Thought I would start a new thread for 2016 with the season fast approaching.
http://www.couriermail.com.au/sport/afl/teams/brisbane/dayne-beams-ruled-out-indefinitely-with-knee-tendinitis-brisbane-lions-sweat-on-dayne-zorko-report/news-story/abb0db30ea6c8b428738fa709fee4593
Beams will be out for an indefinite period.
Zorko will miss round 1 if he does an early guilty plea
Article states that Bundy or Greenie could come in for Rd 1 but will be a risk with both underdone. Personally would not risk them early in the season as i would play Lester on one flank with Bell on the other. Squizzy can also do more mid time.
Good start to the season
Anyone with me thinking that we could be pretty strong this year? Sure its only and you have to have some hope starting the season but i really think we can make an impact this season. We won't be that strong but i think we have a decent group of lads and can produce a decent season, i don't think we are as bad as some are saying we will (below Essendon) i really think we can push up into the 12-10 position.
We have a pretty brutal start to the season, which could impact how we perform after round 10 or so. Combine that with Beams out indefinitely along with the extremely young (and therefore inconsistent) list we have, I would be over the moon if we finished above 15th.
We'll probably get our upset or two, but I think a lot of teams are going to be competitive this year, so the main thing I'll be looking at is how we perform in red time, and how much we can increase our percentage from last year by.
Yeah, 15th or above is what we should be aiming for. Who will we finish above though? Carlton, Essendon and??
Not really care where we finish as we are still in the rebuilding phase but really looking at big improvements in a few areas where we were woeful last year.
1) Contested possessions - We were way done the list and very rarely were on top in this area.
2) Pressure in the forward 50 - Opposition were allowed easy outs on most occasions. Hoping the additions will put the pressure on to try and lock the ball in the forward 50.
3) Transitions from the rebound 50. Would like to see big improvement here with less reliant on handballs and more direct and accurate kicking. Too often we were hurt by turnovers form handballs under pressure.
4) And the big one is cutting down goals scored against us in red time. In a lot of games we were very competitive for 20 minutes and matched a lot of teams only to have 2/4 goals kicked against us in this red zone.
Will be happy to see improvement in these areas regardless of where we finish especially with our brutal start to the season.
Quote from: nrich102 on March 16, 2016, 08:43:57 AM
Yeah, 15th or above is what we should be aiming for. Who will we finish above though? Carlton, Essendon and??
Saints? maybe
Quote from: Big Mac on March 16, 2016, 02:24:16 PM
Quote from: nrich102 on March 16, 2016, 08:43:57 AM
Yeah, 15th or above is what we should be aiming for. Who will we finish above though? Carlton, Essendon and??
Saints? maybe
Dees? ;)
I think Saints/Dees/Lions could be fairly close by the end of the year tbh
Quote from: GoLions on March 16, 2016, 02:26:25 PM
Quote from: Big Mac on March 16, 2016, 02:24:16 PM
Quote from: nrich102 on March 16, 2016, 08:43:57 AM
Yeah, 15th or above is what we should be aiming for. Who will we finish above though? Carlton, Essendon and??
Saints? maybe
Dees? ;)
I think Saints/Dees/Lions could be fairly close by the end of the year tbh
Nah no chance ;)
Quote from: Big Mac on March 16, 2016, 03:25:07 PM
Quote from: GoLions on March 16, 2016, 02:26:25 PM
Quote from: Big Mac on March 16, 2016, 02:24:16 PM
Quote from: nrich102 on March 16, 2016, 08:43:57 AM
Yeah, 15th or above is what we should be aiming for. Who will we finish above though? Carlton, Essendon and??
Saints? maybe
Dees? ;)
I think Saints/Dees/Lions could be fairly close by the end of the year tbh
Nah no chance ;)
Great chance ;D ;D
Is anyone else a little concerned we have gone in a little tall for Subi with McStay, Schache, Freeman and Walker all named on field. Think that may be a bit much when you consider bench.
