St Kilda's club delegate Jason Blake shares his thoughts on free agency, weekly rituals and his favourite TV shows.

Drafted in the second round of the 1999 National Draft, Blake has developed into a versatile big man throughout his 147 game career and is now an integral part of the formidable Saints lineup.  Blake joins Luke Ball (Executive member) and Matt Maguire (Alternate delegate) as the AFLPA's voice down at Moorabbin.  

On representing my club: Representing St Kilda as an AFLPA delegate is a privilege and a role on which I place great importance.  Throughout my career I have viewed the position as a great opportunity to meet and liaise with players and individuals from other clubs and develop a better environment for players into the future. I was very proud in 2006 when my team mates at St Kilda voted me into the role as it gave me the chance to raise discussion, voice my ideas and give something back to the collective playing group.

On free agency: From recruitment based on zoning through to the current drafting system, free agency is the logical next step in the evolution of AFL talent selection.  Currently the AFL has some of the most restricted labour force requirements of any industry worldwide. Unless you are in the top echelon of ability and even then, only in the rarest of circumstances, players will usually be denied any right of self determination in pursuing their professional careers.

Ryan O’Keefe is a recent example of a player who could not negotiate a move back to his home state and would therefore have held himself at the mercy of the draft had he attempted to try his luck. By adopting a free agency model, players will be afforded some leverage in negotiating with a range of clubs and choosing the best direction for their careers.

It is essential that any model of free agency be structured to protect the competitiveness of the game. However I believe this is possible under a system that allows movement based on the number of years served in the game.

On preparing for life after football: Life after football is a difficult task to contemplate, particularly when you are preoccupied daily with dedicating yourself to being the best player you can possibly be. However, with the average career of an AFL player lasting only 4 years, it is absolutely essential to think about it seriously and as early as possible. 

The AFLPA and clubs encourage players to participate in some form of work, study or training and greatly support each individual player by offering grants and work experience opportunities. More cunning players leverage the generous commercial contacts that exist within clubs and their supporter base to ensure they have a direction and some real-life work skills before leaving football. A job outside of football, even for as little as a half day a week, helps to balance the pressures of playing AFL football with the real world and will ultimately improve a player’s maturity and performance.

I am currently completing the final units of a double degree in Bachelor Civil Engineering and Bachelor Business Administration at RMIT in the city. Alongside this I am working casually with Thinc Projects, a management consulting firm specialising in property.  I’ve found the commercial environment to have many similarities to playing AFL, for example: teamwork, leadership, initiative and working under pressure.

Thinc has given me a great opportunity to mix with some elite individuals in their own industry and I really enjoy observing the similar traits of professionalism and drive of these talented people away from the football field.

On weekly rituals: Although each week I have the same routine before each game, I do not have too many odd rituals!  Some teammates on the other hand have to wear the same jocks for every game or put their right boot on first etc. I do like to have a cold shower and listen to my iPod before each game but I’m afraid to say that apart from that, I’m pretty standard! 

On TV:  House is a favourite show of mine and because I think I’m a terrible dancer, So You Think You Can Dance also gets a run at my place. Like every other fan I enjoy watching good teams play football.  The only difference is I probably over analyse games, looking at team structures and setups rather than just enjoying the competitive experience of AFL football.