Moving down to Melbourne to try his hand in the VFL has been a real football education for former St George product, Blake Guthrie.
The hard-working 21 year old who played 60 senior games with the red and whites was at the top of his game last year when he made the AFL Sydney Team of the Year. The decision to take up an offer with VFL franchise, Coburg was one he jumped at.
“It has been amazing,” Guthrie said.
“I really enjoyed playing at such a high level with and against so many great players.
“It was an eye opening experience living in Melbourne and being surrounded by football everywhere you look, compared to being back in Sydney and barely hearing anything about it.”
It proved to be a challenging year in more ways than one for Guthrie- playing six games with the senior side and six in the AFL Victoria Development League.
“For myself it was not my best year, I ended up getting injured towards the end of the year and missed the last 6 games,” he said.
“I played a lot more defensively this season as a small defender and as a tagger in the midfield. I learnt a lot about the game playing on so many good players that you see playing AFL on TV.
“I went down to Melbourne wanting to play VFL 1st grade and I was lucky enough to achieve that. I also made a lot of great friends along the way.”
It was a real life experience for Guthrie playing against a number of AFL-listed players.
“A player from Port Melbourne, Chris Cain was probably one of the smartest players I have played against he’s extremely fit and knows where to run to get the footy.
“Also guys like Kyle Martin from Collingwood, Honeychurch from Western Bulldogs, and Cripps from Carlton... there were also guys like Quinten Lynch and Ben Hudson who I was lucky enough to play against.”
Guthrie was full of praise for the AFL Sydney competition, noting it played a big role in his development as a footballer.
“I think that every game you play there is an opportunity to learn and improve as a footballer,” he said.
“Mudgey (St George senior coach- Terry Mudge) has a great football brain and has helped me improve and grow my confidence as a footballer.”
There is every chance the star midfielder may again lace up in the local competition, given he has relocated back to Picnic Point in southern Sydney.
“I am not 100% sure yet. I am still tossing up whether I will go back to Melbourne or stay in Sydney.
“I just want to play the best football I can possibly play. I want to finish my Business degree at some point, and I have also been working with my Dad doing mortgage broking which is a career I can see myself continuing in.”
Last Modified on 24/10/2014 07:41