B #27 Darcy Gardiner #21 Daniel Merrett #22 Marco Paparone
HB #32 Sam Mayes #31 Harris Andrews #10 Daniel Rich
C #35 Ryan Lester #3 Allen Christensen #27 Lewis Taylor
HF #11 Pearce Hanley #25 Dan McStay #34 Jonathan Freeman
F #14 Josh Walker #23 Josh Schache #7 Tom Bell
FOL #12 Stefan Martin #5 Mitch Robinson #38 Tom Rockliff
INT FROM
#2 Ryan Harwood #4 Ryan Bastinac #6 Josh Green
#8 Rohan Bewick #17 Claye Beams #18 Nicholas Robertson
#26 Tom Cutler
Hey lads, just wanted to get some confirmation, if Stef goes down or needs support for the odd game will Archie Smith likely be the one to step up?
Going Grimley to him allows me to take Lee instead of Papley and keep a D/F link on my forward bench.
West or Smith will be the ones promoted. They have been working in tandem in the NEAFL. Will depend on Team structure probably if the need arises.
Quote from: Ringo on March 25, 2016, 12:47:23 PM
West or Smith will be the ones promoted. They have been working in tandem in the NEAFL. Will depend on Team structure probably if the need arises.
Cheers Ringo, a bit to ponder yet.
Quote from: Ringo on March 24, 2016, 10:02:32 PM
Is anyone else a little concerned we have gone in a little tall for Subi with McStay, Schache, Freeman and Walker all named on field. Think that may be a bit much when you consider bench.
B #27 Darcy Gardiner #21 Daniel Merrett #22 Marco Paparone
HB #32 Sam Mayes #31 Harris Andrews #10 Daniel Rich
C #35 Ryan Lester #3 Allen Christensen #27 Lewis Taylor
HF #11 Pearce Hanley #25 Dan McStay #34 Jonathan Freeman
F #14 Josh Walker #23 Josh Schache #7 Tom Bell
FOL #12 Stefan Martin #5 Mitch Robinson #38 Tom Rockliff
INT FROM
#2 Ryan Harwood #4 Ryan Bastinac #6 Josh Green
#8 Rohan Bewick #17 Claye Beams #18 Nicholas Robertson
#26 Tom Cutler
As an outsider looking in, that was the first thing I noticed. It seems like a very tall team at both ends, which is why I was surprised Josh Green was left out.
Green getting over fractured foot so may have erred on safe side.
Merrett will be a late withdrawal (illness) for Claye Beams
http://www.lions.com.au/news/2016-03-27/match-report-round-1
The official match report from the game against the Eagles.
Think it is a pretty fair assessment.
What impressed me was our effort in contested possessions and clearances a vast improvement on last year.
It was obvious our lack of decent NAB games had an effect on our play and structure. Even discounting the washed out game remember the first was played in gusty conditions at Burpengary and the third in wet at Metricon. Not ideal conditions for working on structures.
The other positive was kicking 100+ points something we did not do very often last year.
I would expect to see this side continue to develop throughout the year and be up and about for the first Qclash. we are starting behind the other teams apart from Saints who also showed a fade out.
lastly I do not think there was anything in Robbos report but who knows with the MRP.
Any news on Robbo's calf? Or did they just leave him off as a precaution seeing as the game was over at that stage?
Wasn't to bad. To many times still where they had 4 on 1 in the fwd line though. all the new lions debut players were good. Bring on round 2
Quote from: Rusty00 on March 28, 2016, 01:54:04 PM
Any news on Robbo's calf? Or did they just leave him off as a precaution seeing as the game was over at that stage?
Nothing said as yet will find out more tomorrow. He has been cleared of report though.
Hey lads, I watched the game on Sunday obviously but I wasn't watching Haney too closely. Where is his spot in Brisbane's best 22? Is it halfback or is it wing?
Been offered him in a draft league and was just wondering whether or not he was a chance for defensive status this season or are those days likely over?
he played on the wing mostly but will have a better ide when I go to the game Saturday.
On another matter and a sad note Justin Clarke has announced his retirement from football due to latest headknock. Really feel for him after really breaking out last year,
http://www.lions.com.au/news/2016-03-31/clarkes-future
Clarkey :( Was a very solid defender and he's left a large hole in our defense. Probably the best thing he could do though, players shouldn't keep on playing if its going to have major effects on them as they get older.
From Justin Clarkes Press conference this morning
Brisbane Lions â€@brisbanelions 3m3 minutes ago Brisbane, Queensland
JC: The thing that scared me the most was when I was on my way to uni and I completely forgot the route, I can't describe the feeling I felt.
