The 'Carlton' game.....

[BrisGirl]

I wasn't too sure about that game.

I know they aren't playing to the standard we have become accustomed to.

They have set such a high standard, that when we becomed bothered by the bottom team....at home, we sit back and wonder 'this shouldn't be happening'.

But........

Carlton had the 2 week break and they came to sunny Queensland on Tuesday and had a lovely time up in the Sunshine Coast.

They came to that game last night with fresh legs and a sunny disposition. Carlton came to win last night and hats off to Brittain for his lateral thinking.

We on the other hand, have no Voss and Lappin and with Brown being taken from the field with an injury. We did OK.

I am not sure that Leppitsch is the right person as 'stand-in Captain'. It is not that Leppa is a great player, but it is hard to direct traffic from the back line. I believe that the Captain should lead from the middle of the ground, so he can either steady the ship or lead by example. When you have a unexperienced man, who has the ball and is looking for direction, he just needs someone to tell him what to do with it, and Leppa can not do that from the back line.

I would almost put Chris Scott as the acting Captain, as Leigh had him in the middle last night and had a great game as usual.

Thank god for Des Headland......that boy just about won the game off his boot.

I don't know where our forward line went to, but there was hardly any leads last night, and not just in the forward line, all around the ground.

There were moments where no one presented themselves. Someone had the ball and no one leaded, eventually it was kicked to a contest. That was the disappointing thing about that game last night. There was a lot of real estate going begging last night that was not used.


My best was:-

Des Headland - This boy is on his way to making a name for himself.

Simon Black - Simon is a true enigma. That young man is almost invisable during a live game, until you see the game of TV and he is everywhere and his stats are always up in the high 20's. I would almost make him acting Captain, but I think his age is against him and I am not sure how Aka would take the news.
(It is funny how I do not think of Aka for acting Captain, I don't even know why)

Luke Power and Jason Akermanis - Both did some great things and some damage.

I thank Leigh for perservering with our young boys as they can stand up with the rest of them when the going gets tough.

I am sure all of the boys are dealing with games like last night with as much bemusement as us, but I haven't forgotten, we are second on the ladder and we are no where near playing at our best.

Hats off to Carlton but the better team won on the night.

I love my footy team and I am proud of them.

[Stocka]

Personally, I'm not overly concerned about the result from Saturday night. As far as I can see, we won the game, with a few of our players playing very well, a number playing reasonably well, and a number showing room for improvement. I tend to think this is a fairly accurate generalisation of how our team has been all season.

Perhaps we aren't the side that we were last year, but then again, not many others have been either. Then again, this is a different season entirely with different issues relating to the team to consider, and likewise, we are only half-way through the year at this stage!

The most you can really ask for each week, is a win. You can never really get hung up over a margin, as there are many factors which could influence this aspect of the result (including, how well the opposition played, the conditions on the night, and also the players that were available for the game).

Obviously between now and the finals if we are to be near our best (using last season as a rough guide), the team will require some degree of improvement. However, we have a number of key players out with injuries, and a couple who have been down on form for similar reasons, as well as just players not playing as good as they should be. Hopefully the coaching staff can mould a unit that will be competitive amongst the top sides come finals time, from the best players that they have available.

[Stocka]

Originally posted by BrisGirl

I am not sure that Leppitsch is the right person as 'stand-in Captain'. It is not that Leppa is a great player, but it is hard to direct traffic from the back line. I believe that the Captain should lead from the middle of the ground, so he can either steady the ship or lead by example. When you have a unexperienced man, who has the ball and is looking for direction, he just needs someone to tell him what to do with it, and Leppa can not do that from the back line.

I would almost put Chris Scott as the acting Captain, as Leigh had him in the middle last night and had a great game as usual.

Considering we've won the last two games with Leppitsch as captain, I don't know whether it would be a wise move to change that decision at this point in time.

To begin with, I would probably have prefered a more experienced player, like Lynch or Ashcroft, to have taken the captaincy role. However, once you have shown faith in one particular player to do a job, I don't see any real reason to change that decision, unless the situation becomes inappropriate. Considering we've won on both occasions, and Leppitsch has played 'reasonably' well, I can't see any real reason to switch the role to someone else.

In regards to Leppitsch playing primarly in the back half, and therefore not having as much of an influence on general play, I don't really see this as being a reason for him not being captain (C.Scott generally plays fairly deep in defense at any rate). There have been many great captains who have played in such positions, and there are plenty of opportunities in such positions for a player to lead by example, as well as influence the course of the game. In fact, a captain who is tough and disciplined in defense, is arguably a greater example to his team-mates than merely someone with skills and game-sense in the midfield (well, IMO at least).

Also, in the spur of play, I doubt there is much opportunity for a captain to guide each individual disposal by his team-mates in order for the right decision to be made. Such guidance is probably best left to stoppage of plays, and at the ends of quarters. Likewise, what a player does with the all when he has it, in the spur of the moment is just a part of the game that individual players have to adapt to themselves, IMO, experienced or not! (It's part of what makes the difference between someone with the skills and game-sense of Simon Black, and those who aren't at that level).

[Defender]

Seems to me the Lions just got out of jail on Saturday Night

Although winning without Voss, Lappin and Brown for the most of the game is encouraging.

- They really need to wallop Melbourne this Sunday.