THREE NEW CATS ROOKIES ROUND OUT 2012 GEELONG LIST
Ben Jensen 13 December 2011

GEELONG drafted just three new players today, all from the AFL Rookie Draft, held after the AFL Pre Season Draft in which the Cats did not have a selection. Midfielder Cameron Eardley from East Fremantle was first pick, well-known Jackson Sheringham of the Geelong VFL side second and finally roughie of all roughies Mark Blicavs who if he has his way, will not be available in 2012 and will be at the London Olympics instead. 23 year old Sheringham may well pull on the boots for the AFL side if required, while Eardley likelier to bide his time.

198cm tall Blicavs works as a massage therapist at the Alphington Sports Medicine Clinic and hopes to go to the 2012 Olympics. Son of Andy and Karen Blicavs (nee Ogden) Biclav, was pre-rookie listed in late November as an 'extra' rookie, the Cats nominally only having two rookie draft picks available, a 'Players not registered or played for three years inclusion on rookie list' selection if you like. "We'd like to emphasise that he's not taking the place of a footballer at the moment. He's an extra on our rookie list, so we think it's worth a punt," recruiting boss Stephen Wells said at the time.

Profile from Alphington Sports Medicine Clinic website

Mark joined the Alphington family in mid 2011 and has rapidly become a valuable member of our massage team His clinical focuses include a variety of muscular conditions., from trigger point therapy, sports massage, deep tissue to myofascial release. He particularly enjoys working with athletes and his sporting experience reflects this, having worked on the Melbourne marathon circuit and the Torquay half iron man events. Mark completed a placement while studying at the Australian Institute of Sport, gaining valuable experience working with some of Australia’s top up and coming athletes from a wide variety of sports (basketball, soccer, netball and swimming). Ultimately, Mark aims to one day go to the Olympics and work with the Australian team as a massage therapist. Mark is also a competitive athlete himself, competing at National level in Cross Country running.

Memberships: Australian Association of Massage Therapists

Official Draft statement from the Cats, featuring recruiting Tsar Stephen Wells' commentary:

Pick 18: Cameron Eardley (East Fremantle)
DOB: 24/6/1993
Height: 180cm
Weight: 80kg
Wells says: "Cameron was a good player for both East Fremantle colts and the WA team in the under-18 championships this year. We thought he would add to our midfield and defensive depth. We spoke to Cameron before today and he indicated that he'd be very excited to join us, even as a rookie."

Pick 36: Jackson Sheringham (Geelong VFL/Bell Park)
DOB: 27/6/1988
Height: 178cm
Weight: 73kg
Wells says: "Jackson was a very good player with the Geelong Falcons in the TAC Cup a number of years ago. Since then he's continued to improve his football at both VFL-level and with Bell Park in the local Geelong league. Jackson played a number of very good games for our VFL team in 2011, and we think he's ready to take his opportunity."

Pick 54: Mark Blicavs
DOB:
Height: 198cm
Weight: 78kg
Wells says: "We're not sure what sort of player he's going to be yet, but when he gets to a point where he's concentrating on his footy, it'll all become a bit clearer to everybody. He's doing a lot of training at the moment, so when he cuts back his running, no doubt he'll put on a bit more weight."