NathanD
17 Apr 2003, 13:13
There's been a lot of talk about Collingwood being a better side than last year and Brisbane being very stable, even going backwards with the loss of Headland.
If we are to stay near the top of the pile, the conventional wisdom is that we need to lift by 5%. Where will that come from?
One option is continuous improvement of the whole playing list. A good preseason has been a strong foundation for many, (though a lack of it doesn't seem to've done Lappin too much harm.)
The problem with this theory is that it must become difficult to squeeze too much more out of an ageing list. I wouldn't be surprised if this year is one of the last for Lynch, Hart, Ashcroft and perhaps Pike, White and McRae at this level.
This scenario is encouraging for the youngsters busting a gut in the reserves waiting for their chance, it also means that not too much more can be expected from those whose time is nearly up.
While the other established core players are all capable of improvement, will it be enought to lift the whole team? Younger players like Brown, Power, Black, McGrath will keep improving and others like Notting and Bradshaw are capable of more consistent efforts, so there is potential there for some gains.
In the rucks, Beau and Charman are 2 big improvers, but are they game breakers yet? Charman seems more likely and could be Primus or Darcy-like in years to come.
So what's the message? I expect only incremental improvement from the Lions this year and they may struggle to maintain the edge over the other teams of the last 2 years. Unless serious injuries or form lapses come into play, it seems unlikey that Brennan, Hadley, Morrison et al will get a chance to have more than a few games off the bench this year. Perhaps we'll have to wait until next year for the new 'gamebreakers' to emerge. In the meantime the established players will have to keep working extra hard to maintain the peak levels.
A number of retirements this year and next will allow opportunities for the next crop to come through, but in so doing, we will almost certainly fall back a little. It would be wonderful for Matthews to be around for another 3 or 4 or 5 years to bring those players through and rebuild for another crack at the premiership.
If we are to stay near the top of the pile, the conventional wisdom is that we need to lift by 5%. Where will that come from?
One option is continuous improvement of the whole playing list. A good preseason has been a strong foundation for many, (though a lack of it doesn't seem to've done Lappin too much harm.)
The problem with this theory is that it must become difficult to squeeze too much more out of an ageing list. I wouldn't be surprised if this year is one of the last for Lynch, Hart, Ashcroft and perhaps Pike, White and McRae at this level.
This scenario is encouraging for the youngsters busting a gut in the reserves waiting for their chance, it also means that not too much more can be expected from those whose time is nearly up.
While the other established core players are all capable of improvement, will it be enought to lift the whole team? Younger players like Brown, Power, Black, McGrath will keep improving and others like Notting and Bradshaw are capable of more consistent efforts, so there is potential there for some gains.
In the rucks, Beau and Charman are 2 big improvers, but are they game breakers yet? Charman seems more likely and could be Primus or Darcy-like in years to come.
So what's the message? I expect only incremental improvement from the Lions this year and they may struggle to maintain the edge over the other teams of the last 2 years. Unless serious injuries or form lapses come into play, it seems unlikey that Brennan, Hadley, Morrison et al will get a chance to have more than a few games off the bench this year. Perhaps we'll have to wait until next year for the new 'gamebreakers' to emerge. In the meantime the established players will have to keep working extra hard to maintain the peak levels.
A number of retirements this year and next will allow opportunities for the next crop to come through, but in so doing, we will almost certainly fall back a little. It would be wonderful for Matthews to be around for another 3 or 4 or 5 years to bring those players through and rebuild for another crack at the premiership.