Training 2023 Pre-season thread

[lionbear]

Never to late to jump back on the lions bandwagon my friend

Very exciting times ahead for the Lions

But very content with being able to attend 10-12 home and away games instead of 3-4.

Good Luck in 2023.

 

[Warwick]

Very exciting times ahead for the Lions

But very content with being able to attend 10-12 home and away games instead of 3-4.

Good Luck in 2023.

Booo.

Bet the GMHBA didn’t even flatten one school in their redevelopment.

 

[lionbear]

Come back.

I do miss the fun times posting on this board with yourself and a few of the older members

 

[scott_the_man]

Could you imagine the Victorian media circle jerk if Bailey played for Richmond / Carlton / Collingwood??

Bailey played a similar role to Shai Bolton last year and statistically was very close to him.
The Vic media were all over Bolton last year but poor old Zac doesn't get a mention.

 

[Hollow Knight]

The impressive thing about Will is that he isn’t just racking up cheap stats either. He is either physically cracking in and doing the dirty stuff, or he is aggressively running to present as an offensive option. Sometimes he does both in the same clearance. It’s a joy to watch him weaving inside and outside the contest. He’s instinctually brilliant.

 

[WheildonTheAxe]

Far out. McCluggage's clearance work has gone another level and with Dunkley and Ashcroft coming in our midfield is a completely different proposition to last year.

 

[scott_the_man]

Far out. McCluggage's clearance work has gone another level and with Dunkley and Ashcroft coming in our midfield is a completely different proposition to last year.

Yeah I think McCluggage proved tonight that he can be just as damaging on the inside as he can on the outside. Was easily best on ground in the first 3 quarters imo before fading a bit in the last.

 

[Gadzorks]

Much as I'm a Mitch fan, there wasn't a place for him out there tonight.

We've stepped up a level. Going to be a fun year.

 

[martinson]

The impressive thing about Will is that he isn’t just racking up cheap stats either. He is either physically cracking in and doing the dirty stuff, or he is aggressively running to present as an offensive option. Sometimes he does both in the same clearance. It’s a joy to watch him weaving inside and outside the contest. He’s instinctually brilliant.

He's awesome. Maybe we need to be a little careful in not burning him out. The opposition will be onto him as soon as the season starts, he's only 18 and it's a long season , much longer than anything he's faced in the past.

 

[Scubaveg]

Yeah I think McCluggage proved tonight that he can be just as damaging on the inside as he can on the outside. Was easily best on ground in the first 3 quarters imo before fading a bit in the last.

I think Clugga is the one who benefits most from Dunkley joining us.


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[M Malice]

Left a little early, it is an impressive facility, very flash.

We sat right on the fence and there was plenty of play right in front of us, some observations.

1- McCluggage showed some elite inside traits tonight, he was Lachie Neale

9

Lachie Neale

Age

32

Ht

177cm

Wt

84kg

Pos.

Mid

Career

Season

Last 5

D

27.0

5star

K

11.5

4star

HB

15.5

5star

M

4.0

4star

T

3.7

5star

CL

5.9

5star

D

28.3

5star

K

13.9

5star

HB

14.4

5star

M

4.6

4star

T

4.0

5star

CL

5.9

5star

D

12.0

3star

K

4.6

2star

HB

7.4

5star

M

2.0

3star

T

1.0

3star

CL

0.4

3star

like with his hands and so clean, never panics.
2- Andrews and Payne were great albeit no Hawkins/Cameron out there tonight.
3- Ashcroft WOW! Coleman WOW!
4- I liked Rayner in defence particularly early, Starcevich was a lot better than the reports from last week.
5- I liked what McKenna showed in glimpses, lock for R1 IMO, overs something we lack.
6- We were a little rusty but overall I thought it was a fantastic performance.
7- Turnovers are killers in todays game, Dev and JT showed great endeavour but did some terrible turnovers.
8- Our defensive run looks to have improved considerably.

