Cootamundra Blues on baller Michael Knagge will have home town support behind him tomorrow as he runs out for his 100th game at Clarke Oval. Now in his seventh season with the Blues, the 22 year old has made his mark since coming to the club in 2007. In his fifth season with the Blues, Michael finished third in the Blues Best & Fairest just 10 votes behind the runner up Dylan McDermott. However, it is the improvement as a footballer which has been the hallmark of Michael’s football over the past four seasons.
In 2009, Michael polled 18 votes, 2010 40 votes, 2011 69 votes and in 2012 , 93 votes. Michael said there are a number of people who have contributed to his development as a player. “It has been a process which has involved a few different coaches and team mates,” he said. “I have just tried to work on different elements of my game each year and improve where I can. Hopefully I will continue to get better going forward.”
In playing 100 games, Michael will join his father Rod who also passed the milestone in his 221 games for the club.
Michael was certainly born into a football family spending his formative years following the Blues around with his parents and playing footy at Auskick on Sunday mornings from 4 years of age. He was in the first group of Auskick kids when it was first formed in 1995 and eventually went on to continue his Junior football career with the Eastern Hawks from Under 12’s to Under 16’s representing the Wagga Juniors in Under 16’s.
Michael said his father has been influential throughout his playing career. “He has definitely helped me every step of the way,” he said.
Michael played his first Senior game in 2007 as a 15 year old under Scott Sawyer filling in for two matches before formally beginning his career with the Blues the following year in a period which the Blues won very few matches but laid the platform for the coming years as the Blues worked hard with a new Committee and a very young side to re build the Club. A very committed Club member Michael rarely misses a training session or game and has developed into one of the team’s leaders and senior players in a relatively short period.
While he has spent time as vice-captain of the team, the arrival of Luke Webb has meant that he has been able to focus more on his role as a player. He said he has thoroughly enjoyed playing under the new regime. “I think it has definitely helped in terms of my own game,” he said. “Part of the reason why I think we have had such a great start to the year is because the guys at the top are all good guys and we have a really strong core base within the club.”
Last Modified on 27/06/2014 11:03