2nds 2021 VFL and East Coast Second-Tier Competition

Too many kids with no idea how to handle the conditions. Thought Keidean stood out like dogs balls as our best.
Berry Jnr worked hard but he did turn the ball over a bit. Not that he was alone in that.
 

Quigley

Norm Smith Medallist
Sep 23, 2006
8,700
10,315
Bangalla
AFL Club
Brisbane Lions
A pretty ordinary game all up today. We had over half the team as top up players and they were exposed pretty regularly. Special Bruce had an absolute shocker in the first half butchering the ball time and again. He improved a bit in the second half but it was a low bar. I have been keeping a bit of an eye on Tasker and he was decent today doing a few nice things. Overall the kids were outmuscled and did not get to the spots they needed to get to. The older, bigger stronger and smarter opponents outplayed them in the wet.

My thoughts on some of our players from today:

Ballenden - another really good game from Ballenden and would be close to our best. Punched a lot in the first quarter but as things started to dry out started to back himself to take a mark where others were dropping them left right and centre. Had a really good second quarter. Dropped a few in the third but was still good. Rucked a bit in the last and was actually more effective than Fullarton. He continues to impress at a spot where we are actually stacked.

Fullarton - was very ordinary I thought. Not effective in the ruck contest and gave nothing around the ground I thought.

Berry Jnr - went pretty hard and got a fair bit of it but he didn't really take over the game at any stage. He was certainly not the presence in the middle that Mathieson was last week. Not a lot of hurt factor in his disposals. Did a bit of trotting along with the play as well when in camera when a full throttle chase back was warranted.

Sharp - is already starting to put on some bulk which is good to see but was another who was trailing along with the play a bit. Needs to use his running power to actually influence play. He needs to get smarter about when and where to run as at the moment he is running up and down in a crowd and not getting to space when we have the ball and cruising along with the ball when the opposition have it rather than getting to where it is going.

B Smith - had a pretty poor game all things considered. His kicking looks good but he turned it over a lot today. Defensively he was generally solid but did make a few mistakes which cost shots on goal. I expected better from him.

K Coleman - was an almost day for him. He played a lot through the midfield and got plenty of it. In the first half in particular though he had trouble staying on his feet and collecting the ball. As it dried out he started to come into the game more. He still did not quite have the influence on the game he could have but he still did some really nice things and looked classy with a lot of things almost coming off. I am liking the fact that he is getting plenty of midtime while we are short. He is developing nicely and I would really like to see him getting time on the wing at the end of the year (Prior to HB when Birchall retires and Coleman or Sharp to the wing).

B Coleman - played mostly up forward but was another who got a bit of midfield time. Was not as good as his brother but he did some nice things. He is not a midfielder at this stage though.

McFadyen - started a bit slow up forward but worked more into the game as it went along. Moved onto ball for periods in the second half and was one of our best in the last. He showed his good hands a couple of times but did not really get much separation up forward. He has the kind of big body that we can definitely use in the middle and he did okay in there late.

Uosis - was played as a back pocket today and was pretty solid without standing out too much. Kicking a couple of nice balls off the ground and was solid enough with ball in hand although I do remember an error by foot late in the game.

Michael - positioned himself well in defence today and took quite a lot of intercept possessions. Overall I think he was very good but for a guy who has a reputation as a very good kick his disposal was disappointing. He got it a heap but nothing much came of it. I have to say though that he performed nicely defensively today and better than I expected him at this stage. There is some nice things to build on.
 

AFLQLD

Premiership Player
Jul 15, 2012
4,268
15,038
AFL Club
Brisbane Lions
Other Teams
There are other teams?
Michael - positioned himself well in defence today and took quite a lot of intercept possessions. Overall I think he was very good but for a guy who has a reputation as a very good kick his disposal was disappointing. He got it a heap but nothing much came of it. I have to say though that he performed nicely defensively today and better than I expected him at this stage. There is some nice things to build on.

I think Carter will take some time to get his skills up when playing the game at this faster level and faster again at AFL level but he instinctively reads the play better than most and gets to the right positions. Hopefully the feeling of needing to rush will ease as he gets more comfortable and he finds his targets more often. A lot to work on but showing a couple of signs.

The Academy boys: I thought Abberley had one or two nice moments without really standing out. Dan Lanthois didn’t look overawed stepping up and would have learned a bit getting his taste of VFL. Got himself a goal for being alert.
 

Johnny Bananas

Premiership Player Hater
Sep 10, 2010
12,674
17,002
Next door
AFL Club
Brisbane Lions
B Smith - had a pretty poor game all things considered. His kicking looks good but he turned it over a lot today. Defensively he was generally solid but did make a few mistakes which cost shots on goal. I expected better from him.
Brock needs to get on his bike, two poor games in a row. It'd suck if we had to cut him after two seasons, particularly as he went straight after two players I liked who I was hoping we'd trade up for.
 
Cockatoo play?


Sent from my iPhone using BigFooty.com

No, he didn't play today. Could have been rested I reckon from playing due to his injury record but not 100% sure on that so take that information with a grain of salt. I really hope he isn't injured again though.
 
Last edited:
Brock needs to get on his bike, two poor games in a row. It'd suck if we had to cut him after two seasons, particularly as he went straight after two players I liked who I was hoping we'd trade up for.

It's often a bit of a worry for me if a player is getting passed over for opportunities in favour of those drafted behind him in the same year, because it shows his development is lagging behind guys who could have been tipped as less promising prospects.

Our two picks after Smith were Coleman and Prior, one of which has had a very good run of games and the other who's looked very stable in the seniors this year. Not a great look.

