Review 2014- Three things I learned

[matwt73]

Ala Game Day, what are the three things you Learned from Season 2014?

1- We still don't know if we have the pieces of a functional forward line. For the last three years we have wondered what we are going to do when Brown retires, he has retired and as promising as some of the Close and Freeman signs were we are still wondering. The fact that the mozzie squad came together and provided goal and pressure options shouldn't hide the fact that there are still some big holes in front of goal. If we know that Green and Taylor are locks for 2015, and Sam Mayes can move forward again to a HFF, that still leaves a lot of questions

2- Rockliff can't do it all on his own. Last year we learnt Rockliff was a midfielder not a forward. this year the rest of the comp learned that he is an elite midfielder, we know as lions supporters that he able to bring his team-mates into the play and work in traffic. What we have also seen though is that Rocky getting huge numbers does not always equate to a win. That is less a reflection on Rocky than on the rest of the team, if those around him continue to develop (and there are positive signs) or come back well from Injury (please) we will improve.

3- Leppa can coach. There is a lot to coaching, there is having a vision, there is selling that vision, there is keeping heads up when the vision looks shaky and there is being adaptable enough to mold the vision to the circumstances. There is teaching, and letting players learn, and making a club an environment where players want to be and learn and develop together. There is taking the role seriously, but not taking yourself too seriously. Leppa has succeeded as a coach this year on levels that 7 wins just don't do justice to.

 

[POBT]

1. No matter how talented, youngsters cannot fully replace mature footballers.

2. Hanley and Zorko are genuine AFL standard midfielders, not just flankers.

3. Nothing is more important than creating a positive team environment where players play for each other and take pride in the jumper.

 

[Rally]

In addition to what you said, I also learned...

1. 2013 has the makings of a SuperDraft. Taylor, Aish, Gardiner, McStay, Cutler, Roberston plus Freeman. This is the draft that could be the making of this club.

2. The importance of Redden and Rich. Sometimes it takes losing something to appreciate how important it is. Missing the pressure of Redden and the class of Rich was devastating, but the silver lining is it allowed Rocky, Hanley and Zorko to flourish and exposed Aish and Taylor to more midfield time than they may have had.

3. Josh Green can be an elite goal-sneak. Pieced together his most consistent season, averaging 1.7 goals and collecting five bags of 3. With a more stable forward set up he will be very dangerous in 2015.

 

[Cockliff38]

1. Magure still has a part to play. Our defence was diabolical early, and improved noticeably when Maguire was eventually included. Clarke's improving nicely but I think Magure instills confidence and structure as an experienced head.
2. Daniel McStay is going to be a star. He's definitely not a project player. I'd say he's already top 5 best kick at the club but overall he has the tools to be something special. Cannot wait for the ride.
3. Leppa can coach. We've got a man with an excellent footy brain at the helm. I'm confident in the direction we're heading and think we could improve considerably next season

 

[Haso]

Aside from 'Never get involved in a land war in Asia' I learned never to go in against a Sicilian when death is on the line.

Also that:

1. We don't bat as shallow in the midfield as we think, and this will only get better in 2-3 years. The youngsters held together better than we would have though when Leuey, Rich and Redden went down and Moloney couldn't run.

2. Just because a young tall forward wasn't picked up as a top 10 pick doesn't mean he won't be a success to varying degrees.

3. Darcy Gardner (while copping seriously misdirected disrespect and flack from commentary in the last 2 weeks) will be a feared backman very very soon.

 

[POBT]

3. Josh Green can be an elite goal-sneak. Pieced together his most consistent season, averaging 1.7 goals and collecting five bags of 3. With a more stable forward set up he will be very dangerous in 2015.

Yep, good one. One of the biggest positives out of 2014.

 

[Toffee Lion]

1) Injuries and fitness concerns.

Far to many injuries and sometimes our players just looked far to tired in games, maybe it's time to move on Burton because I don't see much improvements on fitness.

2) Sacking Voss was the right move, just went about it the wrong way.

Love Vossy but he never gave kids half the chance Leppa has given them, dropping them after 1-2 games then in-out depending on performances.

Leppa has dropped the 50+ gamers for bad performances and kept the kids in for development and to get better, been rewarded too with them getting better each game.

3) Swann and Lethal can turn this club around, quicker then we thought.

They have presence and are fearfully respected footy heads, they know what a successful environment looks like and how winners are made - both on and off the field.

Great men to lead the club going forward, we're in safe hands.

 

[Elixuh]

Aside from 'Never get involved in a land war in Asia' I learned never to go in against a Sicilian when death is on the line.

Truly Haso you have a dizzying intellect!

3. Josh Green can be an elite goal-sneak. Pieced together his most consistent season, averaging 1.7 goals and collecting five bags of 3. With a more stable forward set up he will be very dangerous in 2015.

