Review Round 24, 2025 - Brisbane Lions vs. Hawthorn

[braddsey]

I wonder what we do with Bailey once Neale returns. Looks great in the midfield. I'd like to use him more against teams with smaller, weaker midfields like Geelong and Hawthorn but maybe give our bigger stronger midfielders a larger share against teams like GWS who have the big bulls in there

Keep him in the mix as another point of difference. Doesn't need to be at every centre bounce, but he's shown he can deliver something special. Given Lachie a bit more of a break if needed so he can show his best more regularly.
Likely particularly useful if the opposition starts to show they're getting on top so mix it up with a different element they need to think about.

 

[twhowler]

THE GOOD

Guts and Determination – plenty of players out. Missing goals. We hung in there. We also looked gone in the last but didn’t drop our bundle

Wilmot- what a player. Heart in mouth stuff but he just backs himself, and is so damn evasive

Rayner – being able to go from zero to hero. 0 touches first quarter. That used to be him gone for the day. Not any more.

Fort – just battled really well. Yes Meek got dangerous but he is a very good ruckman.

Starce – back to form. He would be my priority number one to sign. Up his offer. Get in his ear. He’s a gun. Would not want to lose Starce and Lester at once.

The inexperienced ones – they could have been our achilles heel. Bruce was quite good I thought and is starting to look like he belongs. Marshall is so poised already! Gallop gave what we wanted, fought so hard and didn’t give up. Tunstill had that great mark at the end, albeit the kick made me nervous!

Finishing 3rd – great effort with that draw and those injuries. I think we get a lot of ticks:

• Top 4
• No Perth at all, and no Adelaide Oval until at least the prelim
• No GWS or Adelaide until prelim at least (these are the sides we want to avoid I think)

THE BAD

Still worries me that we seem to all stop running as a collective. You can always tell because we will have kick in or a mark at half back, and the kicker has zero options. Nobody even going for a lead. To his credit when it happened to Wilmot, he dinked a kick 15m up the guts, got the handball, and then just created some chaos. Ended up in a goal. Would not have happened with any other player

Having to rely on the same key forwards against Geelong – not their fault. We don’t have anyone else. But it’s going to be very hard.

THE UGLY

Goal kicking. Feel like we need to do something about this. We have a long break. Seems to often start with Charlie.

AND ANOTHER THING

I was thinking about the changes to our best 23 from last year through injury and Joe, came up with this:

Daniher – Day

Hipwood – Gallop

McKenna – Tunstill

Berry – Levi

Payne – Gardiner

Neale – Reville

McInerney – Fort

Answerth – Marshall

Coleman and McCarthy obviously unavailable to fill any gaps.

That is a significant weakening of our team, and erosion of our experience. And yet we kept our structure and played the same style, and were largely on top of a good opponent in good form. It says to me that our system, which probably a few of us have question as not being top tier, is pretty damn good

And that's it i'm done and i will never mention Joe Daniher again

 

[Section 5]

I wonder what we do with Bailey once Neale returns. Looks great in the midfield. I'd like to use him more against teams with smaller, weaker midfields like Geelong and Hawthorn but maybe give our bigger stronger midfielders a larger share against teams like GWS who have the big bulls in there

Back to where he also plays very well.
That being forward/wing with some mid time

Brings our wings back to Berry, Levi & Bailey

 

[braddsey]

THE UGLY

Goal kicking. Feel like we need to do something about this. We have a long break. Seems to often start with Charlie.

This game was an exception. These are our scores since the bye:
Hawthorn: 11.23
Freo: 15.11
Sydney: 13.12
Collingwood: 14.8
Gold Coast: 9.10
Bulldogs: 12.14
Carlton: 15.13
Port Adelaide: 18.12

Nothing remarkable, but certainly not awful by AFL standards. All I would be doing is focussing on The Goldfish mantra. Miss a goal, forget it, kick the next one.

 

[janty]

Wilmot is a real difference maker. So quick and decisive at getting the ball up the field. I also noticed he was off the field when Hawthorn scored some of their goals. Probably BOG for me, just ahead of Clug and Dunkley.

Wouldn’t be too many players beside Watson last night that could bring him down from behind.

 

[Johnny Bananas]

Always welcome here Brutus, hope you'll be on board for finals!

They post garbage "rumours" here, don't know why they're welcomed after that.

 

[HereIGoAgain]

On first viewing, I thought it was skill execution gone wrong and I accept what King said in that why would Hawks want the ball OOB in that position, but on review, to me at least, at looks like he was deliberately trying to disguise it as a mis-handball with every intention of wanting it out. Obviously I'm bias, but that doesn't look a genuine attempt to hit his teammate.

You are correct. The Vic media have set the narrative but the sheer amount of copium involved just makes the Hawks look weak. The new darlings of the AFL world couldn't beat a team with half it's players out and with nine players under 23 is the real story here.

 

[DERRINALPHIL]

It is a pity our VFL team isn't playing this week. I know they (the VFL guys)earnt a week off but we may need even more replacements. God forbid.

