carnaroys08
Cancelled
- Sep 4, 2007
- 939
- 899
- AFL Club
- Brisbane Lions
- Other Teams
- Cowboys, Storm.
The Lions host the Crows at the Gabba for our first day game at home this season. Kicking off at the traditional 2:10 pm, the Crows go into the match firm favourites in this writers opinion.
A sluggish start to the season saw Adelaide in huge trouble & sitting 1-3; with all four games being low scoring affairs. The Roos, Cats & Hawks chalked up wins against the South Australians whilst the Swans came away with a loss. The Crows were winged, beauty, we have them Round 8 at home, put that down for another win. Don Pykes' press conferences were most enjoyable, particularly, if like me, you think he's a goose for involving the playing group in what has been reported as "pseudo psychology".
From Round five onward the Crows fortunes have improved dramatically, albeit aided by a soft patch in the draw. Rounds five, six & seven saw the Crows take on sides who finished in the bottom six last season & the 2017 Runners Up got the chocolates every game. These "easy kills" have benefited the Crows greatly & they were untroubled winners over Port last round. I see Don Pyke now playing a crafty hand in his press conferences. I assume this is to hide his team below the radar & keep all lids on. Be not fooled by Pyke complaining of the Crows lack of scoring ability. Pay no heed to him referring to his charges as not being like the team of 2017. Ignore his references to ugly games, pay heed to the old adage that winning form is good form. The Crows may well not be up to their performance indicators of 2017 but they have now displaced us from the Top 4, are shooting for 5 consecutive wins & are a very dangerous opponent for the Lions this Saturday.
For Lions supporters, the start of this season has been a welcome relief. 5-3 yippee; we'd all have taken that before Round 1. Scratch the surface & our win/loss ratio is not a true indication of how the team is actually travelling. Critically thinking, we could very easily have been 2-6 right now. The Eagles at 1/4 time & Port/North in the last quarter would have reasonably expected to win. The Lions have been doing a lot right & a lot wrong during games this year. We're not yet as sexy as the media portrayed us after Round 3. The media has noticed this & jumped off the bandwagon for now. The team is inconsistent, with a number of players (we all know who they are) playing well below expectation.
Can the Lions move to 6-3 this week? Absolutely. We are clear underdogs however if our passengers start taking a meaningful part in the game, we'll win by 6 goals. Should the same passengers turn up, uncommitted & expect to get away with mediocrity, you can expect the Crows theme song to be blaring through the Gabba speaker system.
There are some key match ups to look at which may well eventuate & could influence the game our way.
SLOANE: From this Aussie Rules fans perspective, Rory Sloane is the most frequent "biggest single influence" in Crows victories. Stop him & the odds start swinging away from a Crows victory. Sloane needs to be tagged & tagged goooood. Last year it was proven young Rory didn't handle close attention too well. Perfect for the mission is Lions hard man & Best & Fairest Winner Mitch Robinson. Mitch is by no means "just a stopper". He has the bonus of being a terrific user of the ball anywhere near goal, putting extra pressure on his victim.
TEX: Big Tex also rates highly when it comes to those who most commonly create & inspire victories by the Crows. When Tex gets good service on the lead & holds his marks, the Crows lift right around the ground, they walk taller. The Lions will need to run someone with him who has pace & reach. Will an out of form Harris Andrews be up to the task? Darcy Gardiner has beaten Buddy, is he our man? Alone, I doubt either could hold Tex down considering his good current form & high confidence. Old fashioned tactics of dropping someone in the hole & limiting supply can be effectively used against Tex. Who goes in the hole? Have we a player capable of playing such role?
EDDIE: When Eddie's making magic the Crows usually sing the song. Betts has the rare ability to make opponents appear stupid when he weaves his magic, which can be demoralizing for opposition players. You can be guaranteed, close physical attention would be most unwelcomed by the ageing superstar. Eddie may be cute, lovable & peoples favorite player from another team but we need to stop Bambi. Who can take Eddie out? I would suggest Hodge has the mongrel in him to pay extra attention to him. I don't believe Eddie covers a lot of ground these days so that ought suit Hodge.