If we can get a forward line where the big guys compete every time and at least bring the ball to ground I think Green will be able to increase that goal average.

 

[jackess]

1. The draftees are physically more prepared for AFL than they have ever been. Taylor runs out a whole season after missing the whole pre-season and our first 6 picks in last years draft all looked good at AFL level.

2. Despite missing the top 8 last year by a couple of kicks we are a long way from being a top 8 team. We only played one 4 quarter effort after an injury ravaged Magpies.

3. Our club has a lot of fight. Despite being awful most of the year we managed a few good wins against teams above us (Carlton, Collingwood, Bulldogs, Gold Coast and North). I think we overachieved with 7 wins but managed to catch a few teams on the hop by coming out 'switched on'.

 

[Grimlions]

My three are more reiterations rather than lessons.

1. New game plans take time. Regardless of how young your list is, injuries to key players & adversities off the field - new game plans take 12-18 months to come into effect. West Coast had a list that is in a premiership window but failed to make finals this year, because they had a new coach and a new plan. Brisbane spent the first 10 rounds unable to execute what Leppa was teaching and then fell on old habits, which created disaster losses against Gold Coast, Port Adelaide & Sydney. Our game plan was at its best during the 2nd quarter against North at the Gabba in round 15, 10 months after Leppa took over! In this quarter, we transitioned the ball in an S shape which allowed our midfielders shots on goal & set up our defence for turnovers. Great teams like Sydney, Fremantle & Hawthorn rely on sides to bomb the ball aimlessly to contests so they can set up their structure running forward - Leppa's plan of transitioning the ball in different angles across the field minimizes the damage.

2. One week is a long time in footy for Brisbane. On three occasions this year we won games of footy after being belted the week before by 80+ points. They weren't against weaker sides either (Carlton, North & Collingwood). Leppa stated earlier in the year, regardless of whether we win by 100+ or lose by 100+, the mindset of every player remains the same week in week out. He advocated a relaxed mindset for our younger players which allowed us to achieve these great victories against all odds. Building belief in your own ability is just as important as building belief in the team’s plan – Leppa acknowledged that we were inferior compared to a handful of sides, but he always backed our players to deliver their best performance regardless of their shortcomings in the previous week.

3. Kids play when they want to stay. The Go Home 5 was difficult to accept for some, but I found it rather bittersweet. Polec, Karnezis, Longer, Yeo & Docherty were not all regular inclusions in our best 22 last year but they had every chance to be if they harbored a stronger mindset about their importance to the club. Each one of these players excluding Karnezis are now a regular fixture in their new sides 22, because they want to be at the club they play for. People complain that Vossy didn’t play the kids enough, well I’ve got news for you. When you are a senior coach and you sense that a young interstate kid is disinterested with the club off the field and not making an extra effort to embrace the club, you are not going to play them. Regardless of ability, football is about culture & a strong positive mindset about your standing for the club you play for translates to better on field performances. Taylor & Gardiner expressed their desire to extend contracts early and were duly rewarded with game time & strong performances on a weekly basis. When a club gives you an opportunity to play AFL footy, you bloody well repay them.

 

[Ironmonger]

Top idea for a thread. Unlike Game Day, I’m going to only put things that I actually learnt, or where I’ve changed my mind.

1. We are going to live and die over the next few years by the quality of our ball movement, particularly fluidity, consistency and composure under pressure. This appears to be Leppa’s main focus and the contrast between our best and worst on this measure is pretty big. In all of our best performances what was most striking is how fluently we moved the ball around the ground.

2. Player attrition is killing us, and stopping it needs to be the number one priority. I totally underestimated the impact the go-home five would have. I think mostly because I didn’t put it in the context of all the other players in whom we invested quite a lot of games without getting a real return, like Sheldon, Stiller, Hawksley and Buchanan cut in the previous year, and Polkinghorne, Lisle and Raines who’ll be gone this year. The high turnover of players not only costs us wasted years of development, but creates instability and a lack of cohesion. We need to be ruthless in only giving games to players whose form deserves it, and that appears to be a policy Leppa embraces more so than Voss.

3. We were in worse shape than I thought. At the beginning of 2014 I thought our list was still in reasonable shape because we could lock sixteen or so players, including Staker, Merrett, Golby and Moloney, into their positions and start to build the rest of the squad around that group. I thought that by this time Lester and Beams would be clearly best 22 players, and Leuenberger would have firmed as one of the league’s elite ruckmen. But the limitations of these players, including physical limitations, have been made very clear this season. I suspect if Voss’ contract had been renewed we’d still have had a pretty dire year.

 

[GingerGreatness]

1. Stef Martin - group think sometimes gets it wrong. Very wrong.

2. Rocky - group think sometimes gets it right. Very right.

3. Having the right CEO in place can make previous appointments to the role look dodgey. Very dodgey.

 

[Kevvo]

A lot of the good ones are gone already. I'll try some slight variations.

