He’s tall and runs, but that is about 10 per cent of the Blicavs story

In his first pre-season at Geelong, Mark Blicavs blitzed his teammates in the two-kilometre time trial as he crossed the finish line in five minutes and 39 seconds.

Some thought afterwards that the then 21-year-old was pretending to be more puffed than he actually was. The man himself thinks the story merely grew legs faster than his own, rather than being particularly accurate.

All everyone knew for certain was that their teammate could seriously run.

That was hardly a surprise. He had only joined the Cats after his athletics career had reached an endpoint, when a tilt at the Olympics fell short.

But could he play footy?

The Cats had signed him as a category B rookie after receiving a tip from Cam Guthrie’s dad Andrew, who had coached the son of Australian basketballers Andy and Karen as a junior footballer.

Recruiter Stephen Wells diligently followed up on what he had been told, even if the odds of success were long. He discovered Blicavs could play the game, but he was nowhere near AFL standard.

That was no worries for the best team in the competition. They were open to exploring different avenues to access talent.

On his first visit to the Blicavs home, Wells recognised the family understood elite sport. Blicavs was willing to have a crack, so the deal was signed.

Dual premiership defender Harry Taylor engaged in some one-on-one duels during Blicavs’ trial.

“I didn’t hold a lot of hope he could make it,” Taylor admits.

But he immediately noticed one aspect of Blicavs’ personality: the green youngster was not afraid to ask questions and then act on the answers.

The characteristic would soon become obvious to everyone as Blicavs followed coaches and teammates around like a toddler with their grandparents, driving them to distraction with his endless inquiries.

Tall and skinny at 198 centimetres and 78 kilograms, he played four VFL matches at the end of 2012 but was left out of the finals as he wasn’t deemed up to the standard.

He went to work in the gym and on the track, and by round one of the next season, Blicavs was set for a debut.

Four ruckmen – Trent West, Dawson Simpson, Nathan Vardy and Hamish McIntosh – were struck with injury leading into the season, and Blicavs leapfrogged everyone, Steven Bradbury-style, to make his debut against the Hawks on Easter Monday.

So foreign was Blicavs to football watchers, coach Chris Scott had to explain to journalists at the midweek press conference how to pronounce the new player’s surname.

Thrust into the middle of the MCG in front of 76,000 spectators, Blicavs’ thoughts reflected how far away he felt from belonging in the AFL.

“I thought, ‘What am I doing out here? This is insane’,” Blicavs recalled.

His fifth match revealed the depth of that insanity.

The GPS Blicavs was wearing measured him covering 18 kilometres against the Western Bulldogs. All that running only led to four touches. It was as efficient as V/Line.

His premiership teammate and lifelong friend Cam Guthrie challenged him with the obvious question: “What the hell were you doing out there?”

But Guthrie also knew what his other teammates were discovering.

There was something immeasurable within Blicavs.

He not only possessed an insatiable curiosity, but he also carried a unique ability to act upon what he learnt. About 40 matches in, his career gained traction, and his coaches realised the weapon they had within their system.

Even though his football sometimes looked as untidy as a journalist’s desk, he could master more roles than anyone in the team.

“We have thrown some ridiculous suggestions to him in the past, especially in the early days, and he was just like a puppy dog,” Scott said.

The coaches sent him to play on quality opponents so he could learn and were amazed at his ability to recall what they did and introduce it into his own game.

Blicavs became renowned when he assessed his performance with teammates and coaches to start a sentence with the words “so hypothetically”, before he launched into an idea that seemed preposterous for someone with his experience.

But he delivered on his ideas, and the incessant questions turned into suggestions.

“It was this sort of evolution from Mark asking questions to making suggestions that helped us all. It was like this guy who, when he started, had no idea about the game, is now shaping the way we think about the game,” Scott said. “To a large extent who he is has influenced the way we all are now, which is pretty impressive for one player.”

Blicavs is now known as a great connector off the field, able to relate across generations, teenage-like in some environments and ultra-professional when required.

Defender Tom Stewart described him as the life of the party, and a former teammate agreed he did some of his best work on the dance floor. Another former teammate joked that Blicavs was almost nocturnal. At the same time, he embraced the team’s chess club and loved discussing ideas over a glass of red.

The unanimous sentiment is that Blicavs’ instinct is to see the good in everyone and treat anyone he encounters with the same openness and regard. His impact on the club’s culture has been enormous.

“I try to be a bit of a relaxed character on and off the field and I hope not too much fazes me on and off [the] field,” Blicavs said.

It’s true, which is why Geelong insiders laughed recently when they heard Blicavs complain about the wake-up call he received from his skipper Patrick Dangerfield on the day the key Cats were flying back from Ireland after their whirlwind trip to watch Mark O’Connor win the All-Ireland Club final with Dingle in January.

Blicavs had set his alarm to wake mid-morning after celebrating in style in Dublin with plenty of time to make his flight. Half an hour before his alarm sounded, Dangerfield woke him to kindly check that his teammate was tracking well to make the flight.

The versatile midfielder wasn’t happy at the implication he might not have been sorted.

Taylor, who became firm friends with Blicavs, laughed at the anecdote, saying it summed up Blicavs’ ability to know exactly what he needs to do and when to do it.

That quality has made him the most unlikely prospect to reach the 300-game milestone.

He combined his cognitive powers with his physical ability and his competitiveness to adapt his game continually on the way to becoming the second-quickest player to go from one to 300 games, behind Sydney legend Adam Goodes.

Blicavs has won two best and fairests, a premiership, was All-Australian and has played at least 19 games a season for 13 years. His versatility is unmatched, and he is the best transition runner of his era.

But those who watched his career up close say we don’t even know the half of what has made him a great Geelong player.

“Being tall and being able to run is about 10 per cent of what ‘Blitz’ is,” Scott said.

“Even if I did spend 15 minutes explaining it all, you still wouldn’t understand the depth of the story well enough … he came in with a desire to help first and then benefit second.

“Culturally, the willingness to learn, the openness, and then the support for other people. And it still continues this week.”

So hypothetically, a middle-distance athlete who was a good junior player but hadn’t played for seven years and could hardly kick or mark when he arrived at the club could make his debut on the MCG six months later and play 300 games.

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