Really reinforcing the decision he made but saying he can concentrate on studies which is the silver lining. Will put link to whole presser up when posted.
Really sad for Justin Clarke.
What's even sadder is I can see this sort of thing becoming more of a common occurrence.
Unbelievably sad to see such a good bloke retire at such a young age. His health comes first, so I agree with his decision 100%. The gap he is going to leave down back is unimaginable. McStay is going to need to step up now.
Really feel for him, hopefully doesn't have any major issues later in life. Wish him all the best. He's a smart kid though, so hopefully he'll be alright.
Clarke is studying to be an aeronautical engineer so hopefully can fulfill his dream here. Very emotional presser and from reports lots of tears from the boys.
Presser no posted
http://www.lions.com.au/news/2016-03-31/clarkeys-decision
Must say I had my doubts about Walker when we got him, but very happy with him now. Hasn't been the best in front of goals, but works his heart out every week, and really lifted today when he needed to after Martin went off and held his own against Nicholls.
Best QClash to date (hopefully they will be this fierce from now on - it genuinely looked like a Showdown but even more hostile).
I was initially supporting Gold Coast but, like any impartial observer watching that game, I had to swap at half-time (if he got 3 weeks on Rockliff (I admit he was unlucky with that one) he should get 4-6 weeks for the hit on Martin - I haven't seen a more dangerous and unnecessary play in the modern era of football).
Walker did well filling in for Martin (it didn't even seem like they had lost a ruck) and the losing Martin was what the team needed to improve their shot accuracy
It was good to see the Lions dominate play for 4 quarters, they could have flogged GC if they didn't miss so many opportunities (esp. in the first half). Hanley, Robinson, Rich, & Zorko really stood up in the 2nd half (this outplayed Ablett, Hall, Malceski, & Prestia).
They really look like a strong team, just the inexperience in the back & forward line are stopping them from being a finals contender, however they are showing strong signs for the future (I thought Brisbane were impressive against West Coast in R1 as well - scoring 100 pts against the Eagles isn't easy). Cutler & Schache were probably my favourite young KPPs up forward and down the back (I was never aware of Cutler's talent until yesterday).
Think the Qclash rivalry really came of age last night. Been good contest for a while but think last night the bar was raised to tje Local Derby rivalries in other states.
http://www.lions.com.au/news/2016-04-16/match-report-v-suns
Worth watching the video embedded in there and the boys really singing it out with gusto, Big Stef was even the circle singing so that is a good sign. When Stef came too he asked how was May thinking he may have caused him some damage.
Was great to be in the crowd for this one and, although in my opinion 20k a little disappointing for a Qclash, was great to hear the noise reverberate around the stands in 4th quarter. And to get to sing the team song after a long drought as well.
Trust this is an encouragement to keep attacking at all costs and although turnovers cost us great to see and will improve with experience.
@Power Cutler was the Lions player I targeted as the break out player this year and was looking a sad till last night. Even benched him in my SC (bad move), :( :( Cutler spent a fair bit of the night running with Hall and seemed to curb his influence of the previous weeks.
Kicking is still an issue and the 1.9 in second quarter really hurt us as we should have had the Suns put to bed by then.
Schache is really showing something with his attack at the ball in the forward 50 and maybe we have found our Brown replacement.
Was great to see Rich in the middle attacking the ball in the second half. He seemed to have taken it on himself to try and win the ball as we would be outgunned in the ruck.
Hanley won the Ashcoft Medal for best on ground and deservedly so.
Bastinac undoubtedly had his best game of the season and Bell also is improving. Should of had another goal but called due to umpiring pedanticness,
Really hoping Andrews, Gardiner and McStay (who was a late out because of illness) continue to develop quickly. Merrett although he organises in defence is definitely left wanting when ball is moved quickly forward and often gives away a free kick as a result. He has lost his speed of the mark and can not stand 5 metres of defenders any more and spoil. (Lynch outmarked him quite often and all his 5 goals came form marks or free kicks. Only one mark was uncontested.)
need to regroup quickly to prepare for the doggies on Saturday.