1. It's happened gradually, but our first choice midfield is starting to look quite imposing. I'd back Rocky, Rich, Hanley, Redden and Zorko to break even or better against most teams.

2. A year down the track and a zillion re-signings later, I'm still fidgety about the players who are yet to extend. I think it's going to take a while for those wounds to heal.

3. In years like this, I really value quiet achievers like Goose and Patfull.

 

[maroon and blue]

1.0 Huge upside in team potential.
2.0 Good mixture of tough nuts and larrikins.
3.0 Justin L is one very smart cookie.

 

[John]

The word elite is overused.

Repetition of an idea neither makes it right or wrong, just boring.

As I am getting older I am less enthused for over the top analysis and reaction.

 

[Harris Specter]

1. The emergence of Martin. Been simply outstanding, turned his career around with a sizzling second half.

2. Mozzie Squad. They give us so much run and carry and pressure up forward.

3. Leppa. Been a great coach so far, to not only believe in players after a rubbish game (see Merrett, Freeman) but continue persisting because you know it's around the corner.

 

[Mr Ripper]

AFL Football is crap

Umpires are incompetent

Supporters are morons

 

[Dizzle]

1/ We're about 4 upgrades and 2 A graders from seriously competing (assuming further development from the rest)

2/ We are playing a gameplan that will work, but skills by hand and delivery into fwd 50 need to improve

3/ Jennifer Lawrence is way hotter than Kate Upton

 

[TheRoyLuckClub]

Love Vossy but he never gave kids half the chance Leppa has given them, dropping them after 1-2 games then in-out depending on performances.

If the reports of a pass mark of 14 wins in 2013 is true, Voss didn't really have the luxury of playing all the kids like Leppa has.

 

[John]

The word elite is overused.

Repetition of an idea neither makes it right or wrong, just boring.

As I am getting older I am less enthused for over the top analysis and reaction.

In fact to add to this now rant the other thing that I detest about footy is the imbecilic commentary. The Brain Taylor style has had me turn off maybe a dozen games this season with Taylor in particular driving me up the 7 asterisks wall. The fact that this wow wee drivel is now forced on a so called more discerning public is a 7 asterisks disgrace and Mr Ripper is a hundred per 7 asterisks cent correct that the Supporters are MORONS if they enjoy this sheer unadulterated dross.

So stick that rant up ya clacker footy fans.

 

[blynd_freddie]

In fact to add to this now rant the other thing that I detest about footy is the imbecilic commentary. The Brain Taylor style has had me turn off maybe a dozen games this season with Taylor in particular driving me up the 7 asterisks wall. The fact that this wow wee drivel is now forced on a so called more discerning public is a 7 asterisks disgrace and Mr Ripper is a hundred per 7 asterisks cent correct that the Supporters are MORONS if they enjoy this sheer unadulterated dross.

So stick that rant up ya clacker footy fans.

WHAT?

You and Mr Ripper have only learned these things... this year?

*edit... okay the over use of 'elite' by some is only recent-ish.

 

[John]

WHAT?

You and Mr Ripper have only learned these things... this year?

*edit... okay the over use of 'elite' by some is only recent-ish.

Wisdom comes with age!

 

[bato]

1. Our kids lead the way in the first half of the season, then the older fellas decided to step up. Hopefully we can get a more consistent overall effort next year.

2. List uncertainty. Someone like Ryan Lester isn't going forward in his development. He has shown no signs of improvement and Leppa doesn't rate him in our best 22 yet. I feel that he did better under Voss last season. If we commit to that midfielder that Leppa hinted we needed, then I don't see a future for Lester in 2016. Happy to be proved wrong though.

3. Goal-line technology needs to go. Umpires are simply refusing to make the easy calls. If the ball is on the line, then the ball is on the line. Don't refer to some ridiculous TV camera angle that is inconclusive 99% of the time. Maybe it's time for the AFL to invest in more accurate technology. I mean, Cricket and Tennis had their systems implemented years ago. Time for the AFL to follow suit with a similar ball tracking system.

 

[OldLion]

Hmm

1. The current game plan de jour ( Hawthorn ) is an update of Sydney slingshot with elite kicking skills. Our skills are nowhere near theirs so we get hit on the inevitable turnover. We have the speed but not the penetration. Our defence can get monstered - Cloke, Hawkins etc - so big bodies are needed. To the gym !!!

2. Rocky and Handy. How good was Browny over the journey ?

3. Young raw-boned lads who get lost and bewildered during a game. Massive coaching challenge.

We have had some terrific wins this year but also pantsed - so very brittle.

 

[SizeMatters]

No matter how you are viewed from within and outside the club you still have a chance of making it. Martin and possibly Bewick and Crisp were effectively on the scrap heap but due to unfortunate (fortunate in their cases) series of events they were thrown into the seniors and have ressurected their careers. Good job lads!