Fingers crossed that Hippy and Payne are fine for Round 1.

 

[JasRulz63]

The impressive thing about Will is that he isn’t just racking up cheap stats either. He is either physically cracking in and doing the dirty stuff, or he is aggressively running to present as an offensive option. Sometimes he does both in the same clearance. It’s a joy to watch him weaving inside and outside the contest. He’s instinctually brilliant.

Not to mention this is close to Geelong's starting inside midfield, with really only Bowes unavailable. The other two midfielders that were unavailable for Geelong are outside mids/wingers (Duncan and Smith).

 

[HereIGoAgain]

Bailey and Rayner should also benefit with the addition of Dunkley and Ashcroft. Pressure is now off to be that midfield saviour. Bailey can focus on his natural role of pressure and goal kicking while Rayner can work on lifting his involvement during the game from down back.

 

[Toffee Lion]

I do miss the fun times posting on this board with yourself and a few of the older members

You're always welcome for a ching wag or the odd comment throughout the seasons.

 

[JasRulz63]

 

[Section 5]

Slam Dunk: Star recruit, prized pick shine as Lions roll Cats

Josh Dunkley and Will Ashcroft impressed as Brisbane defeated the reigning premier at Brighton Homes Arena

www.afl.com.au

Medical room
Hipwood was involved in a big collision in the third quarter and left the field with a corked hip. He appeared to cop a head knock at the same time, but the Lions did not seem too concerned by that post match. Payne was put on ice for the final quarter and the Lions insist it was just to manage his workload after a slightly interrupted past month. Kolodjashnij left the ground just before the final change and did not return. Assistant coach Shaun Grigg said he would be assessed in the next few days.

BRISBANE 4.4 6.9 9.12 13.13 (91)
GEELONG 0.2 2.3 4.5 6.9 (45)

GOALS
Brisbane: McCarthy 2, Fort 2, Daniher 2, Bailey 2, Robertson, Neale, Hipwood, Gunston, Coleman
Geelong: Stengle 2, Stanley, Rohan, Dempsey, De Koning

BEST
Brisbane: McCluggage, Dunkley, Andrews, Neale, Bailey, Ashcroft
Geelong: Stewart, Miers, Stengle, Guthrie, Dangerfield

INJURIES
Brisbane: Hipwood (corked hip), Payne (hamstring)
Geelong: Kolodjashnij (head)

Reports: Nil

 

[Hollow Knight]

Wow. Cam Bruce said Payne is “fine”. Just managing his load.

Hipwood just a hip pointer.

 

[Thomasno]

Nigel Lappin taking a wander up into the grandstand to chat to family/friends.

Hope he keeps on wandering into the lions coaches box in 2024

 

[Section 5]

Courtesy of FanFooty

 

[luthor]

I got lucky and got a ticket so first time experience at BHA.

Very impressed with the facility.

The 10 bucks for pre-paid parking at the Anglican College across the road from the ground is worth every cent.

A few takes from the game:

1)Defence looked great with Harris back to his best, although no Hawkins or Cameron made things easier for our backs both individually and collectively. Really encouraging signs from Payne who marked strongly when he could and spoiled effectively when he couldn't

2) transition from defence to the forward line looked really slick , particularly in the first quarter. Eight scores from nine I50 entries in Q1 was an amazing stat, especially as Geelong had 20 X I50's for bugger all scoreboard result in that same period.

3)Dunkley, Neale and Clug got the kudos for their midfield work and rightly so but it was Ashcroft who really caught my eye more than once. He's got freakishly quick hands even under heavy pressure and amazingly good decision making skills. Has to be a lock for Round 1.

4) I liked the game of J Daniher. He worked really hard all game and had his serious face on throughout. He was badly hampered with that dodgy shoulder in 2022 but now looks fit so I'm super excited about what he can bring this season.

