Clearance Watch

[Mayestro]

- Buchanan and Staker were supposed to help for periods in the middle. It hasn't happened so far.

I agree with bob that Harwood might not be far away. Rocky also does okay hanging around the packs and sweeps probably better than our guys have done so far. Bartlett I also think would do this well and I think we could see him in the second half of the year.

It's unfortunate Buchanan was injured so early in the season- he was meant to be another hard nut that would be part of the mid-field rotation. I'm not sure of Staker's midfield abilities- has looked far better marking than at ground level. Early days though.
In both our matches injuries may have forced on the run changes that may have affected planned mid field set ups.
Bringing in Stiller as replacement may not have been ideal if Patful is still going to be used as a tagger as Stiller is not known for winning alot of his own ball- as has been stated I'm not sure two negating midfielders is ideal.
Should Patful continue to be used as a tagger I would rather Rockliff as a more like for like inclusion for Buchanan.
While I'm excited by the prospect of Harwood (he looked great in the pre-season) he probably needs a few more runs on the board prior to debut.
Which leads to another thought- if Harwood, Bartlett, X, Polks and Buchanan are all fit and firing in the seconds, who the bloody hell do we drop? Or are they all fighting for Stiller's and possibly Staker's spot?

 

[chopperduck]

I dont think Staker's spot would be under much pressure, he is still being used as a 3rd forward, and he has done well in that role so far. The likes of Bartlett, X, Buchanon can all add a touch more speed to our side though. It's a fantastic problem to have atm.

 

[borrat]

i really hope brisbane have scouts at all the lower levels looking for a barlow type clearance machine

i am aware of ryan harwood but he is to young and skinny at the moment

 

[Tassie4ever]

Bloody hell, what a clearance conumdrum!! Near side, back side, fat side, narrow side, sweeper, negative, positive, whatever. Voss educating, trying different tactics.

Fact- our poor clearances have been a worry for at least last season, and continuing into this season where we appear to have gone backwards.

Lies, damned lies, and statistics. The eyes don't deceive. We can't get our hands on the pill when Black doesn't have a cracker. And even then it seems his disposal now isn't as good, hopefully a temporary situation.

Simon, obviously injured, had a shocker against the Dogs in last year's final, and either he is carrying something dramatic this year or he ain't what he once was. Result- no pill.

Back to basics for this non-strategic battler. How about we set all 4 in the square to get their hands on the pill. How about we have some back-up support from outside the square. How about we go all positive, after all going negative isn't getting us anywhere.

How about if we aren't up to finesse in the rucking stakes, we coopt Clark Keating into tutoring in belting the crap out of the pill into the forward line.

There's no way we will be competitive against a top side unless we clear it out of the centre occasionally.

An old training routine- throw the ball out for 3 on 3 to retrieve. Whoever comes back with the pill wins. Bit like the centre bounce really.

Now bring on the criticism.

 

[Gibbo_88]

I'm not sure where to get the stats from but does anyone know if we even beat any team last year in clearances?

Its because of how good the back 6 are at hardly giving the opposition forwards a chance that the clearance problem is not the biggest problem.

 

[Lions1024]

i really hope brisbane have scouts at all the lower levels looking for a barlow type clearance machine

i am aware of ryan harwood but he is to young and skinny at the moment

Myles Sewell was the equal to Barlow in VFL level. Surprised he didn't get picked up last year, very similar to his brother in all regards. Pace is the worry, but there many clearance players who have below average pace.

Albert Proud is one to look out for. In his junior days he was a crazy good clearance player (led me to say that he was the next M Voss). Hasn't been played there at senior level for an extended period but i've had the belief that if we simply stick him in there he'll get the clearances. However, the new laws on bumps and etc, might in the end really kill him as hes an extremely physical player. Disposal by foot is a worry aswell.

 

[borrat]

Myles Sewell was the equal to Barlow in VFL level. Surprised he didn't get picked up last year, very similar to his brother in all regards. Pace is the worry, but there many clearance players who have below average pace.

Albert Proud is one to look out for. In his junior days he was a crazy good clearance player (led me to say that he was the next M Voss). Hasn't been played there at senior level for an extended period but i've had the belief that if we simply stick him in there he'll get the clearances. However, the new laws on bumps and etc, might in the end really kill him as hes an extremely physical player. Disposal by foot is a worry aswell.

yeah thats the only reason i can think of as to why he didnt get drafted i was really keen on brisbane to get him but obviously decided against it but i think they should really be searching for the kind of player i mentioned could be the final piece of the puzzle???

and on proud he could be a good clearance player but as mentioned he is probably a bit to tough for the modern game but really hope brisbane stick with him

 

[greendiesel]

Improvement in clearances is critical for us if we seriously consider ourselves legitimate top 4 material.
We need to start "experimenting" now ...maybe throw Rockliffe, Proud and Staker in for a trial against Port.
Staker for the high ball...Proud for the low Ball...and Rockliffe for the loose ball.
We must evolve.............................. or perish.

 

[chopperduck]

I would like to see us blocking a little more for our mids. We have bigger bodies like buchanon and staker and I would like to see these boys throw their wieght around a bit and clear some space so we can get the pill out.

Obviously buchanon is out, but i think we can still do this a bit more.

 

[Grimreepah]

Round 3

Rischitelli 7
Patfull 6
Rich 4
Leuenberger 4
Sherman 2
Redden 2
Staker 2

Brisbane 36
Port 33

Points of Interest:
* Black was injured most of the game and had little influence
* Without Brogan, Brisbane won the hit outs 47 to 17

 

[Offsider]

Clearances still an issue, although much improved area today.

