Brisbane Discussion

[Grazz]

Not unexpected given Martins form and Berger not working out as a forward.

Suspect he will be used as trade bait to a club needing a ruck.  In this instance we can not afford to be too demanding as he is a free agent so can walk for nothing so up to us to get the possible deal for him. Interesting that we are using him to try and get Suckling.

Still reckon we should be chasing hard for Carlisle though. Know Dixon is mentioned but do we not another injury prone player on our books.  Look at Paine and McGuane this year,

If you get anything for Luey you will be fortunate i think. The guy is extremely injury prone and not to many clubs if any will give away anything worthwhile when they can have him for bugger all. This may be one where the Lions just have to shrug their shoulders and say oh well it is what it is mate.

[Ringo]

True Grazz - My personal opinion is that he may end up in the preseason draft due to his injuries as you say and not too many clubs will want to outlay big for him.

He seems to have lost all confidence this year as well, dropping marks he would normally take, not kicking as well etc.

[jvalles69]

Anyone tell me what Martin did to get 2 weeks?!?

[Ringo]

http://www.lions.com.au/news/2015-06-29/stef-faces-two-weeks

Only just read it myself.  Was at the ground myself and did not even see it.

[elephants]

Looked like Stef was used as a mid and Leuy in the ruck? Did it work? Both seemed to score very well?

[Big Mac]

Looked like Stef was used as a mid and Leuy in the ruck? Did it work? Both seemed to score very well?

Well they lost, so....

:P

[elephants]

Looked like Stef was used as a mid and Leuy in the ruck? Did it work? Both seemed to score very well?

Well they lost, so....

:P

Pfft so? They always lose ;)

[tbagrocks]

Anyone tell me what Martin did to get 2 weeks?!?

He wasn't a Hawthorn player, so he got games for not being a Hawthorn player!!

[kilbluff1985]

i think Essendon would prefer Zach Smith over Luey since he is younger

but beggers cant be choosers

[Ringo]

Looked like Stef was used as a mid and Leuy in the ruck? Did it work? Both seemed to score very well?

Worked in parts ele - Berger worked more up the ground (he was mostly used as FF previously) and the ruck duties were shared virtually 50/50 which has been more than previous. This tended to suit Berger a little more has he had undoutedly his best game of the year,
Unfortunately we will not see it develop further due to Martins suspension

[powersuperkents]

I think last round was an excellent display by Brisbane (excluding the final quarter  :-\ )

They really should have won it, they deserved to win it, however Adelaide's final quarter comeback means that they deserved the win a little more.

I watched the first quarter were Brisbane were playing their best football of the season. They absolutely dominated the Crows, afterwards they declined and were relying more on the Crows inaccuracy in front of goals (reliance peaked in the 3rd term). Nevertheless I still think there were strong signs of improvement in a team I very much doubted at the beginning of the year. Beams was fantastic, Taylor set up clinch shots, McStay would have been excellent if he could have at least held onto the marks when he went up. Martin was really good but somethings I saw from him in the final term (that I'll elaborate on later - Luey was the bigger culprit of the two though) really contributed to the Lion's loss. I originally dismissed Harris Andrews & Bourke but the when I finally watched them for the first time both were very promising (I expected then to be at VFL standard as they are so young, however they held their own against experienced opponents with Andrews completely mitigating -hack- Tex's impact for the first half). My favourite though, was Mitch Robinson, he just really made the effort for the team and was back to his best with the 'kamikaze' style marking. Paparone was composed and looks a valuable player in the backline and it was good to finally see strong performances from the under performing Redden and Zorko.

I honestly, don't know what happened in that final quarter but it seemed to purely stem from a lack of experience. The Lions still had their fair share of inside fifties but you wondered whether any of the players in the forward line actually knew how to convert it in the circumstances - it was a situation only Beams, Hanley (who was subbed at this point), Rockliff (sitting in the coaches box) or Redden could have came through as the forwards were just to young to know how to capitalise when their pressure-ridden opportunities appeared.

My issues with Martin & Luey were: I distinctly remember two hit outs in the final quarter (one from each of them) which both results in Adelaide goals from the midfield. The hit outs were both directly to open Crows midfielders (Jacob's had no influence on either hit out) heading goal ward (and not even given the Lion's defenders a chance to man-up). I think it was a result of pressure, and neither of them should be recklessly tapping it in doubt. These were two blatant incidents, however there were multiple occasions in the final quarter in which either ruck would tap it to empty space (to the Crows' advantage...). I don't know whether it was because the midfielders weren't providing an option (which I doubt considering Beams was there and running untagged) but even if that were the case, it would be more advantageous to just knock it into the pack than open space where the Crows had the advantage.

