Review Semi Final, 2024 - GWS vs. Brisbane Lions

[Paul Mac]

Just arrived home back in melbourne from driving to Sydney with our crew of 6. Words cannot explain this experience. Hugging people we have never met before, high fiving everyone in sight, heading to a pub across the road with many lions supporters where the songs sweet Caroline and country road take me home were pumped out and sang with severe ecstasy. I seriously cannot explain the joy this weekend has given us.
Started watching the replay and only watched the first quarter but seriously how does toby bedford

14

Toby Bedford

Age

25

Ht

179cm

Wt

75kg

Pos.

M/F

Career

Season

Last 5

D

8.0

2star

K

2.0

1star

HB

6.0

4star

M

1.0

1star

T

2.0

4star

CL

0.0

1star

D

8.0

2star

K

2.0

1star

HB

6.0

3star

M

1.0

1star

T

2.0

3star

CL

0.0

1star

D

8.0

2star

K

2.0

1star

HB

6.0

4star

M

1.0

1star

T

2.0

4star

CL

0.0

1star

get away with having his arms around Lachie's waste all the time at Centre bounce and bounces around the ground. How can not one umpire see this?
Anyway time for some sleep but a weekend we will never forget.

 

[Paul Mac]

Haven't had time to read through posts so if someone has made a comment like this i apologize.
The talk about only 18,000 people turning up to a 23,000 capacity stadium.
We stayed in a motel in Homebush. It was a 45 minute walk to the ground so the 6 of us decided to walk it. What i found astonishing on our walk was we did not see one bit of advertisement anywhere on our journey of a footy game being played at Engie Stadium. Could not believe nothing was anywhere around advertising, promoting a footy game whatsoever. No giants colours anywhere . We were walking to the game in all our lions kit and people were looking at us looking like they had no idea who and what we were following. I just found it staggering that the ground was a 10 minute drive and you would not have any idea the giants were playing a game of footy let alone a final.

 

[luthor]

Just arrived home back in melbourne from driving to Sydney with our crew of 6. Words cannot explain this experience. Hugging people we have never met before, high fiving everyone in sight, heading to a pub across the road with many lions supporters where the songs sweet Caroline and country road take me home were pumped out and sang with severe ecstasy. I seriously cannot explain the joy this weekend has given us.
Started watching the replay and only watched the first quarter but seriously how does toby bedford get away with having his arms around Lachie's waste all the time at Centre bounce and bounces around the ground. How can not one umpire see this?
Anyway time for some sleep but a weekend we will never forget.

Absolutely disgraceful the way Lachie is manhandled with no protection from the Umps.

There was a stoppage in the first quarter where three Giants were blocking him AND Bedford was also holding him.

UMPIRES: "Play on"

It's a weird juxtaposition that Lachie hardly ever gets a free kick, yet the Umpires regularly award him Browlow votes.

Almost like they think he is so good, he doesn't need any "help"

 

[Harris Specter]

Absolutely disgraceful the way Lachie is manhandled with no protection from the Umps.

There was a stoppage in the first quarter where three Giants were blocking him AND Bedford was also holding him.

UMPIRES: "Play on"

It's a weird juxtaposition that Lachie hardly ever gets a free kick, yet the Umpires regularly award him Browlow votes.

Almost like they think he is so good, he doesn't need any "help"

You can argue that Nick Daicos would have received 4-5 free kicks for the same treatment. Maybe Neale needs to wail his arms about more

 

[Sanchez365]

There's two things that have really been bugging me about the commentary on Joe Danniher and Cam Rayner after the game last night that i need to get out.

Firstly, for Joe his two "glaring errors" were wrapping around the back for the shot off Dunkley, sure execution was poor, but that was mostly because he rushed the shot. Jeremy Cameron

5

Jeremy Cameron

Age

33

Ht

196cm

Wt

94kg

Pos.

Fwd

Career

Season

Last 5

D

12.5

3star

K

9.0

3star

HB

3.4

3star

M

5.4

5star

T

1.6

4star

G

2.6

5star

D

10.0

3star

K

7.1

3star

HB

2.9

2star

M

4.6

4star

T

2.0

3star

G

1.9

5star

D

8.2

2star

K

5.0

2star

HB

3.2

3star

M

4.6

5star

T

2.4

4star

G

2.0

5star

does that all the time and people praise him for "taking on the responsibility". The second is his ruck contest against Briggs where he have away the free kick. Briggs ran straight through the path of the ball to block the drop and Danniher tried to evade him so he could get to it. If a ruckman blocks like that and doesn't get back to touch the ball it's a ruck infringement free kick. Danniher did so well to recognize that was Briggs plan and while he did catch him high, it was almost a 50/50 free kick. Keep in mind Briggs didn't touch the ball in that contest, so there was a free there waiting to be paid. Yet he's lambasted for it.