Rischa was great today BOG for mine, and without Brennan and Black we competed well.

Our rucks dominated, this will rarely happen to the same extent and we only won by 3 in the clearances.

Rich still needs to lift

 

[Lehmo87]

I wouldn't pay too much attention to yesterday's game when judging the quality of our clearance department. As has been mentioned elsewhere, we played a below AFL-standard ruck opponent.

Next week with a Ben Hudson will be a tougher ask.

 

[Last of the Roys]

Some points I picked up watching the game and the replay:

• We didn't really dominate the ruck as much as we should have. It was 47 - 17, but the percentage to advantage was only 15% to 6%. Our percentage is still a fair bit down on where it should be, although Leunberger was much better than Clark (something like 23% to 6%). However, winning the ruck well clearly helped us early in terms of becoming more attacking around the clearances.
• It was good to see Riska perform well, and it was also good to see Patfull play a lot better and get so many clearances himself.
• Rockliff and Redden look like they could be really good clearance winners if given enough time on the ball.
• In relation to Rich, while his overall game was pretty good, he is still hanging back in the clearances waiting to see what happens.
• Overall, a fair proportion of the time most of our guys are still flat footed / hanging back / reactionary at stoppages, with not enough guys getting in close to where the ball often falls. When we win the clearances it is usually when the ball has somehow been hit out / or bobbled out from that in close position.
• We are also often still exposed by speedy players who can also win clearances (yesterday it was Pearce).

The Bulldogs will be a huge test next week. We might lose Clark and Black, although we will regain Brennan.

 

[mpal6]

i really hope brisbane have scouts at all the lower levels looking for a barlow type clearance machine

i am aware of ryan harwood but he is to young and skinny at the moment

Too young yes, too skinny I don't think so.

Remember reading somewhere he's 86 kg and physically well developed. He is rated as capable of playing seniors by Sherman (think Grim has a link in Harwood's roster watch).

 

[Nuggo]

The highlight for me in the clearance department last week is Patfull. Didn't realise he pulled that many. Once again he is the quiet achiever.

I think we have to expect the clearances to go backwards this week but hopefully not to far back. I would like to see them break even in winning the clearances by mid year. Is this asking to much?

 

[Grimreepah]

Round 4 vs Bulldogs

Brennan 8
Rischitelli 6
Johnstone 3
Leuenberger 3
Maguire 2

Brisbane 32
Bulldogs 31

Points of interest:
*Simon Black missed the game
*Leuenberger rucked solo
*Hit outs 28-30 their way

 

[Mazza44]

Brennan was absolutely amazing tonight .

 

[Full Wingspan]

We have just taken it to a whole new level since round 2, and that is mainly due to our midfield presence.

 

[lions_den]

We beat the Dogs in clearances!

 

[OldLion]

We beat the Dogs in clearances!

Probably the most amazing stat for about 5 years ! No Clark, Black, Adcock but the willingness of players to persist, run and help was extraordinary. And when Clark returns, Jared can again roam free. He's really putting it together and clearly enjoying himself - and the odd goal.

 

[Crazy_Webby]

Maybe theres a bit of "Blacks not playing so we better actuallt try get the ball" has happen in the last game and a half.

 

[Last of the Roys]

If you need more proof that Stats don't always tell the whole story then look no further than the clearance stats this week.

Round 5 vs. Melbourne at the MCG
- Brisbane 39 clearances to Melbourne 28 (according to the AFL website)
- Best for us = Black 7; Riska 4; Clark 4; Leunberger 3; Rich 3; Staker 3

As was commented on by Lynchy during the game, our clearance wins were almost always under extreme pressure, and therefore often did not result in a goal / or worse resulted in a turnover. We also got about 4-5 clearance wins from free kicks.

In contrast, Melbourne won a lot of crucial 'clear' clearances that led to much better opportunities, with teammates running for each other and getting clear of opponents. Their midfield outran ours by a large margin from the stoppages.

 

[Grimreepah]

Lynchy's new stat - "unpressured clearances". I reckon he might be on to something there.

I have wondered whether this made us look worse than what we were in the past. No doubt it flattered us (a lot) against the Dees.

When we were at our best we won a shit load of unpressured clearances.

 

[Lehmo87]

Lynchy's new stat - "unpressured clearances". I reckon he might be on to something there.

I guess it's another one of those superficial stats that really don't tell you much until you read into the other relevant stats, ie. Team A might have 100 more possessions than Team B but they might turn it over 50% of the time leading to scoring shots.

One stat doesn't fully tell the story of a match.

 

[chopperduck]

Lynchy's new stat - "unpressured clearances". I reckon he might be on to something there.

I have wondered whether this made us look worse than what we were in the past. No doubt it flattered us (a lot) against the Dees.

When we were at our best we won a shit load of unpressured clearances.

It is a very valid point i think Grim. Against the Dogs and Port we had some nice breaks from the center with supporter runners. It's not often that one player can take possession of the ball and run it themselves, it usually happens by pushing the ball out to support players, and against Melb we didn't have any of these support players.

Usually when teams flood back heavy against us, it works in our favour as they don't have anything to kick to coming out of defense. Melbourne just ran into space so well that they created free players, and our zone couldn't cover them. This wont be the last time teams try this against us.