Jason Blake (footballer)

Jason Blake (born 15 March 1981) is a former Australian rules footballer for the St Kilda Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). An "undersized tall defender and occasional ruckman",[1] he holds the record for the most games played (209) without receiving any Brownlow Medal votes. He eventually received two Brownlow votes for Round 11 in 2012.

Jason Blake
Personal information
Full name Jason Blake
Date of birth (1981-03-15) 15 March 1981
Original team(s) Prahran
Draft No. 24, 1999 National Draft, St Kilda
Height 189 cm (6 ft 2 in)
Weight 90 kg (198 lb)
Position(s) Utility
Playing career1
Years Club Games (Goals)
2000–2013 St Kilda 219 (38)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 2013.
Career highlights
  • Pre Season Premiership 2004, 2008
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

AFL career
Blake at training prior to the 2009 AFL Grand Final

Blake was recruited as the number 24 draft pick in the 1999 AFL Draft from the Prahran Football Club. During the Under 18 National Championships he had been named All Australian along with Ben Johnson, Rhyce Shaw, Darren Glass, Joel Corey and Jonathan Brown. During the series he managed to shut down Matthew Pavlich in the first game, and later did the same to Brown.[1] Blake made his debut for St Kilda in Round 9, 2000 against the Western Bulldogs,[2] and went on to play 13 games in his first year with the Saints.[1]

2004 Wizard Cup

Blake played in St Kilda's 2004 Wizard Home Loans Cup winning side - St Kilda's second pre-season cup win.[3]

Blake is a versatile footballer, having spent much of the period between 2003 and 2006 as a ruckman for St Kilda, but has also been able to play forward, back and as a tagger in the midfield. Blake capped off an improved 2007 season by finishing ninth in the club's Trevor Barker Award for the best and fairest player.

2007 season

Blake played his 100th match for the Saints in round 9 of 2007 against Fremantle at Subiaco.[2]

2008 NAB Cup

Blake played in St Kilda's 2008 AFL National Australia Bank Cup winning side - St Kilda Football Club's 3rd AFL Cup Win.[4][5]

2009 season

Blake played in 22 of 22 matches in the 2009 home and away rounds in which St Kilda qualified in first position for the finals, winning the club's third minor premiership.[6]

St Kilda qualified for the 2009 AFL Grand Final after qualifying and preliminary finals wins. Blake played in the 2009 AFL Grand Final in which St Kilda were defeated by 12 points.

2010 season

Blake played 26 games in 2010, including four finals matches, and finished in the top 10 of St Kilda's best and fairest, the Trevor Barker Award, for the fourth year in succession. As of the end of the 2011 season, Blake had played in 15 AFL finals matches, including three grand finals. In the 2007 through 2010 seasons, he played 96 out of 98 games.[1]

2011 season

By the end of the 2011 season, Blake had played 199 games, including 16 finals, without polling a single Brownlow Medal vote, more than any other player in VFL/AFL history.[7] This easily surpassed the old record of 167 games set by Ross Henshaw.[1] He was delisted at the end of the 2011 season, but was redrafted by the club.[8]

2012 season

Blake played his 200th game in the first round match against Port Adelaide.[9] In the 2012 Brownlow Medal count, Blake received his first ever votes in his 210th game (194th home and away game) of AFL football in the Round 11 game against the Gold Coast Suns. The votes were met with large applause from his St Kilda teammates present at the count.[10]

References
  1. Anderson, Jon (31 May 2012). "Invisible man". Herald Sun.
  2. Jason Blake's playing statistics from AFL Tables Retrieved 7 June 2012.
  3. "AFL 2004 Wizard Cup Grand Final - Geelong v St Kilda". Slattery Media Group. 13 March 2004. Archived from the original on 16 July 2011. Retrieved 7 November 2009.
  4. "St Kilda wins NAB cup". The Age. 8 March 2008. Retrieved 7 November 2009.
  5. "Saints are NAB Cup Champions in 2008". Jeld-Wen. 8 March 2008. Archived from the original on 20 November 2008. Retrieved 7 November 2009.
  6. "2009 Season Scores and Results - Ladder". AFL Tables. 2009. Retrieved 8 November 2009.
  7. Muldren, Chris (27 September 2011). "Blake's Donut". Herald Sun. p. 75.
  8. "AFL 2011 draft". Herald Sun. Retrieved 25 November 2011.
  9. "200 Games for a True Sainter". St Kilda Football Club. Retrieved 1 April 2012.
  10. "St Kilda's Jason Blake breaks Brownlow duck". 24 September 2012. Retrieved 25 September 2012.
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