Nick Blakey didn’t need to be told he was being dropped – it was assumed.
Fellow young Swans Errol Gulden, Chad Warner, Justin McInerney and Tom McCartin were taking off, but Blakey spent time on the wing, up forward, as a back-up ruckman and even the odd the stint on the ball.
None of those roles were working for him, or Sydney.
Eight disposals in a loss to Fremantle proved Blakey’s last senior game for a while, with coach John Longmire pulling him aside days later to tell him he was switching him into defence.
“A lot of things were going through my head,” Blakey told News Corp.
“When he told me I was playing down back; I knew it wasn’t going to be in the AFL team. I saw it coming, because I wasn’t playing that well.
“He said I’d play centre half-back for the twos and told me just to beat my man. It gave me a bit of freedom and a really clear focus.
“My first few games down there weren’t too flash, but I played about four or five weeks in the twos and got some confidence and put some good games together.”
The Blakey who emerged from VFL purgatory back onto the big stage looked much more like the promising prospect who burst onto the scene to play 21 games and kick 19 goals in his debut season in 2019.
He admitted this week he would have laughed if someone told him after that season that he would be a defender onxjmtzywly a couple of years later.
But Blakey loves his new role and even joked he never wanted to return to the forward line after the success he’s enjoyed across 10 games at half-back.
Using Champion Data’s metrics, the 22-year-old – the No.10 pick in the 2018 AFL draft – rates above average among general defenders in disposals, uncontested possessions, metres gained and marks.
Blakey’s 1.9 intercept marks per game in that period places him in the elite category, so the Swans look to have struck gold again after successfully reinventing the McCartin brothers into defenders, too.
His blistering pace, courage to take opponents on with Sherrin hand and laser-like left boot have fit in perfectly – but there was something he had to get right first.
“In the early parts of my career; it was offence only,” Blakey admitted.
“That was one of the deficiencies in my game, so to be able to go back and really value the defensive side of the game and become a good defender has allowed my strengths as an offensive player to come to the fore.”
Longmire clearly agrees, raving this week about Blakey’s “strong” defensive efforts and how he had given Sydney “some bounce and run and carry” from the back half.
Dual Swans best and fairest Jake Lloyd, a fellow defender, also praised how his younger teammate had transformed himself.
“He had a few challenges at the start of last year with his consistency and the way he went about it, training-wise and whatnot,” Lloyd said.
“To see him really turn that around mid-year and make a move down back (was impressive).
“He’s probably six-foot-two, six-foot-three, so he’s got that ability to come across and intercept, and his speed is a real standout for him, so he just adds another dimension for us going forward.
“He’s a very likeable character and it’s great to see him going well.”
Not everything about Blakey’s running style has worked out for him. Within weeks of starting at Sydney, he was tagged with the nickname ‘the Lizard’.
Lloyd referred to him that way and commentators have latched onto the moniker as well.
“There’s no getting rid of it now. I’ve learned to embrace it and it could be a lot worse but it is what it is,” Blakey said with a laugh.
“They reckon it looks like I slither across the ground like a lizard.”
This week’s clash with North Melbourne offers the Swans an opportunity to bounce back from a disappointing effort against the Western Bulldogs but there’s extra on the line for Blakey.
He could have joined the Kangaroos as a father-son candidate, given his father John played 359 games for the club, including in their 1996 and 1999 AFL premierships.
History shows that Blakey instead chose to be an Academy selection for Sydney after growing up in the city while his dad was an assistant coach under Paul Roos then Longmire.
John Blakey returned to North Melbourne ahead of last season and will be part of the opposition coaches’ box trying to stop his son and the rest of the Swans.
They speak almost daily but will have contrasting priorities on game day.
“Dad’s always been my biggest idol. Every boy wants to be just like their dad – and I was no different,” Blakey said.
“It just so happened that he was an AFL player and growing up I dreamed of being an AFL player, too, but never really thought it would happen.
“He had a great playing career and he’s had a great coaching career as well. But, more importantly, he’s been such a good father for me and my sister and a good husband to mum.
“He’s just a good bloke and someone I still look up to, and not just with how he goes about his work and his football, but how he goes about his family life as well. He’s been a big part of my life.”