The other is people losing their mind about Rayner giving away 2 free kicks to Himmelberg. The one they did catch on camera was a massive dive from Himmelberg after he had his back to the contest effectively tackling Rayner before the ball was thrown in and Rayners attempt to break an illegal tackle Himmelberg dives from and gets a free kick. People easily seem to be forgetting the danger Rayner is bringing and while he had a quiet game, he still forced GWS to sacrifice Himmelbergs game to shut him down, and Rayner still had a massive few moments, including a big center clearance in the last quarter and his 2v1 body on the line win that has been spoken about.

 

[Grasshopper17]

11.5 in the second half

11-3 from the time we were 4-12. We completely reversed our trend from previous games, of starting accurately and then regressing.

To be fair tho I didn't think our kicking for goal was awful in the first 2.5 quarters, just that a lot of them were probably those 60-40 shots you expect to kick but understand when you don't. Probably the Hipwood miss the only real shocker. Maybe Daniher's close in snap early in the first quarter.

Expected score arguably backs this up. We were only -5 at quarter time and -10 at half time, then -8 at 3 quarter time. Probably picked up a few points on the Oscar goal and the Bailey snap. We ended up +6 so we certainly kicked well in the last quarter - probably Fletcher's goal along with Joe's from the boundary were the major gains.

But I didn't think we were horrible even at 4-12 to be honest - to me that looked a lot worse than it actually was.

 

[dlanod]

I was thinking about that last night. I mean how nutty was that.

But when Dizz recovers get ready for him to give it another crack. The old man is very stubborn.

Darcy was a stopgap with a lack of other options, I'll grant Fagan that much - Morris coming on has pretty much rendered Gardiner in the forward 50 moot I suspect. But if you're throwing Gardiner up there just to have that third tall, yeah you're committed (and maybe should be committed!).

 

[luthor]

Those lamenting the games of Rayner and Hipwood should go and have a good look at the replay


Both make significant contributions to our winning burst of 6 goals in the last quarter.

It's not all about stats and posessions and it never has been with either of these two players.

If one's measure of contribution towards team is AFL Fantasy points , you're just not paying attention to what matters

On SM-G973F using BigFooty.com mobile app

 

[Grasshopper17]

You can thank me for overreacting and cancelling my flights 5mins into the third.

Changed the whole complexion of the match.

Thankyou for taking one for the team. Set up a crowd funding thingy and I for one would be happy to chip in for your replacement flights.

One suggestion - at this late stage, depending on your preferences/other commitments you may find it cheaper to stay in Melbourne for the week than flying home on Sunday. I certainly did: I still have a flight booked for Sunday (via Sydney, given Vic school holidays start next weekend), but I can cancel this after the game next Saturday if we win

 

[Nathan Barley]

Darcy was a stopgap with a lack of other options, I'll grant Fagan that much - Morris coming on has pretty much rendered Gardiner in the forward 50 moot I suspect. But if you're throwing Gardiner up there just to have that third tall, yeah you're committed (and maybe should be committed!).

Most teams are going tall at the moment can't think of too many that can't apart from maybe the bottom teams who don't have the players to select

 

[Grasshopper17]

Can’t wait to actually re watch the game without the emotion and knowing the result.

I’ll also add, I usually don’t post in game day thread as I’m at games at home and when we play away I’m watching with family but I’m home alone tonight and i can see why I don’t post in them as I make and made way too many stupid comments even id be embarrassed reading again.

I love that you've owned this. Well done to everyone who haven't deleted their posts that turned out to be wrong - I'm sure many of us were thinking the exact same things at the time. As far as I'm concerned they all add to the rich tapestry of the game day thread and this one was great to read back over!

 

[M Malice]

Just F ing WOW! Being a final that tops the Miracle on Grass and was just as if not more elation when the siren went than the Semi Final win at the MCG v the Demons a couple of seasons ago.

What a game to be at live, thought we were dead a buried more than once, I didn't really think we were a realistic chance until around half way through the 4th quarter when the Giants went into save the game mode.

I am glad the players and coaching staff didn't give up when the Giants were 44 up going into time on in the 3rd quarter like the Lions fans in the crowd did, I mentioned to my son at the time that the players would realise the cause was lost and we could end up losing by 10+ goals... never been more happy to be wrong.

Daniher, Ashcroft, Berry, Ah Chee, McCluggage, McInerney, Zorko, Starcevich, Answerth were fantastic, the whole team lifted in the last quarter and most did some vital things to get the win. It was great to win a big final with Lachie not being a driving force of the win.

It was an enjoyable 10 hour drive back yesterday. Onward and upward to the MCG this Saturday, flights and accommodation already booked.

 

[luthor]

I also find it bemusing and amusing the belief some have that Kingsley "outcoached" Fagan


Since when does scowling ,yelling into the phone and running up and down waiving your arms about when the game is slipping away make you the better coach?

How easily observers are impressed with overt displays of emotion by coaches , rather than Grandpa Fages worried but calmer demeanour when things aren't running the teams' way

On SM-G973F using BigFooty.com mobile app

 

[Nathan Barley]

I also find it bemusing and amusing the belief some have that Kingsley "outcoached" Fagan


Since when does scowling ,yelling into the phone and running up and down waiving your arms about when the game is slipping away make you the better coach?

