Past Tom Rockliff (2008-2017)

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* i hope this guy gets some success before his time is up. Brute of a leader and just bleeds for the place. Wish him all the best.
 

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Jared Brennan had 16 tackles in a game??!! I find that stat simply beyond belief.
 
Fatcat08 said:
Jared Brennan had 16 tackles in a game??!! I find that stat simply beyond belief.
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He had one season as quite a good inside midfielder. He must've been out of contract at the end of that year and looking to increase his value.
 

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Rockliff: No ill feelings

BRISBANE Lions skipper Tom Rockliff says he holds no ill feelings towards Gold Coast defender Steven May for delivering the brutal hit that knocked him out earlier in the AFL season.

The Lions and Suns will meet on Saturday at the Gabba for the first time since round three, when May ironed out Rockliff with a head-high bump in the opening seconds of the match.

May was suspended for three weeks for the incident while Rockliff was left heavily concussed, but the Lions captain says he has left it in the past.

"Steve was playing the footy and it just happens sometimes. There's no bad blood," Rockliff said.

The Lions need to beat Gold Coast to have any chance of avoiding the wooden spoon.
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Tom Rockliff says the Brisbane Lions need to focus on the draft, not free agents

Brisbane Lions captain Tom Rockliff says the club can't afford to trade away its future in the hope of landing a big name during this year's trade period.

The Lions have been linked with Gold Coast star Charlie Dixon and while Rockliff "would love" Dixon to end up at Brisbane, he said on 3AW he didn't want it to come at the expense of important draft picks.

"We've tried that in the past with 'Fev' (Brendan Fevola) and a few others and it didn't quite work out the way we wanted it to," Rockliff said on Sports Today.

"I think it's really important we get the build right this time and come through together as a group.

"You look at all the good teams in the past - they've done that.

"Geelong, Hawthorn and Sydney, to a degree, have all come through together and Hawthorn had the ability to be able to top up their list now with free agency.

"I think we've got to build our list first and then add quality as the years go on."
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Lions leaders Rockliff and Zorko deny rift

"Leppa (coach Justin Leppitsch) tells us that it's the tough times that are the making of footy clubs," Rockliff said.

"I totally agree with that, and despite a lot of the rumours that fly around at this time of the year, be assured that we are a tight group with a common goal."
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Tom Rockliff rubbishes reports of infighting at Brisbane Lions (good summary of the whole story)

BRISBANE captain Tom Rockliff and teammate Dayne Zorko have rubbished claims of infighting at the club and a rift between the two players.

The Footy Show reported on Thursday night that Rockliff had fallen out with Zorko and has put other players off side with his leadership style.

It was also reported that a recent Lions honesty session left some players in tears.

But Zorko and the Lions were on the front foot on Friday morning, declaring that there was no issue between the pair or any other players.
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Brisbane Lions captain Tom Rockliff says it's hard for young players to handle the truth

Brisbane Lions captain Tom Rockliff says it's getting "harder and harder" to tell the truth to young players.

Describing a shift towards a welfare focus within football clubs as "unfortunate", Rockliff said he wished he had played in the 1980s when the message conveyed in conversations with teammates did not need to be softened.

Asked on ABC Radio if players in 2015 could handle the truth, Rockliff said: "It's getting harder and harder I think.

"Obviously when I started, it was a lot more easy to have those conversations, and being a country boy you get used to it pretty regularly. The old country coaches don't hold back," he said on Saturday.

"I think it's a generational shift.

"It's important that you still have them. And it's probably more important the follow-up that you have after the conversation so they have the clarity they need and desire.

"The welfare component ... I think that'll continue to grow within footy clubs over the next couple of years. It's probably the most under-resourced area. Unfortunately that's the way the game's going. It's getting harder and harder to have those conversations."

While again denying that a rift existed in the playing group, following reports that certain players wanted to leave the club due to issues with his leadership methods, Rockliff conceded that he needed to get better at directing criticism towards teammates. "It's important that you're honest with each other. You don't want to p--- in each other's pockets and tell you everything's sunny when it's not.

"I'd love to have played footy in the '80s, that was probably my style.

"But unfortunately that's the world we live in now and I've got to continue to grow individually but also as a playing group we've got to continue to get better at that."

The Lions entered Saturday night's game against Adelaide in 17th position on the ladder, and are lobbying for a priority pick from the AFL - with James Aish and Matthew Leuenberger both set to depart at season's end. Jack Redden, Dayne Zorko and Stefan Martin have all been reported as chances to leave the club, too, but Rockliff downplayed that threat. "They've all said that they're not going anywhere.

"You look at the boys who have been reported to leave. I've spoken to them ... and I take them on face value. They've all said they'll stay and that they're not going anywhere.

"Aishy's probably the only one who hasn't committed on that front."

Elaborating on ruckman Martin, Rockliff said that "apparently he's in contract talks, and he's [been discussed] for a little bit of a different reason, not so much around the footy club".