From the game I would say the defenders will develop with time and don't need the focus. The tall forward (i.e. McStay) needs to work on the actually execution of his contested marking. But the greatest issue to work on will be with Martin & Luey's ruck work. Martin was fantastic as a midfielder and a ruck but made crucial errors in the final quarter (as a ruck, not a midfielder). I would honestly say, despite a strong first half, Luey contributed more to the Crows than the Lions in the final term.. The midfielders and rucks will need to work together to rectify this because they need to learn to handle the pressure (Beams, Redden, & Robinson handled it well, some players didn't, McStay giving away the free kick could have been detrimental - actually worked to the Lion's advantage but they still couldn't convert). Rich was top quality as always, but I feel Lion's fan want to see more from him (really is capable of being one of the game's elite players)   

Overall, good signs of improvement from the Lions

[Ringo]

Very honest opinion power.  I aws at the ground as you would expect and missed the couple of martins hit outs but picked up on replay. Berger on the other hand i believe cost us the game with a couple of stupid hit outs in the forward 50 instead of killing it. Alos dropped a couple of marks which allowed Crows to rebound.

Will be interesting to see how Berger handles sole ruck for the next 2 weeks.  He will get some relief from Andrews/Merrett.

Basically I think our real issue was that we could not run with Crows in the final quarter. The crows had finally worked out a lot of our drive was coming from "Squizzy"  Taylor and did their best in limiting this drive causing turnovers.

Agree we do not defence back up as we look well set there but really need a forward target. McStay while looking good still is only young and needs to develop further as a forward. (He was a defender until out of necessity we had to play him forward).

One thing that our injury list has done is develop a number of swingman and that will serve us well into the future. McStay, Andrews, Bourke, Bewick can all play either end. Paporone has been the real surprise with his development and is one of the first picked each week.  Rich as you see is the one that really needs to lift but would not be surprised if he is carrying an injury. He received a lot of physio attention and I remember a couple of kicks on his favoured left so not going as far as previous.  None more so than his set shot for goal from inside 50 that was touched before the line.

Can only get better Andres only playing his 9th game of AFL and McStay his 19th,  Of The team that we had on Saturday Night 10 of the 22 have played less than 50 games.

Great future providing we can retain most. Really happy with our efforts recently apart from the big blow out against the Dogs who are showing they will be the team we need to match going forward along with GWS

[kilbluff1985]

if GC cant sought itself out they should merge with Brissy and AFL start a team in Tassy

[powersuperkents]

if GC cant sought itself out they should merge with Brissy and AFL start a team in Tassy

I don't think GC have too much of a problem long term. They the best prospective talent in the AFL (second to GWS) and, unlike GWS, have no problem with player retentions (as the Gold Coast is perceived as one of the most desirable cities to live in).

I wouldn't be surprised if Hunt is just trying to divert attention away from his own wrongdoings tbh. The leaders say there is no culture problem with the club (however, doubts have arisen due to the violations of the alcohol policies earlier this season) and Mitch Hallahan has said that, although not as professional as the Hawks (then again the Swans would be the only other team that comports themselves to a similar standard), the culture at the Gold Coast Football Club is nonetheless professional.

I wouldn't be surprised if a few players were caught out for cocaine use (I've heard rumours myself about drug and sexual misconduct at other clubs, however I don't attach much credibility to them - due to the ACC investigation I attach much more significance to GCFC's inquest). But I see the Gold Coast's slump subsiding once they reach full strength (should be able to contend for the 8 next year if all is well).

Brisbane are in a bit of trouble, however Richmond were in a similar situation due to Terry Wallace's shower 5 year plan and I think they had the talent to challenge for the top 4 the last 3 years now. I think it will take some time, but if Brisbane stay committed, their senior players perform at a higher standard, and Leppa & Swan make the right decisions the team will persevere. The problem is that their list is at a state in which you think, "can they afford to make another error in management"? Surely if they lose another 3-4 senior players they will be the equivalent of an NEAFL side. Nevertheless, I think they have made the right decisions in recruiting their prospective talent (with the exception of Aish - however, Jono Freeman was the first selected Queenslander in the draft so it's difficult to criticise (would have went for best talent available) but they should have further screened him to see if there was a chance of homesickness).

Also, I think a unified Qld team of Gold Coast & Brisbane would be a top 4 list (weakness in forward stocks - developing players for both sides - too strong a midfield, ruck, & back line hahaha)   

[T Dog]

Anybody rating Justin Clarke at all?. Was mentioned a bit on the radio call.