How easily observers are impressed with overt displays of emotion by coaches , rather than Grandpa Fages worried but calmer demeanour when things aren't running the teams' way

On SM-G973F using BigFooty.com mobile app

But what about his genius idea to tag Lachie Neale?

 

[Grasshopper17]

Just F ing WOW! Being a final that tops the Miracle on Grass and was just as if not more elation when the siren went than the Semi Final win at the MCG v the Demons a couple of seasons ago.

What a game to be at live, thought we were dead a buried more than once, I didn't really think we were a realistic chance until around half way through the 4th quarter when the Giants went into save the game mode.

I am glad the players and coaching staff didn't give up when the Giants were 44 up going into time on in the 3rd quarter like the Lions fans in the crowd did, I mentioned to my son at the time that the players would realise the cause was lost and we could end up losing by 10+ goals... never been more happy to be wrong.

Daniher, Ashcroft, Berry, Ah Chee, McCluggage, McInerney, Zorko, Starcevich, Answerth were fantastic, the whole team lifted in the last quarter and most did some vital things to get the win. It was great to win a big final with Lachie not being a driving force of the win.

It was an enjoyable 10 hour drive back yesterday. Onward and upward to the MCG this Saturday, flights and accommodation already booked.

Flying back to Brisbane this morning. Walking through Sydney airport still repping the colours and don't give a stuff who looks and what they think. Incredible performance. So proud.

Almost don't even care what happens next Saturday night right now but I'm sure that will change as the weekend approaches.

 

[LongLion]

A big shoutout to our supporters at the game. Could really hear the support and Fages clearly wanted to acknowledge them and their support at games end.

 

[M Malice]

I was stunned that the game wasn't a sell out, what is going on with Giants fans not showing up dlanod ?

They have 30,000+ members and can't sell out a 24,000 seat stadium for a knockout final, there were a large number of seats vacant in the upper tier.

 

[The Flying Belgian]

I was stunned that the game wasn't a sell out, what is going on with Giants fans not showing up dlanod ?

They have 30,000+ members and can't sell out a 24,000 seat stadium for a knockout final, there were a large number of seats vacant in the upper tier.

Dogs and cats not allowed in the ground?

 

[dlanod]

I was stunned that the game wasn't a sell out, what is going on with Giants fans not showing up dlanod ?

They have 30,000+ members and can't sell out a 24,000 seat stadium for a knockout final, there were a large number of seats vacant in the upper tier.

A third are in Canberra. A handful are neutrals getting access to priority grand final tickets (love these donations). A bunch are three game members where the finals tickets are too expensive (TM were pushing the $100 tickets, cheaper tickets only became available later). But basically COVID smashed the Giants' growth and this is the first year they've started recovering. To be honest it was the most people in Giants gear I've seen at any game - usually it's opposition supporters topping up the numbers.

 

[Voss the boss]

Hugging people we have never met before, high fiving everyone in sight, heading to a pub across the road with many lions supporters where the songs sweet Caroline and country road take me home were pumped out and sang with severe ecstasy. I seriously cannot explain the joy this weekend has given us.

I walked into a random shop in the middle of nowhere on Saturday morning, Korumburra for those of you that may know it, to check out some records, and the song playing as I walked in was country road, i just knew it was a sign

 

[Elixuh]

I was stunned that the game wasn't a sell out, what is going on with Giants fans not showing up dlanod ?

They have 30,000+ members and can't sell out a 24,000 seat stadium for a knockout final, there were a large number of seats vacant in the upper tier.

I tried to get tickets late last week and there was nothing but singles available. So I was very surprised to see the stadium so empty. I would have gone otherwise.

 

[StevoJenkins]

View attachment 2111757

Imagine walking away from your Wikipedia vandalism job, dusting your hands off and thinking 'yeah, that'll flipping do it"

Brent Daniels - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Listed as a typo in the edit history lol:

 

[Grasshopper17]

Can Allistair Nicholson call the grand final. Fantastic caller

If anyone wants to listen to a radio call during the weekend, I recommend the Triple M call. Just started listening to it on the flight home. BT is much better on radio than on TV, Jack Heverin seems like a pretty good co-caller also. Jude Bolton on special comms and the jewel in the crown is the always on point Lions nuffy Kate McCarthy.

And they were actually at the ground, which is more than you could say for 3AW I believe.

 

[dlanod]

I tried to get tickets late last week and there was nothing but singles available. So I was very surprised to see the stadium so empty. I would have gone otherwise.

They were dribbling out upper level seats for some absolutely bizarre reason. Those were also the cheap ones. It definitely didn't help crowd numbers.

 

[dlanod]

country road take me home were pumped out and sang with severe ecstasy

My daughter asked if they were going to play the Lions' goal songs so I explained they only did that at Gabba games. She said she still hoped Charlie kicked a goal, I said why given the goal song won't be played, her response was that she was sure the crowd would still sing it - she was right.