Toast “Mark LeCras wins flag, you know what happened next”

[xLeCrAs2x]

He became my favourite player in 2007 in round 22 when we played the saints and he kicked the sealer from 50 on the run. Remember telling my mate at the game he’s going to be a great player, was blessed to be at the game where he sunk Essendon on his own, have met him a few times when they train in Melbourne and he’s signed a couple of my jumpers with the number 2 on them, he was really surprised I had his number on them... I need to change my username now

 

[xLeCrAs2x]

Also the way he was holding onto the cup was so clear that he wanted this more than any player on our list. Well deserved

 

[Biggie]

Quite fitting that his last act was him embracing the s**t out of JK.

Bloody good mates, JK would’ve shed a tear no doubt.

 

[JackDoff]

Didnt think i would tear up watching the video , the GF. JK cuddle and Reddo tryin to get in on the action was funny .
Great Bloke , loved watching him , great sense of humour . Thank you Mark Lecras.

Boondy where to find the video please?

 

[Bleedblueandgold]

Boondy where to find the video please?

Just watched the video. Pretty emotional stuff...

 

[BlueandGoldforever]

At his peak, he was an exceptional player. He had great goal sense, accurate kick, was a decent overhead mark in his heyday and very clever at getting space on his opponent.

He did the right thing by himself and the club by retiring now. A great way to exit.

I shall always remember Mark LeCras at his best.

 

[DanWCE]

Also the way he was holding onto the cup was so clear that he wanted this more than any player on our list. Well deserved

He didn't let that thing go! So happy for him. Keep the user name, honour the great man.

 

[KBLT]

The first numbered jumper I ever bought for myself was number 2. I wore that jumper to the game he kicked 12 goals, which is still one of my favourite footy moments in my life and only the second game I had gone to at that point, the other being the 05 QF loss. For a few years, Lecca became my favourite player, especially in the dark days.

He will be missed.

 

[Natho]

Is he the last player to have played during the 06 season?

Pretty devastated he's finished. Serious player. Dug in when the club was struggling and very much deserves the premiership medal.

Going to miss him and JK's bromance. All the best you extremely attractive man.

 

[SloppyJoe]

Out and out gun in his heyday. Gave us many great moments to cherish.

All the best, Mark.

 

[MWPP]

Is he the last player to have played during the 06 season?

Hurn also played in 2006 .

 

[Desert Rat]

The best set shot at goal I’ve ever seen before he did his arm.
Will be sorely missed.
Great player and clubman.
Hopefully he has a bit of a coaching role in the future ?

 

[Natho]

Hurn also played in 2006 .

Wow there you go. Always thought he debuted in 07.

 

[Forward Press]

Wow there you go. Always thought he debuted in 07.

Given the state of his hairline it would be more likely he debuted in 1907 than 2007.

Also, I know it wasn't for us at the time but Kennedy was playing for the Blues in 2006.

 

[Natho]

Given the state of his hairline it would be more likely he debuted in 1907 than 2007.

Also, I know it wasn't for us at the time but Kennedy was playing for the Blues in 2006.

Fair to say he looked 31 on draft day

 

[omgfridge]

The video farewell is so good.

I love that well at least among my friends anyway, it was joked he could be a bit selfish and have a ping as soon as he was within 70m. Grand final day he gets it 25m out directly in front and handballs over the top to Hutch.

Champion!

 

[MWPP]

Also, I know it wasn't for us at the time but Kennedy was playing for the Blues in 2006.

And Simmo was playing for North in 2006

 

[Forward Press]

And Simmo was playing for North in 2006

Looked it up, Simpson played against Kennedy in 2007. In fact, he has played against Masten, Hurn and LeCras of those in our premiership team.

 

[Gman12]

One of my favourite players, as my only avatar ever on here will testify to. I met Le Cras and a good few other players in 2013. Through something I was doing in sports at home, I got to go to an Eagles training session in Subiaco so was on the field for training and in the rooms then for the afternoon. LeCras had the issues with his arm at the time and said it was still bothering him. He was having bother with set shots at the time so being the armchair supporter I queried was his arm affecting his dropping of the ball and he said probably, but was probably more mentally affecting him than physically, which made sense. I also recall seeing a fan mail letter on the wall in the corridors addressed to Lecca where the guy told him all about his own problems with his injuries and how to fight through it. I thought it was great that not only did he read it, but it got posted on the wall of the corridor for players to see the fans support for the team.

