Oscar Allen has come into the Brisbane Lions senior team after a long injury lay off, in his first season after leaving West Coast. His arrival has caused selection problems for Chris Fagan, as he and Logan Morris both like to start out of the goalsquare and need separate lanes to lead into, a difficult task in today's congested front thirds. The solution last week was to shift Eric Hipwood to defence; that didn't work. Allen has played back before, but it appears Brisbane don't want him there. The loser out of all this may be Kai Lohmann, who will be starved of targets.
Oscar Allen has come into the Brisbane Lions senior team after a long injury lay off, in his first season after leaving West Coast. His arrival has caused selection problems for Chris Fagan, as he and Logan Morris both like to start out of the goalsquare and need separate lanes to lead into, a difficult task in today's congested front thirds. The solution last week was to shift Eric Hipwood to defence; that didn't work. Allen has played back before, but it appears Brisbane don't want him there. The loser out of all this may be Kai Lohmann, who will be starved of targets.
Oscar Allen has had a quiet year on return from long-term injury, with Jake Waterman taking up the mantle as the prime target inside 50 on the rare occasions when the Eagle midfielders are able to spot up a leading lane. Trade talk is never ending these days, and with Waterman now the subject of a lot of speculation, perhaps it is time for Oz to remind us that the future of the West Coast forward line was supposed to be built around him, with Waterman's 2024 breakout an unexpected bonus. A juicy matchup at home to the Suns might be a fill-up opportunity.
Allen denied final lolly
One of the finds of 2018, Oscar Allen managed to muscle his way past a long line of contenders for the third tall forward spot for the Eagles and played all but one senior game for a respectable scoreboard return of 20.11, before being the unlucky man dropped for Nic Naitanui in September. Allen is an interesting football story as he is good enough to be best 22 at most AFL clubs but may be squeezed out if all the tall Eagles are fit. Even if he moves to defence, he will not be a fantasy player based on his historical scoring patterns.
Oscar is no slouch
Spending most of his first listed season in the WAFL playing in defence with a lowly 12 disposals per game, Oscar Allen switched forward in August and booted eight from his last three. He played one senior game before the switch and one after, his mark tally improving from two to six. From early 2019 preseason action it appears the forward move is permanent for Allen, and if Josh J. Kennedy can't get up for round 1 he's very much in the frame for senior game number three. He is actually worth a look as a bench forward if JJK's condition worsens significantly in March.
All in for Allen
Playing mostly at CHF with some ruck time at reserves and Colt levels in the WAFL, Oscar Allen starred at the Championships to win the Larke Medal with rates of three goals, 15 disposals and six marks. No, he is not related to Matthew Allen, and he will be competing for a spot with his namesake should there be injuries to the incumbent senior players. As with all key forwards, year one is not usually the time to pick them.
