Nunez
Premium Platinum
As I write this, I am watching the Pies choke against Port. Stephenson is being is usual ‘afraid of contact’ self and De Goey has two touches, exposing himself as a down hill skiing flat track bully.
The truth is, it’s not often I’d sit down and watch my two most hated teams play a game of footy, but alas I like all Lions fans want to see us get our first ever minor premiership so we can head into week one of finals against the sissy Cats.
But is that our best opponent? I think not.
The truth is, if we are going to go all the way, it starts with the best. I reached out to the reigning premiers and some old bloke had this to say:
And doesn’t he have a point? If we are going to be the 2020 premiers, at the home of Queensland footy, we absolutely must beat Richmond at one point or another. What better time to do it week one with a returning Harris Andrews?
There are still two quarters of the Prison Bars cup to go so while I wait for that result, let’s look at the boys in maroon, blue and gold and how I see the team lining up:
The Team
Backs:
Lester Andrews Starcevich
Birchall Gardiner Rich
The impact Luke Hodge has had on our back six is undeniable. For a 300 game veteran of the Hawks, he’s left a huge legacy behind at Brisbane in two short years. Our back six are a cohesive unit and is full of leaders.
Dizzy Gardiner is an incredibly underrated defender and has stood up in the absence of Andrews. He’s often forced to play on taller opponents, but when getting the chance to play on small to medium forwards, he starts to shine. Expect him to get Martin assuming Port win. He kept him goalless earlier in the year after all!
Lester has been a revelation, taking Hodges general role and flourishing. His leadership and calm demeanour has been extremely import on field, but during the Covid break had a huge impact on players and is a big reason we came back from the break and have gone on to win all bar two games.
The quartet of Starcevich, Birchall, Ah Chee & Rich have been pivotal to this success. All four bring different weapons, but have an uncanning ability to drive the ball forward with precision. Ah Chee took a while to find confidence, but has stepped up as an intercept marking, hard hitting player and is worth noting he had the third most intercept marks of any player this season against Carlton. Fagans faith is starting to be repaid as we see the player he can be start to shine more and more each week. In similar fashion, Starcevich has built belief and is rarely beaten in one on one contests. Rich is a superstar and as we saw against Carlton, can take games over when playing higher up the ground. Birchall brings a wealth of finals experience and has completed his pre-season and is ready for the real deal!
But what good is our army without its Dad? Harris Andrews looks set to play week one of finals (Peter Blanch I could kiss you!) in what is a huge win for the club. He can intercept, spoil and blanket opposition talls. Whether that’s Tomahawk or Lynch remains to be seen (later in this preview when the game finishes), but regardless of who, we will be well equipped to keep our opposition forwards honest. The intercepting power of Ah Chee, Starcevich and Andrews will prove to be an important part of winning any games of finals.
Mids:
Martin Neale Lyons
McCluggage Berry Robinson
Our midfield is the perfect mix of A grade senior talent and young up and coming stars. It’s also extremely balanced – all mids can win their own ball (which in finals is extremely important) and can all damage when given space.
Lyons would have to be considered for the All Australian squad in 2020. His inside work has been incredible, but his disposal by foot has gone up a level. He’s everything you want in an inside mid – he rates elite in ground ball gets, clearances, kicks, pressure acts, inside 50’s and intercept possessions. He is every bit as important as Neale when it comes to his work as an inside mid.
Speaking of Neale – the soon-to-be-named-Brownlow-Medalist is an out and out gun. What I love the most about Neale as a player is his ability to take a tag and find ways to impact the game to a high level, even if his touches are limited. He may be a superstar in his own right, it’s his team first mentality that makes him truly elite.
Hugh McCluggage May be struggling to hit the score board this year (hitting the post six odd times doesn’t help!). His ability to weave through traffic and set up scoring shots is incredible. He has an ability very few in the AFL possess in that time seems to slow down when he has the ball. If he can fix his accuracy up, he will be a Brownlow calibre player.
His partner in crime Jarrod Berry has started to well and truly break out as he’s been allowed to spend more time in the middle. The quickfire games seemed to effect his form early on, but his ability to impact the game both in the middle and up forward is becoming less of a rare occurrence and more of an expectation. If we are to go far in finals, we will need his grunt work and scoreboard pressure.
Martins return from injury is a welcome addition to the team, while Mitch Robinson is starting to find his 2019 form which has given many of us supporters big smiles (and opposition wingman nightmares).
Forwards:
Zorko Hipwood Cameron
Rayner McStay McCarthy
If we were to look back to round 13 – fans and media pundits alike spoke of the big question mark on the Lions – their forward line. Last year it was our overreliance on Cameron that cost us. In 2020, it’s our accuracy and lack of a dominant key forward. Turns out all we needed was a bye and our forwards started to hit their straps.
Hipwood has taken a huge step in his work up the field, impacting contest after contest and starting to use his weapons (height + speed) to beat quality defenders. He made an absolute mockery out of Darcy Moore and a few days ago completely outplayed Weitering. To top it off, we’re starting to see Hipwood kick freakish running goals off both feet and playing with the confidence he seemed to be lacking.
His partner in crime Dan McStay has competed week in week out, crashing packs and taking contested marks. His consistency has fluctuated, but nobody (well, at least nobody not named 3KZ is Football ) can deny his importance to the team in 2020.