Whilst footy is a complex game of 22 per side, I believe Saturdays game can be simplified by focusing on these three battles. I'm confident that Sloane can be made ineffective by Robinson, reasonably sure tactics are in place to frustrate Tex & hopeful Betts kicks no more than two. This being the case, it's the Lions by 17pts.
A sluggish start to the season saw Adelaide in huge trouble & sitting 1-3; with all four games being low scoring affairs. The Roos, Cats & Hawks chalked up wins against the South Australians whilst the Swans came away with a loss. The Crows were winged, beauty, we have them Round 8 at home, put that down for another win. Don Pykes' press conferences were most enjoyable, particularly, if like me, you think he's a goose for involving the playing group in what has been reported as "pseudo psychology".
From Round five onward the Crows fortunes have improved dramatically, albeit aided by a soft patch in the draw. Rounds five, six & seven saw the Crows take on sides who finished in the bottom six last season & the 2017 Runners Up got the chocolates every game. These "easy kills" have benefited the Crows greatly & they were untroubled winners over Port last round. I see Don Pyke now playing a crafty hand in his press conferences. I assume this is to hide his team below the radar & keep all lids on. Be not fooled by Pyke complaining of the Crows lack of scoring ability. Pay no heed to him referring to his charges as not being like the team of 2017. Ignore his references to ugly games, pay heed to the old adage that winning form is good form. The Crows may well not be up to their performance indicators of 2017 but they have now displaced us from the Top 4, are shooting for 5 consecutive wins & are a very dangerous opponent for the Lions this Saturday.
For Lions supporters, the start of this season has been a welcome relief. 5-3 yippee; we'd all have taken that before Round 1. Scratch the surface & our win/loss ratio is not a true indication of how the team is actually travelling. Critically thinking, we could very easily have been 2-6 right now. The Eagles at 1/4 time & Port/North in the last quarter would have reasonably expected to win. The Lions have been doing a lot right & a lot wrong during games this year. We're not yet as sexy as the media portrayed us after Round 3. The media has noticed this & jumped off the bandwagon for now. The team is inconsistent, with a number of players (we all know who they are) playing well below expectation.
Can the Lions move to 6-3 this week? Absolutely. We are clear underdogs however if our passengers start taking a meaningful part in the game, we'll win by 6 goals. Should the same passengers turn up, uncommitted & expect to get away with mediocrity, you can expect the Crows theme song to be blaring through the Gabba speaker system.
There are some key match ups to look at which may well eventuate & could influence the game our way.
SLOANE: From this Aussie Rules fans perspective, Rory Sloane is the most frequent "biggest single influence" in Crows victories. Stop him & the odds start swinging away from a Crows victory. Sloane needs to be tagged & tagged goooood. Last year it was proven young Rory didn't handle close attention too well. Perfect for the mission is Lions hard man & Best & Fairest Winner Mitch Robinson. Mitch is by no means "just a stopper". He has the bonus of being a terrific user of the ball anywhere near goal, putting extra pressure on his victim.
TEX: Big Tex also rates highly when it comes to those who most commonly create & inspire victories by the Crows. When Tex gets good service on the lead & holds his marks, the Crows lift right around the ground, they walk taller. The Lions will need to run someone with him who has pace & reach. Will an out of form Harris Andrews be up to the task? Darcy Gardiner has beaten Buddy, is he our man? Alone, I doubt either could hold Tex down considering his good current form & high confidence. Old fashioned tactics of dropping someone in the hole & limiting supply can be effectively used against Tex. Who goes in the hole? Have we a player capable of playing such role?
EDDIE: When Eddie's making magic the Crows usually sing the song. Betts has the rare ability to make opponents appear stupid when he weaves his magic, which can be demoralizing for opposition players. You can be guaranteed, close physical attention would be most unwelcomed by the ageing superstar. Eddie may be cute, lovable & peoples favorite player from another team but we need to stop Bambi. Who can take Eddie out? I would suggest Hodge has the mongrel in him to pay extra attention to him. I don't believe Eddie covers a lot of ground these days so that ought suit Hodge.
Whilst footy is a complex game of 22 per side, I believe Saturdays game can be simplified by focusing on these three battles. I'm confident that Sloane can be made ineffective by Robinson, reasonably sure tactics are in place to frustrate Tex & hopeful Betts kicks no more than two. This being the case, it's the Lions by 17pts.