If Martin doesn't get up for no next week, will we play West or Smith? I mean might be a good team to get Smith into AFL footy against :P
Enjoying seeing my boy Basti live up to the promise he showed in 2012/2013 at North :)
Quote from: roo boys! on April 18, 2016, 06:44:10 PM
Enjoying seeing my boy Basti live up to the promise he showed in 2012/2013 at North :)
Best game for the season I reckon! Seems to be finding his feet, been good bar that one quieter match against North (to be expected).
Quote from: elephants on April 18, 2016, 07:32:07 PM
Quote from: roo boys! on April 18, 2016, 06:44:10 PM
Enjoying seeing my boy Basti live up to the promise he showed in 2012/2013 at North :)
Best game for the season I reckon! Seems to be finding his feet, been good bar that one quieter match against North (to be expected).
I haven't seen any Brisbane games due to not having Foxtel but if they have him playing the inside mid role he's always been better at (perhaps replacing Redden?) then he'll have a good year. Maybe, just maybe I won't be the only person in Australia carrying him in my Supercoach midfield #loyaltyoversuccess
We're going down the same track as previous years with being second to the ball. Big problem and with Sydney this week it wont get much better.
Seemed to do away with what we had done the first 4 rounds and use the wings more than going through the centre. Although we turned over possession much rather persist with that stryle than the style we dished up against the dogs. Do not mind getting beaten playing that attacking style as we need to learn that game plan if we are to come up the ladder.
Hope we do not get sucked into Swans style this weekend though.
Keays set to debut this week against the Swans :D
http://www.foxsports.com.au/afl/ben-keays-is-set-to-make-his-afl-debut-for-brisbane-lions-against-sydney-swans/news-story/94805237fd307f07be20397b1c28e2c0?from=public_rss
Green going to miss a few games though apparently, and I also heard somewhere that Bastinac could miss this week? Christensen should be fine though.
noticed Rocky played forward a bit last week do you guys think he was just being eased into it
Just part of our rotations within the 90 allowed KB. He also spent some time in defence as well so not a lot to be read into it.
Watch this week though to see with Bastinac out as he should have more time on the ball.
Any word on how far away Beams is boys?
from our injury report
"After overcoming an off-season shoulder reconstruction, Dayne Beams has battled knee tendinitis post-Christmas that has prevented him from playing so far this season.
However he is now running trouble-free and on the verge on returning in the next couple of weeks.
“Dayne returned to main training last week. It went really well. He’ll do the same this week and then we’ll have a discussion with the coaches to see when he’s ready to return.â€
Schache out. Anyone know why? Being rested?
Schache listed as rested on the AFL site so should be back. Makes sense as we said at start of season will not put too much pressure on him.
First time in a very long time I turned it off and watched the Broncos, I have never seen such an insipid display by any team like that. 61-0 and it could have been much much worse if they kicked straight. What hope do we have with leppitsch sitting in the box leaning on his palm looking clueless.
I've said it to myself all year that he is ruining the team and players confidence playing people out of position. Sam Mayes is not a HB FFS. I don't know where he has in his mind that he is. Sam is one of the most talented players on the list and he gets a lock down role which he has no idea how to do. Pearce Hanley was lethal off HB a few years ago but justin feels the need to play him in a deep forward and occasional stint in the midfield.... no wonder we get smashed in CP every week because he doesn't have the right set up or positions.
/rant
I'm still extremely disappointed in Saturday nights display, and for the first time in possibly my entire life, felt ashamed of being a Lions supporter. Even with our young list, I don't get how we can go from almost beating Sydney one week, to what happened against the Pies. It just doesn't make sense.
The thing is, surely Leppa must be doing something right? Young players are re-signing, so off the field things must be going quite well. But after some clear improvement over the first 6 weeks, the last 2 have just completely undone that.
And if Mathieson doesn't get a game this week, I'll lose my shower.
Quote from: GoLions on May 17, 2016, 02:11:25 AM
And if Mathieson doesn't get a game this week, I'll lose my shower.
Quote from: kilbluff1985 on May 17, 2016, 08:20:49 AM
Quote from: GoLions on May 17, 2016, 02:11:25 AM
And if Mathieson doesn't get a game this week, I'll lose my shower.
Think they are at the stage now (IMO) to put the cue in the rack, blood these youngsters & get as much as possible into them for 2017. Don't play Beams, get his knee fixed, rehab & also be ready for next season.