5) Dev and JT both did some nice things but both have a habit of being ball butchers even when there is little pressure. Still, plenty to work with and I think Jimmy could be really be something

It was a solid hit out and we looked good but I thought the connection between the mids and the forwards got a little ragged as the game wore on. Last quarter especially.

We'll take a win against the Premiers of course but I'm not getting too excited about it in a practice match, specially when the Cats left their two big forward guns at home.

Nice relaxing stress-free night of footy though and I'm eagerly anticipating the start of the real stuff.

 

[Grasshopper17]

the club talked about more of an emphasis on team defence and you can see they are getting more numbers back at every opportunity

Yes we very clearly eschewed competing on the (our) back side of contests we were likely to lose, in favour of getting back in defensive cover. This was pretty clearly represented on the 1st quarter scoreboard of 20 inside 50s for only 2 behinds. This comes back to that balance between on-ball pressure and defensive structure which I've mentioned a couple of times here during preseason.

Essentially it indicates a change in mindset and consequent decision making by players as to where to run. It's not a complicated change, which is a double edged sword. It means it should be relatively easy for the playing group to implement (99 points in 2 games is a good reflection of that). BUT on the other hand it means we are likely to get found out at some stage during the season.

For example, if teams realise we are going to press back hard, they will start taking their time more in midfield and then try to go around us, or try to spear through our zone with kick-mark pinpoint passes. I'm hoping this actually happens as early as possible, as it will give us time to respond.

Ultimately, I think we will end up finding the optimum is a balance between the hard defensive press we demonstrated tonight, particularly early, and the need to exert pressure at the contest, which served us well through 2019-mid 2021. The key will be to learn when each "mode" of play is appropriate, which is easier said than done.

It was a good solid hit out and we looked good but I thought the connection between the mids and the forwards got a little ragged as the game wore on. Last quarter especially.

We'll take a win against the Premiers of course but I'm not getting too excited about it in a practice match, specially when the Cats left their two big forward guns at home.

Good relaxing night of footy though and i'm eagerly anticipating the start of the real stuff.

Mmmm, to me we seemed to play a LOT of "tempo footy" in the second half. Try to possess the ball, suck time off the clock, kick up the line and at worst get a stoppage when forced to. I would like to think this was deliberate and simply taking the opportunity to work on the strategy we should have put in place against Richmond in Melbourne last year.

I feel like we left a fair few goals out there in playing this way, and it is far easier to build your percentage when your opposition is already demoralised but you still have your foot to the floor. Again, there's that balance to find, and hopefully we can find it better this year than we did in 2022. If you are right and it wasn't a deliberate ploy, then yes I'm concerned.

A clearly quicker approach to ball movement in effect.

Looks great when it works.

One of the great benefits of having a sturdy defence is it allows you to take greater risks when you have the ball, because you know that even if you mess up you'll be well supported on turnover. As long as we don't go too far down the Ross Lyon path of "defending for the sake of defending", being stronger defensively should actually make us MORE entertaining, not less. Ala Geelong in 2022.

5.6

Eugh..

Yep kicking for goal absolutely needs some work. It was pretty good last year but it has progressively worsened week by week since we couldn't miss at Wilston Grange a few weeks ago.

Andrews has looked really good so far

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Amazing how good Andrews and Payne can and will look when there is pressure put on opposition forward thrusts by our midfield. A noticeable and pleasant change.

If that's our plan then McKenna is a lock for round 1. He was full of dare in the first practice match.

Thought McKenna was pretty average tonight, sadly. Wilmot definitely ahead of him if they are competing for a particular spot.

Dev rising to the challenge of midfield defence.

Dev HAS to play Round 1.

It's interesting though to read the amount of conflicting opinions here about the same player. Almost as though we were watching different games! I wonder if part of this is dictated by whether we were at the game or watching on TV?

