Michael Blake is a former professional

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as rugby league in English-speaking countries and rugby 13/XIII in non-Anglophone Europe, is a contact sport, full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular Rugby league playin ...

footballer who played in the 1970s and 1980s. He played for Manly-Warringah,

Canberra Raiders The Canberra Raiders are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the national capital city of Canberra, Australian Capital Territory. They have competed in Australasia's elite rugby league competition, the National Rugb ...

and South Sydney in the

New South Wales Rugby League The New South Wales Rugby League Ltd (NSWRL) is an Australian rugby league football competition operator in rugby league in New South Wales, New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory and is a member of the Australian Rugby League Co ...

(NSWRL) competition.

Background

Blake was born in London, England to British parents, but moved to

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

with his family at an early age. He is the older brother of former professional rugby league footballer; Phil Blake. He played his junior rugby league for Forestville and St. Augustines.

Playing career

Blake made his first grade debut for Manly against the Balmain in Round 18 1979 at the

Brookvale Oval Brookvale Oval, currently known as 4 Pines Park for sponsorship reasons, is a multi-purpose stadium in the suburb of Brookvale, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The ground is owned by Northern Beaches Council and is primarily used by the M ...

. It wasn't until the 1982 season that Blake began to establish himself in the starting side. Blake scored 11 tries in 25 games for Manly as they reached the 1982 NSWRL grand final against the

Parramatta Eels The Parramatta Eels are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the Sydney suburb of Parramatta that competes in the National Rugby League (NRL). The Parramatta District Rugby League Football Club was formed in 1947, and ...

. Blake played at centre in the match as Manly were beaten 21-8 after trailing 16–3 at halftime. In 1983, Blake made 17 appearances as Manly reached the 1983 NSWRL grand final in a rematch against Parramatta. Blake played from the bench as Manly were defeated for a second time in the decider 18–6. At the end of 1984, Blake was released by Manly and he joined the

. Blake only managed 7 appearances over 2 seasons at Canberra before he was released. Blake then went on to join South Sydney where his brother Phil was playing. Blake became a regular starter for Souths as the club finished 5th in 1987 before suffering an embarrassing 46–12 loss against his former club Canberra in the finals series. The match is remembered for the poor performance of

Steve Mavin Steve Mavin () (born 11 January 1968) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer. He played for the South Sydney Rabbitohs from 1987 until 1990. Mavin played in England for Trafford Borough in 1990, the Canterbury Bankstown ...

who made a number of errors and was taken off at half time. Mavin later claimed that he left the ground after being substituted and watched the second half from the Cauliflower Hotel in Waterloo. Blake played one final season in 1988 before retiring. The following year, Souths would go on to win the minor premiership in 1989.

References

1961 births Living people Australian people of British descent British emigrants to Australia Canberra Raiders players English rugby league players Manly Warringah Sea Eagles players People educated at St Augustine's College, Sydney Rugby league centres Rugby league players from London South Sydney Rabbitohs players 20th-century Australian sportsmen {{Australia-rugbyleague-bio-1960s-stub