Hamish McIntosh and Nathan Vardy, Mark Blicavs has shot into contention for the Cats' ruck role for round one.

"I'm not one for massive statements, but to answer the question, 'What's his running power like?' there's never been a 198cm AFL footballer who can run like him," Geelong coach Chris Scott said.

"If he doesn't play in the ruck, we're confident he can play in different positions."

Mark Blicavs increases his odds of making a senior debut in round one after performing impressively during the pre-season.

"His rate of improvement has been remarkable. He's obviously a fantastic athlete - his spring's pretty good and he's a fantastic runner," Cats assistant coach Blake Caracella said.

"But his game-sense and knowledge of how to play the game, for someone who hasn't played footy since the under-14s , is amazing.

"He's somehow managed to learn at a rapid rate and he's come along heaps. He's certainly going to push for selection come round one or certainly during the season."

Mark Blicavs has put his Olympic dream behind him and is ready to play his first competitive game of football since his school days in the VFL.

"When I first got back from Europe and started at the club, the coaches said that this was going to be my first game," Blicavs said.

"So I knew the Bendigo game was what I had to focus on. Now that I'm officially going to play, I just want to do the right thing because the whole team's going so well. The pressure is on."

Former Olympic hopeful Mark Blicavs has waved London goodbye, and is now determined to make his mark at Geelong.

"I wouldn't have made the decision to come down to the club this year if I had regrets with my running," Blicavs said.

"I've always said once I decided to come down here I'd be 100 per cent focussed [on football]."

After the steeplechase proved out of reach, Geelong rookie Mark Blicavs has his eyes set on an Olympic berth in the 1500m flat race.

"I know it's going to be very tough [to qualify], especially in the 1500m because there's so much depth," Blicavs said.

"There's five or six blokes who will be around the mark, so I feel very fortunate to be selected to compete against them.

"I'm going to need to run a freak race but my focus is to try and run as fast as I can and run a PB."