 

[Jivlain]

Jeez, over $250 a year to watch AFL over here in New Zealand now, through WatchAFL since they appear to have the monopoly

Global Lion membership is $199 a year, includes a membership and WatchAFL and supports the club

https://am.ticketmaster.com/brisbanelions/memberships/supporter/global-lion

 

[Sanchez365]

Watching the replay was good, definitely felt like the cats were not too fussed about the result, and no Hawkins or Cameron made a massive difference to their structure. They had no down the ground bail out option and we're very inept on forward line throw ins, showing their reliance on Hawkins dominating those opportunities. It also looked like Selwood would not be easy to replace (as expected).

Defence: we looked strong but it was a weak cats fwd lineup. I thought Rayner was a little disappointing, and seemed like he was pushed forward late in the 4th. McKenna I thought was good offensively, still getting his match fitness up clearly. He just offers us something different down there.

Forwards: did a good job with alot of opportunity. We should of won by alot more, and I felt Gunston for shutout after looking very dangerous in the first half.

Mids: still a question around center bounces, although we were better in the second half. Our ruck lineup I think is always going to be a problem in the center clearances, but we looked solid around the ground. Dunkley I was very impressed by, puts his body on the line to either make the difficult play or win free kicks. Ashcroft obviously is amazing but was a little slam it on the boot at times. The two of them have super changed our minds and was great to see Dunks getting back in defense on lost center clearances.

Outsiders: out of Dev, Prior, Tunstill, Wilmot, I was most impressed by Tunstill hands in close. Was clean and did a great job with little handballs in the forward line to make plays happen. I hope we persist with Prior and Dev outside on the wings because they just run so hard defensively. A clear deficiency that they help with, even if they can be a bit rusty going forward. Multiple times I noticed Prior and Dev being those phat side covers that had made it back into deep defense to try and kill plays. It was also great to see Prior lose a contest (deep in the cats fwd line) and best himself up a bit. Clearly prides himself on getting back and being that cover which I think we need to balance our very aggressive midfield.

Overall I thought it was clear we played a team with much more footspeed and looked to go through the middle alot more. It's still preseason, but will be interesting to see how much of that defensive mindset players we give the opportunity in round 1.

Personally I would keep Prior / Dev for end 1, drop Tunstill for Zorko, and Wilmot for Berry. It still feels like a bit of a crapshoot though, noone really cemented their spot perse.

 

[Cubs2Lions]

4) I liked the game of J Daniher. He worked really hard all game and had his serious face on throughout. He was badly hampered with that dodgy shoulder in 2022 but now looks fit so I'm super excited about what he can bring this season.

Not related to last nights match at all (great win though btw), but I heard on Triple M radio (wasn’t watching it sadly) that Daniher and his wife and child are now settled in over at Northern NSW, and they have a nice property up there.

 

[M Malice]

Same - first visit to the Reserve and very impressed. Would love to do a tour if possible of the inner sanctum and also see the community & public areas at some stage.

Highlights were the coloured lights - very cool effect in what ordinarily are white boring light poles.

Of the players, Payne and Harris were awesome down back , speechless about young Will, amazing talent, Darcy Fort looked very impressive and moreso than O, Joes work rate was great to. Our mids and defensive unit were great. Starc is also quickly becoming a favourite of mine and my old man - hes on the angry pills and tough as nails.

For the Cats was very very impressed with that no.4 from Giants; excellent get for them and just a bull of a young kid.

Umpiring was a disgrace and at times, felt like the umps were just finding the most technical frees to award them whilst not being consistent. Obviously doesnt matter, but already nervous about how bad theyll be this year. Our goalkicking wasnt much better and again missing to many easy shots.

Not sure what those silly tops the players were wearing b4 the game, but how did they arrive at that horrible design.

Overall, cant wait to watch the reserves at the Reserve from 23 and beyond - so pleased for the club to have such a venue.

Yep, I might head out to a training session there before the season starts to have a better look around with much fewer people around, also want to try out the Wilde Cafe, has to be better than Gabba offerings. I will definitely hop along to a few VFL games this season as well.