(I acknowledge different players develop at different rates, but without insight from within the Lions organization this has been a pretty indicative metric in the past.)
 
I’d suspect if we had a depth chart, Brock slots into behind Lester and Gardiner. Admittedly I didn’t watch this latest match, but I don’t think a couple of below average games is worth clutching at pearls.
 

Johnny Bananas

Premiership Player Hater
Sep 10, 2010
12,674
17,002
Next door
AFL Club
Brisbane Lions
I’d suspect if we had a depth chart, Brock slots into behind Lester and Gardiner. Admittedly I didn’t watch this latest match, but I don’t think a couple of below average games is worth clutching at pearls.
That's all well and good, but each season we have to cut at least three players and a third-string player is disposable. People have suggested Ballenden will go, but he looks like a million bucks when compared to Brock Smith at present.
 

jackess

Cancelled
30k Posts 10k Posts
Aug 10, 2005
46,545
42,486
AFL Club
Brisbane Lions
That's all well and good, but each season we have to cut at least three players and a third-string player is disposable. People have suggested Ballenden will go, but he looks like a million bucks when compared to Brock Smith at present.

Given how soft Ballenden is I’d be more confident of Brock Smith making it as an AFL level footballer.
 
Jan 13, 2016
2,400
4,032
Brisbane
AFL Club
Brisbane Lions
Given how soft Ballenden is I’d be more confident of Brock Smith making it as an AFL level footballer.
That has been my view on Balenden for a while however I think there has been a slow burn in his improvement and he is well worth persevering with. He is standing up stronger in the ruck and his reading of the ball in the backline has been very good in the ressies. Elite kick as well.
 

Johnny Bananas

Premiership Player Hater
Sep 10, 2010
12,674
17,002
Next door
AFL Club
Brisbane Lions
Given how soft Ballenden is I’d be more confident of Brock Smith making it as an AFL level footballer.
Big men only really come into their own by their mid-20s unless they're a real superstar. It's only at that point their bodies are mature enough to compete with veterans. Ballenden still has time to get his mentality right, which I believe is possible with the right sports psychologists.
 

Quigley

Norm Smith Medallist
Sep 23, 2006
8,700
10,315
Bangalla
AFL Club
Brisbane Lions
Given how soft Ballenden is I’d be more confident of Brock Smith making it as an AFL level footballer.

He is taking pack marks and crashing in. Certainly has not looked soft playing at the back. He has been a dominant presence and on form I would expect his manager to be getting plenty of calls about moving clubs if he does not get any chances at the Lions.

On Brock I agree that he suffers a bit from being stuck behind Gardner and Lester. He is a bit pigeon-holed as a third tall and us having a couple veteran types in that role. He could also be suffering from the lack of quality in the reserves at the moment. He looked good in week 1 when he had more support but on his own back there he has made a few mistakes with guys not getting to space as quickly as they should and him needing to do more defensively.
 

briztoon

Wannabe Draft Nuffie
Nov 28, 2015
26,156
32,473
Brisbane
AFL Club
Brisbane Lions
Other Teams
NUFC, Philadelphia 76'ers
It's often a bit of a worry for me if a player is getting passed over for opportunities in favour of those drafted behind him in the same year, because it shows his development is lagging behind guys who could have been tipped as less promising prospects.

Our two picks after Smith were Coleman and Prior, one of which has had a very good run of games and the other who's looked very stable in the seniors this year. Not a great look.

(I acknowledge different players develop at different rates, but without insight from within the Lions organization this has been a pretty indicative metric in the past.)
As mentioned, Brock plays a different position to Coleman and Prior, and hasn’t really had the opportunities, due to first team injuries, that Coleman, Prior, TBerry and Robertson have had.

Brock’s natural position is as a slightly undersized third tall, or general defender similar to Lester.
 
That's all well and good, but each season we have to cut at least three players and a third-string player is disposable. People have suggested Ballenden will go, but he looks like a million bucks when compared to Brock Smith at present.
Like I said, it's just a couple of games.
 
Nov 26, 2018
5,838
8,904
AFL Club
Brisbane Lions
Regarding Ballenden he just turned 22 but i don't see him breaking into our forward line
He may get a chance again in the ruck if Oscar goes down but lets hope Oscar plays out the year.
I have been impressed with his defense in the VFL and can see his development in that role. Looks more comfortable down back.
He actually appears a bit quicker in defense but then again it is the VFL
He is a good kick takes a strong mark and reads the play well in defense
If defense is to be his role in future I think he might need to trim down a bit.
I believe he is out of contract this year so be interesting what the club thinks of his future.
 

Quigley

Norm Smith Medallist
Sep 23, 2006
8,700
10,315
Bangalla
AFL Club
Brisbane Lions
I have continued to be on the bandwagon for years even when all hope looked lost but Hammelmann continues to kick goals. This year in the VFL so far he has kicked 16 goals in 3 games after another 6 on the weekend. Any team looking light on for a KPF (eg us) should be looking at him imo. Athletic, good size and can just kick goals.
 

M Malice

Hall of Famer
Aug 31, 2015
31,433
72,024
By the Gabba.
AFL Club
Brisbane Lions
Other Teams
Valleys. Chelsea.
I have continued to be on the bandwagon for years even when all hope looked lost but Hammelmann continues to kick goals. This year in the VFL so far he has kicked 16 goals in 3 games after another 6 on the weekend. Any team looking light on for a KPF (eg us) should be looking at him imo. Athletic, good size and can just kick goals.
If it was a choice in 2 who would you rather on our list Matt Hammelmann or Connor Ballenden?
 
Back