 

[Squizz89]

I wonder what we do with Bailey once Neale returns. Looks great in the midfield. I'd like to use him more against teams with smaller, weaker midfields like Geelong and Hawthorn but maybe give our bigger stronger midfielders a larger share against teams like GWS who have the big bulls in there

Would definitely add him into the rotation if we can somehow. He has definitely added something to the mix in there with a bit of pace, which we lack otherwise. Doesn’t have to be much, but he’s dangerous if he can get into the game a bit more.

 

[Cockliff38]

xScore had us winning by 48

 

[Brizzys Squizzy]

Ah Chee to Stewart.

Stuff that, let's do our own thing and make Stewart accountable, that's what we've done in the past...bring it on

 

[Nathan Barley]

Stuff that, let's do our own thing and make Stewart accountable, that's what we've done in the past...bring it on

Still love when Charlie took him to the cleaners several years back and he sooked for most of the game

 

[Mr Ripper]

The thing was that Amon wasnt being tackled so the sloppy handball is on him and if they don't pay it deliberate then teams will start deliberately miskicking to get the ball out.

If the handball was impacted by an opponent then play on

The most farcical thing about this farcical law is that you have an ‘out’ if you have poor skills.

 

[twhowler]

This game was an exception. These are our scores since the bye:
Hawthorn: 11.23
Freo: 15.11
Sydney: 13.12
Collingwood: 14.8
Gold Coast: 9.10
Bulldogs: 12.14
Carlton: 15.13
Port Adelaide: 18.12

Nothing remarkable, but certainly not awful by AFL standards. All I would be doing is focussing on The Goldfish mantra. Miss a goal, forget it, kick the next one.

Yeah i get what you are saying - and Fagan has said before don't let it become a bigger issue

But some of the misses in that swans game seemed very costly so i think i would add that game as one that really cost us, and Sunday was a nearly cost us

A bit of a worry that it pops up often enough, and we are rated 13th for accuracy. We did come good for the finals.

 

[knaf]

In case Lester calls it a day, the quickest way Doedee can re-pay our investment is to shadow Lester all off-season and learn from every single play and how he handles it. It's no shame in trying to understand a working model from the incumbent expert so you can replicate it for the following year and beyond.

I reckon Lester is holding out for a two year deal. Sick of all the one year offers.

 

[CarterS]

Someone sitting near me was screaming out "Go back to hogwarts" every time Watson had the ball.

 

[mpal6]

Yeah i get what you are saying - and Fagan has said before don't let it become a bigger issue

But some of the misses in that swans game seemed very costly so i think i would add that game as one that really cost us, and Sunday was a nearly cost us

A bit of a worry that it pops up often enough, and we are rated 13th for accuracy. We did come good for the finals.

The law of averages suggest we are going to shoot the lights out at some point. Like a 22.8 or 25.5 or something.

Good that we have only finals games left now to prove it.

 

[brutus76]

On last year's structure that would be correct but as the Suns play Wednesday and likely have to go to WA I'm sure the AFL will give them an extra day of rest seeing they'll have to fly to Perth to play the Dockers

Common sense for once by the AFL

Suns will want to win by the required margin against us to play Freo as they won't wanna play the Giants who have won the last 6 against them - at least when it comes to Freo they have actually beatem them i think 3 out of their last 7 encounters

 

[CarterS]

The law of averages suggest we are going to shoot the lights out at some point. Like a 22.8 or 25.5 or something.

Good that we have only finals games left now to prove it.

2nd half of the 2nd quarter in the GF last year we kicked what, 6 or 7 straight? Even Hipwood's miracle ball was going in. In the final vs GWS we were 9.13 and finished on 15.15, Cats Prelim was similar. I feel like we have a record good enough in big games to be confident that we will pull it together.

 

[Nathan Barley]

Someone sitting near me was screaming out "Go back to hogwarts" every time Watson had the ball.

Dom Fay?

 

[M Malice]

Heart warming to see Lachie, Jack and Hippy on the ground greeting the boys before they run down the race post the victory.

 

[twhowler]

The first time i saw Rayner kick his long goal i thought - weird, he only just made it, that was risky

On watching it again he lets it go from 60m. If he kicked it high it could have been touched on the line by the hawthorn player. So he kicks a dart, which clears the goalline from 60m straight through the middle. Elite kick. Hope Danster was watching

 

[dlanod]

Common sense for once by the AFL

Suns will want to win by the required margin against us to play Freo as they won't wanna play the Giants who have won the last 6 against them - at least when it comes to Freo they have actually beatem them i think 3 out of their last 7 encounters

I think the Suns will go hell for leather - they've never played finals, they wouldn't want to mess it up now.

Margin will only come into it if there's five minutes to go and they're a goal either side of the required IMO.

 

[braddsey]

The most farcical thing about this farcical law is that you have an ‘out’ if you have poor skills.

True - but they pay insufficient intent if a kick under pressure goes out due insufficient skill.
If they didn’t pay the Amon free then they open up the option for players to mis-queue a handball when under pressure so the team can reset.

Right call for me, regardless of his intent.

 

[Bucking Beads]

The first time i saw Rayner kick his long goal i thought - weird, he only just made it, that was risky

On watching it again he lets it go from 60m. If he kicked it high it could have been touched on the line by the hawthorn player. So he kicks a dart, which clears the goalline from 60m straight through the middle. Elite kick. Hope Danster was watching

TBH I am still not recovered from them scoring after this goal.