I have been a little loathe to comment mainly because I would not have been happy with what I woud have written as I was totally disgusted with that performance, At least the Bears when we were getting thrashed still put in effort. Apart from Zorko, Martin, Beams and maybe Keays there was absolutely no effort in that disgusting first quarter.
Whilst a lot of fans left after half time that thought did not enter my head and it was disappointing that in the fourth quarter the crowd noise was being generated by Pies supporters.
Whilst someone said the excuse for the fumbling was the amount of dew around I do not buy this as it happens every year and we play here.
Know a lot of pressure is on Leppa but remember we went within 3 points of topling Sydney so his game plan is OK. On Saturday for some reason we seemed to have abandoned the idea of taking the game on which we did against Swans and went back to bombing long to contests which we inevitably lost. Whether this was Leppas instructions or not but he needed to address it as it was not working.
We really appeared slow on Saturday and when Pies got the turnover seemed to give them the red carpet ride to Goals.
Agree with Strikes Hanley and Mayes should be switched. Admittedly we have injury concerns with defence with Clarkes retirement, Andrews and McStays injury not helping. Whilst Merrett is useful organising defence he is much to slow now to get to contests and is a passenger and his D/e is woeful.
Claye Beams seems to be half the player he was last year so maybe a stint in NEAFL would help. Do not think I would ever say this but maybe time to give Paine a recall to Seniors in defence as he is really developing into a defender in the NEAFL. Hipwood is another who could be brought in.
Is it also time to recall Freeman and Close to the forward line and build for the future? Whilst Walker and Bell have been good have not been setting the world on fire.
Unfortunately think Green and Taylor are spending too much time trying to get a better contract than concentrating on football. Maybe more games in the twos will also focus them.
In spite of all of this can not see more that 3/4 changes being made this week.
My changes would be if I were a selector:
Swap Hanley and Mayes
Matthieson for Beams
Hipwood for Claye Beams
Freeman/Close for Walker
Andrews if fit for Paparone who is not showing what he did last year
McStay back for Bell on interchange.
Would be even tempted Paine for Merrett. However Paine does not have the bulk to match up on Hogan.
We have not been lucky with Beams who has only played 18 games since transferring and agree we need to get him 100% for next season.
Really want to see big effort this week even though we are away to ensure we have reasonable numbers for Hawks game the following week. Do not want to be sitting in a near empty members section.
Honestly, I reckon you touch on a good point there Strikes with players playing out of position.
In terms of the engine room, I really think it should look like this: Beams*, Rocky*, Robinson, Bell, Rich Bastinac. Really can't see you losing a contested ball count with Beams and Rocky for elite quality around the ball, the bulls in Robbo and Bell plus Bastinac in there who has shown he's quality when played in the right position.
Zorko is lethal around goals so have him playing forward with stints in the guts and like you said have Hanley off half back, his ball use is immense.
Tom Bell had little to no impact against the Pies, I don't think he has the ability to be one of those 10 possession damaging footballers. Get him on the ball where he's forced to stay in the game!
(I really rate Bell so it kills me seeing him have stinkers when played as a forward.
Keep Squizz as a small forward, Christo is a constant danger around goals, throw Mayes on a wing and let him show us this ball use he's been rated so high for, let Paparone be loose in defence - he's a game changer imo (much like McGovern) and I really wanted him to come home.
I understand the lack of key position players makes it tough but I honestly think playing blokes out of position is more counter productive than anyone might suspect.
Just my two cents haha
One thing I forgot to add says it all when the player with the most contested possessions was first year player Ben Keays. Shows the effort players you expect to win put in.
i kinda think you guys play better when they think they have nothing to lose like against Swans
expected to win or have a chance like against Pies play poorly
sometimes when you expect to lose you play better
BEASTMODE TO DEBUT
So is Beams done for the season? Or are they still checking it out?
Well I take back what I said about Jansen this pre-season - it obviously was just the 'NAB-effect' during a windy game :P
He was solid today - how has he been going in the NEAFL and do Lions' supporters think he can break into the Best 22 by years' end?
Will be interesting to see how Jansen is used. It may be a case of rotating Keays, Mattho and Jansen through the middle assuming no injuries. Personally I think Mattho was dropped to avoid being drawn into the ducking controversy. (My opinion though as remember he is a first year player).
jansen has been going well in the NEAFL over the last month and deserved his call up.