- Aug 10, 2005
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Why was Watters fired? If we are in a similar situation as you guys were, would we be right to sack Leppa?
Leppa's third year.
- Thread starter lukiuslion
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Why was Watters fired? If we are in a similar situation as you guys were, would we be right to sack Leppa?
dlanod
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- Sep 14, 2006
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Didn't Watters have some weird spat with the board? I can't remember the exact details but I remember it being one of the funnier things in the AFL in the last few years - he came out and said on radio he'd received a commitment that he'd still be coaching them, only to get fired later that day because those his comments?
- Aug 10, 2005
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Looks like he didn't want to work with Pelchen and wanted complete power.
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/a...-about-his-power/story-fni5f22o-1226751527441
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Funnily enough, Pelchen is gone too now.
The Redemption
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He was weird. Nobody liked him. It was weird.
I would have thought that ZO'B has seen more passion from Leppa than he really wanted to.
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In the heat of battle, I too have questioned Leppa's coaching ability. Still do in some respects, but..
...in reality, NO coach can coach a team to multiple wins with an injury list like we have had this year. Leigh Mathews, Mick Malthouse or Paul Roos would not have done any better.
It just cannot be done when majority of your best team are not playing.
Until I see Leppa coaching our best team, I cannot condemn him or want him gone yet.
It is incredibly frustrating for us supporters, but it bugs me to hear others from the outside making comments like they are experts on the Brisbane Lions.
They are not.
I ask those outsiders this.............How would your club have fared in exactly the same situation Leppa has been in this year? Be honest now, how would they have gone? I suspect they would have very similar results to the Lions.
Reality people, Reality.
...in reality, NO coach can coach a team to multiple wins with an injury list like we have had this year. Leigh Mathews, Mick Malthouse or Paul Roos would not have done any better.
It just cannot be done when majority of your best team are not playing.
Until I see Leppa coaching our best team, I cannot condemn him or want him gone yet.
It is incredibly frustrating for us supporters, but it bugs me to hear others from the outside making comments like they are experts on the Brisbane Lions.
They are not.
I ask those outsiders this.............How would your club have fared in exactly the same situation Leppa has been in this year? Be honest now, how would they have gone? I suspect they would have very similar results to the Lions.
Reality people, Reality.
Even harder with the injuries we've had with such a young team. When your leaders are out you have to learn to lead yourself rather than learning what it means to lead from more experienced players. Hard enough for young players to learn their role, then having to set up the team structures as well because the more senior players are injured. No wonder they look lost and confused most of the time.
- Aug 7, 2006
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I see small things that worry me about Leppa's plans. Why have McStay as a sub and play Staker all game? Staker has a few games of AFL left and we're hoping Dan will play for 10 years. And what on Earth has he done to Rich? Leppa seems so reluctant to play him in the middle. Happy to be corrected, but from the TV coverage on Sat night he didn't seem to attend too many stoppages / bounces even though we had Hanley and Beams pull out late. Rich needs to develop in to a 25 possession mid; Lord knows he has the skills to do so, but he needs the coach to support / drive that. Stop playing him across half back!
Alan Smithee
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Does anyone else remember Leppa being interviewed early this year in maybe a NAB Challenge game or first couple of rounds where he said the Lions board wanted to extend his contract beyond 2016 but he turned them down hoping the results of this season meant he would be offered a better deal?
- Aug 10, 2005
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It's hard to tell if he ever had a formal offer but the club definitely seemed keen to extend his contract a few months back.
I remember this. Poor old Leppa might have screwed the pooch on that one.
The Redemption
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Young teams are injury-prone though. Yes at times a gun or two will be injured for extensive periods however a young squad really feels the pinch when the younger players consistently get injured because they are under-developed. It happens
Talking about senior players being injured. Said it 3 or 4 times in my post.
lukiuslion
Cancelled
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- #240
He addressed this. (not quoting directly but...) he Said ideally McStay would get a rest, the year and the task he is being asked to carry out is one that is suited to someone far beyond his years. Unfortunately due to our restricted position, he couldn't afford to rest McStay, so they settled on half a game. Acknowledged it may seem unorthodox from the out side, but given our totally unique position with our forward line and injury, unorthodox decisions need to be taken. Also said whilst he isn't your usual 'impact' player as sub, they had hoped he might come on and take a couple of grabs and get up a bit, didn't happen.
whilst I don't agree with a lot of Leppa's coaching moves (rich, mayes etc), I don't think we can evaluate the sub too much. playing kids all season long, no impact players to choose from, I think it is just a 'rest' tool and a role which everyone is getting a go of. McStay clearly needed a rest to freshen up, and this was the solution. I don't think it was a tactical ploy or done for any other reason than this.
lukiuslion
Cancelled
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This Guy... your teams win a few games and your head explodes. Settle down with the advice.
We have no players who can transition the ball successfully from the back half - hence using our most skilled midfielders there. A player who can do this is probably as important as a KPF to us as this stage.
Wayne Carey at his best could be inside our F50...wouldn't mean a lot, considering it only gets there 40 times a match!
The Redemption
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No worries champ. There was no advice. Thanks superstar...this guy.
chopperduck
Brownlow Medallist
I think the injuries have had a bigger impact than just the loss of the player. We are still a very young team, still learning under a new coach. We haven't had the same core group play a solid 2 seasons together getting down the way Leppa wants us to play. I think there is a lot of tempo footy in the way Leppa wants us to play, and we are horrible at knowing when to do what. We have barely had all our better players playing at the same time, this absolutely kills any chance these guys have to gel and learn together. Add to that the back end of the season with young bodies having had to play more than they normally would, and the 4th quarter fade outs start to make sense. We now have to add to that that we are closer to the end now, players will start looking at off season, and mentally, we will probably slide. Some might try play for a new contract, others might consider moving elsewhere, but the focus goes away from the game at the weekend.
There is little we have to gain from the last part of the season, other than putting some things in place for next year.
There is little we have to gain from the last part of the season, other than putting some things in place for next year.
Bucking Beads
Brownlow Medallist
I am a firm believe that our fitness levels have been a huge issue this year and will continue to be a huge issue. It seems like to pull off the style of play Leppa wants we need to be super fit. I also think that without a Genuine Key Forward we will continue to struggle.
- Aug 7, 2006
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Isn't that the point though? We need to get the ball inside 50 to score. Dan should be an A grade mid by now, instead he's a player that would be struggling for a game in a top side. Having him kick it to our non existent half forward line as opposed to banging in to 30 out from the centre...I know what I'd rather see and I know what's more likely to result in a score. We can't keep going at the rate of one goal per quarter.
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Players can't hold their ground in a contest. Their weak.
Agree. Look at the majority of opposition sides with their new draftees... they gain so much more size than ours after their first two pre seasons. Dogs are a prime example with a list demographics roughly the same as ours... yet Bonts, McRae etc have all put on 12kg+ since when they were drafted.
Hysteria25
All Australian
It seems that every year we blame injuries for a disappointing finish 
HowYouDoin
Club Legend
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I think we need to look at the western bulldogs for a second. We can all agree that our list is far above them in terms of talent, yet they're playing like a top 8 team, and we're constantly embarrassing ourselves week in week out. It's just hard to not blame our coach, when clubs beneath us are playing above us, while we just continue to under perform.