A great player and a great person. Very honest with his effort. Delighted to see him win a premiership. All the best to him in retirement.

 

[onebillsdrive]

Fair to say he looked 31 on draft day

Fair to say he looked 31 at birth!!

 

[Trav22]

What an absolute legend
Goes down as number 2 as all time favorite eagle!
Right after Ben “knows how to have a good time” Cousins

 

[Biggie]

Just watched the video. Pretty emotional stuff...

******* onions

amiright?

 

[Matera92]

Gonna miss the stud, what a gun forward he's been for a decade.

Well done Lecca, you'll be sorely missed.

 

[BigVic]

Missed '06, played in the losing '15 side and went on on a high in the '18 Premiership side. One of the all time greats at the Eagles and arguably our best small forward.

Simpson was a player with his assistants Petrie and Pratt at the Roos and Kennedy was Blue in 2006.

Congratulations on a wonderful career. You will be missed.

 

[wce4premiership]

But Mark, I love you

On a more serious note, I couldn't be happier for anyone in our team except possibly JK.

Lecras was the best small forward in the competition for 2 years, robbed of his first AA guernsey in 2009. Only an ACL could slow him down and stop him being revered as one of the best smalls to have played, on top of that his wrist, broken arms and hips.

He played great seasons in 2009 and 2010 as our only shining light. He was literally a class above every player on our list (except perhaps Kerr when he finally played a full season) and often moved to the middle throughout his career to add some one touch ability at stoppages.

I always admired Lecras for two reasons; his kicking action and his one touch ability.

I remember when he started I had dreams of him being a Ben Cousins understudy, starting out in the forward line and slowly progressing into the midfield. There were similar traits at times, namely their smarts in ball use but Lecras turned into an absolute nightmare matchup in the forward 50. His action so natural it was like Federer playing tennis compared to some of the others on our team. He would kick great set shots but he would deftly hit a forward with a soft pass that's easy to mark with no trouble at all, he looked effortless in doing so.

His variations between kicks would have made Dermott Brereton hard, he'd hit top spinners to get the hard/more immediate curve, hit under the belly more when the kick required time for the wind to drag it through the big sticks, outside of the boot to perfection, would alter his drop to create a higher contact point if he thought he might be smothered around the corner and he could hit any kick without having to look at the goals. He understood that ever changing fight between force, trajectory, hang time and contact point that makes each kick unique.

He had great seasons besides the two everyone mentions:
2011 - He increased his midfield time slightly in a year where Nicoski moved forward with 41 goals Lecras produced career best years in tackles (86) and i50s (82) as his marks i50 dropped but his disposals increased, yet he still managed 47 goals 29 behinds. He also chipped in with over 40 clearances.

2015 - One of his best all round seasons. At a time when Cripps and Hill were having career best seasons and chipping in on the scoreboard, whilst JK was the best FF in the game, he moved even more into the middle getting career highs in: Disposals (440), Uncontested possessions, Contested possessions, Goal Assists (25) and Hit-Outs (1).
All this whilst still kicking 45 goals, 31 behinds.

I also count 2016 as a very successful year: 38 goals, 27 behinds, 75 tackles. Keeping in mind who he played alongside in these years, the best FF in the competition.

He's probably the best touch kick I've seen for players running into open space, always hit people in stride. See the link in the video below (s**t music I know) for some of the best of Lecras, take special note of how many times he will gather a ball cleanly in one motion being ready to kick. His speed was that of his mind, he got some ridiculous shots off just by being clean





On a side note for those that complained that he never tackled well. He averaged 2.72 tackles per game, had 5 seasons with over 60 tackles (Daniel Kerr had 6 from a similar amount of games averaging 2.99) and he stacks up reasonably well against some of the other small forwards from our club or recent history:

3.15 - Eddie Betts
3.12 - H. Ballantyne
2.76 - Chad Wingard
2.72 - Mark Lecras
2.71 - Michael Walters
2.63 - W. Rioli (can improve for sure, small sample size)
1.78 - Alan Didak
1.71 - Stephen Milne
1.60 - Jeff Farmer
1.39 - Phil Matera

Cyril and Cripps are in a different league averaging over 4 per game.