FOOTBALL'S unicorn is about to reach the magical 300 milestone.

And according to the only other man in the past two decades to (statistically, at least) have been moved around the ground more often over as many games, Mark Blicavs is the football archetype for the modern era.

When it comes to playing positions, the 198cm Blicavs has literally filled every role (except for small forward, obviously).

No other player in the competition manages to juggle the wing and ruck roles throughout a season, let alone in the same game.

And compared to his peers, only a handful of players in the past 20 years have had a lower primary position percentage, and the Cat is the tallest of the lot.

Former teammate Mitch Duncan knows what it's like to be thrown around the park, although he didn't have to contend with also playing key-position roles.

Duncan believes Blicavs has created a blueprint for the modern game, the incredibly tall, freakishly athletic footballer that all recruiters hope that raw draftee becomes.

"Being able to play multiple positions obviously helps keep you in the side, for one, because you've got another trick up your sleeve, but it also gives you a great understanding of the gameplan as a whole, and what's required from each role," Duncan tells AFL.com.au.

"If you can feel like you can perform in it, it means you understanding it, and then you can go and help teammates as well.

"'Blitz' would ask a lot of questions, especially in the early days, and he'd annoy the shit out of Andrew Mackie and Harry Taylor (Blicavs said he briefly flirted with the idea of swapping his No.46 for Taylor's old No.7), just to try and understand all those different roles."

While Blicavs can fire up on the field – usually in defence of teammates rather than instigating much tomfoolery – he's a curious mix of laidback and the life of the party when required.

"He's pretty chill and relaxed. He's gotten into his cooking and slow roasting. He loves his wine, he researches and has done a few courses, he's right into it. He also loves drinking it," Duncan says with a laugh.

"He's always probably one of the best-ons in celebrations or get-togethers, usually the last man standing, which doesn't often get spoken about. But then he can back it up with his training and work ethic, a work hard, play hard type of mentality."

The Blicavs story is well known; a steeplechasing son of Australian basketballers, who played a season or two of junior footy with Cam Guthrie's older brother, Ben.

Their father, Andrew, mentioned to legendary recruiter Stephen Wells that the 20-year-old might be worth a shot as a Category B rookie, and he joined the club halfway through 2012, playing his first game as a ruck in round one of the following year, against Hawthorn in prime Kennett Curse territory, no less.

He is now a premiership player, a two-time best and fairest, an All-Australian, the eighth Cat to reach 300 games and only the second rookie in the history of the V/AFL (behind Luke Breust) to hit the milestone.

His incredible durability has seen him sit out just 18 games over his 13-and-a-bit seasons, playing fewer than 20 games in a year just once in that period.

But it's his versatility more than his durability that makes him stand out compared to his peers. When asked this week what his favourite position is, in typical fashion, he named not one, but three.

"I like to be around the ball - that mid-wing-ruck, around there. I like running around, doing what I think the game needs at the moment," Blicavs said.

"I think I've worked on my game well enough, that if we need a bit more defensive or attacking (roles), I've got that licence a bit.

"I feel comfortable challenging 'Scotty' (Geelong coach Chris Scott) when he moves me around a lot. But I like those conversations we have, and I love the responsibility he gives me and the trust he puts in me to help the team. But that trust goes both ways, and I'm very happy and comfortable to challenge 'Scotty' on anything he thinks of myself and the team."

It's one thing to have the athletic capability of picking up a sport from scratch, but Blicavs also had the temperament to make the switch.

"Gee, he was an annoying player in those first 12 months, not just for the coaches but for the players as well," Scott said this week.

"Everything was 'why? But why?', it was a voracious appetite to learn. He didn't have any pre-conceived ideas. But about halfway through the 2014 season it moved from asking questions to making suggestions.

"I found [his versatility] exhilarating, to be honest, and still do. I don't mind saying, even last week with Mark not playing, it makes me nervous. You take away a lever we can deploy for so long, it automatically makes the coaching challenge more difficult. Some of the ways we use 'Blitz' isn't a secret anymore, it's pretty obvious to all those who watch him play, how important he is to us. 

"It was always exciting to think we could try something new and it would probably work with him. I don't mind saying that from the very early stages, our coaches thought he was a midfielder and that seemed ridiculous in the early days, to some. But I think we've been vindicated. Mind you, he's playing back this week."

Former Richmond star Joel Bowden's actions were famously responsible for introducing the deliberate rushed behind rule, and Blicavs thinks he may have had a similar effect on banning the third man up in ruck contests.

"That was a bit of a cheat code, just pretend you're a midfielder and hit the third man up," he said with a grin.

"I had to reinvent myself a bit, my career was nearly done when that rule got flicked off. We like different tactics, testing the rules."

Scott is confident the 35-year-old has several years left in an already decorated career, with Blicavs saying his early athletic training – which would see him rack up 100km a week in his late teens – conditioned his body against stress injuries, while quipping he doesn't run fast enough to ping a calf or hamstring.

"Mark's an example of someone who came in and changed the way we thought about things. He came in with a desire to help first, and then benefit second. That's just remarkable," Scott said.

"I think we aspire to that point of view, but to encourage people to do that, they have to believe there is something in there for them in the end. Culturally, the willingness to learn, the openness and the support for other people. It still continues this week. 

"We'll go through 'OK, what are the 14 positions where we can play Blitz, and which couple will we try to narrow in on based on the opposition and the situation?' Then we'll go to him and have the discussion. 

"I'll be thinking, how do we get you to play your best game which will help the team the most, and he'll be coming from, 'how do I help our ruckmen? How do I help stop the best players in the opposition?' I don't say it lightly, because I think it's a rare trait."