"I'm more than confident that everyone will stay."

Rockliff also laughed off talk of tears at player meetings. "There's been no one crying at a meeting.

"When you're sitting down the bottom, people are always going to have issues.

"There's always a little bit of uneasiness around the group this time of year."
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Rockliff Responds on ABC Grandstand

Brisbane Lions Captain Tom Rockliff has spoken at length about his confidence in the playing group and the future of the Football Club, in the wake of false allegations about team unrest.

Rockliff, speaking on ABC Radio’s Grandstand program today, said accusations raised on a Thursday night TV program about an alleged “rift” with Dayne Zorko and players in tears after an “honesty session” were “from left field”.

"At the Club, we deal in fact and I just want to get on the front foot in dealing with this," said Rockliff. “It’s absolutely not true, there is no rift with Dayne and for pure clarity, there has been no-one cry in any session.

"We haven’t even had an honesty session. We’ve had our regular team meetings when we’ve laid a few things out on the table with each other but I’m sure every football club does that.

“The majority of the group, if not all of them, messaged me or talked to me after the accusations went to air to say it’s not true … and they really like the way you go about it so from my end there is nothing to be concerned about.

“As a first-year captain and with us sitting down the bottom of the ladder, to be accused of stuff that you haven’t done, it always makes it hard.

"I’m all for media to report and cover our Club, and if there was an incident and there was friction, then I would completely own up to it, but there’s not and when media outlets run with stories that are blatantly not true, and they know they are not true but they continue to run them, they drag your name through the dirt.”

Rockliff said he had absolute confidence in the playing group and the Club’s culture.

"I can’t be more confident with where the playing group is at. It’s been a tough year with injury but I think we are on the right track,” he said

“I’ve asked the boys for clarity in the past and they are the ones who selected me into the position for those reasons, that I do tell it how it is and there is no beating around the bush.

“That might ruffle a few feathers at times but I always make sure that I follow-up, and we move on from there. The boys have respected that and no-one yet has come to me with any issues about the way I go about things.

“When you’re sitting down the bottom people are always going to have issues … the boys understand that and no doubt we’ll see a bit of player movement in the off season, so there’s always a little bit of uneasiness at this time of year.

“My job as Captain, and my three Vice-Captains around me - Pearce Hanley, Dayne Zorko and Daniel Rich - is to keep the playing group together, and we’ve focused on that in the past month, just controlling what we can control.

“We can’t control what happens externally, outside of the Footy Club, all we can do is go out there and try to play good footy.

"I’ve leant on Browny a little bit .. and Leppa as well, in regard to leadership styles and the way to go about it. It’s all still new to me as a first-year captain and I’m sure I’ll make mistakes along the way but it’s for the main goal which is get the Lions back in the finals and winning premierships.”

Rockliff said members and fans should have confidence in the Club’s direction despite the lack of wins in 2015.

“As a playing group, we have to continue to grow and be better. There is light at the end of the tunnel. It’s important people see the future, someone like Harris Andrews, a first-year who will hopefully be a 250 gamer for us, he has been outstanding this year for us.

"We have a good game plan and we can compete with anyone when we are up and about. We’ve pushed some really good teams this year and we think that we are closer than where we sit on the ladder, but we also understand that we are a young group building something for the future.

“We haven’t got it right in the past, we lost a lot of good talent … so it’s important that we continue to build that environment where they want to stay. If we can all look at ourselves and improve across the board, on and off the field, then we will be on the right track.

“It’s important as Captain that I set the right example from the top and it filters through the Club … it’s important that I lead that from the front, it falls squarely on my shoulders to make sure everyone is jumping on board.”
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Rocky is "Passionate & Strong"

Brisbane Lions Deputy Chairman and Football Director, Leigh Matthews, has joined the chorus of support for Captain Tom Rockliff.

Speaking on Channel Seven's AFL Game Day, the Lions' three-time premiership coach said Rockliff was "passionate and strong".

"In the Lions' situation where they've won three games for the year, high standards need to be set and constantly enforced," he said.

"Everyone's really impressed and pleased with the way Tom handles his captaincy duties."

With the Lions all but locked into a bottom-two finish, Matthews foresahdowed another summer of major player movement at the club.

"When you're down the bottom, you're rebuilding. You've got to say ‘who is going to take us forward into the upper reaches of the ladder?’," he said.
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Tom Rockliff says Brisbane Lions can’t afford another heavy loss to end its 2015 season

“Our execution under pressure really lets us down. It’s been the story all year,’’ Rockliff said.

“When you have a young group and you lose momentum and you start making mistakes, some heads drop and you don’t take the game on as much.

“When you can’t control the footy and you keep turning it over against these elite sides, the scoreboard gets away from you.

“But we understand where we are at as a football club. We are in it for the long haul, there’s no short-term fixes.’’
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