Zorko has been huge for us with his two way running. Even as he edges closer to the end of his career, he plays an incredibly important role. He’s been a supurb leader for the club, especially considering he was thrust into the role out of sheer necessity. He’s handled all the pressure that comes with the role and will need to be at his two way running best, and hopefully start hitting the scoreboard a little more.
McCarthys value to the team cannot be understated. He can play as a leading forward and kick multiple goals a game. Equally, he can tag out opposition back flankers. If all else fails, he can rotate into the middle and win clearances. He is an important jack of all trades in a team built on role playing flexibility.
Cam Rayners starting to show the one thing that many questioned about him – consistency. He is no longer impacting in a cameo role and is showing his presence in at least three or four quarters – be it kicking goals up forward or bulldozing in the middle. One thing that has been extremely impressive is his team first mentality at stoppages, often blocking or protecting other mids, while still knowing when to go himself. He loves the big time, and this will be his moment (first of many) to truly shine.
Charlie Cameron… the best for last. We all know what an in form Charlie Cameron brings to the table, and the past few weeks we have seen Charlie at his best. Has that meant 3 goals a game? No. Does it need to though? Charlies ability to score is a huge asset, but his ability to pressure up the ground, start offensive chains down the wing and hit perfect kicks inside 50 has made him a bigger asset than he was in his AA year in 2019. He will be hard to stop in finals.
(score update – Pies are still chopping and there is only 7 minutes left on the clock. Can’t wait to see the Eagles kill them).
Bench:
Ah Chee Bailey Coleman McInerney
Squads win premierships. Throughout 2020, we’ve had to test our depth more than any year under Fagan. We’ve asked questions of players such as Hinge, Witherden, Answerth, Archie Smith etc and have proven our undefeated NEAFL squad are hungry and waiting in the wings for their opportunities, often capitalising and performing their roles well. None though have been better than Coleman. He exudes X-Factor and has fast become a fan favourite. What he’s brought is extreme pressure, pin point kicking and goal assists. He’s slotted in seamlessly, and while it was very hard to include him over Answerth (who you’d assume would get the spot over Kiddy if we want an extra defender), he just brings something we need and could prove to be a huge asset to the team in finals, especially against Richmond (lol Pies).
I’ve already discussed Ah Chee, but feel he’ll be best used as an intercept defender while Andrews takes on Lynch. If he can chime in with 4-8 intercept marks again, it’ll go a long way at stopping Richmond from scoring and in turn create many opportunities for us to rebound which, along with pressure, is a big part of beating Richmond.
Bailey has enjoyed his breakout season and is starting to get recognition by the footy media. He has elite pressure and is averaging just under a goal a game. I feel he’s got several levels of development left in him which will no doubt be a pleasure to watch for Lions supporters.
Last and certainly not least is the Big O – Oscar Mcinerney. He’s a heart and soul kind of guy – a player we all love watching. Getting the chance to play as the #1 ruck while Stef was injured gave him a tonne of belief and confidence. His arial work is superb and with Stef back can start to have a bigger impact up forward. He will match up extremely well against any Richmond ruckman, so having both he and Martin fit will be a hufe bonus for us.
(game update: lol Pies).
Richmond: How do we beat them?
If you’re reading this, there is every chance you’ve lived through ten years of losing to the yellow and black. It hasn’t been good viewing. Lately though, it feels the winds have begun to change. Richmond are winning, but not convincingly. We’ve been guilty of beating ourselves with poor kicking, whereas a senior team such as Richmond will make you pay every single time.
Is it as simple as tidying up our shots at goal? In some ways, I believe the answer is yes. Statistically, we actually top Richmond in scores, tackles, clearances (both stoppage and centre) and contested possessions. If we play at our best, we will once again generate more scoring shots than Richmond (which will make it the third game in a row to have done so against the Tigers). We absolutely must use our contested dominance to create better shots on goal, and if we do that I can see us getting a second week off and heading to the Prelim.
Of course, it’s easier said than done. Richmond look like an incredibly hungry team and are a proven quality side. They’re extremely well coached and have some superb players. Their lack of a dominant ruck (Nank doesn't look to have much in the tank and Chol is highly unproven) will play to our strengths and if we can dominate centre clearances, we will beat them.
Dustin Martin and Shai Bolton loom as their biggest weapons heading into this match. Head to head we may beat them, but I wouldn’t mind someone like Mitch Robinson staying with Shai at stoppages. Darcy Gardiner will need to be at his best and devote his full attention to Dustin Martin while I see Lester taking on Riewoldt. If Richmond get on top in clearances, I can see us struggling to maintain Riewoldt if Lynch plays. If Lynch doesn’t make it back from his hammy, expect Harris to take Jack and wear him like a glove. Regardless, expect Jack to play for frees and have a cry.
I feel we need to use Birchall and Rich as much as possible when it comes to kicking inside 50. Vlastuin and Grimes will mark every stray kick that comes in, so keeping the ball in the hands of our prime users will be extremely important. I would love to see Rich rotate on the ball at times too – he could be an absolute weapon against Richmonds mids. Up forward, we just need more of the same – Hipwood using his aggression and confidence to run Astbury ragged, McStay to crash packs and mark up the wing, Cameron to kick some motorbike-revving goals, Rayner to become Mr. October and McCarthy to apply his elite pressure (and potentially tag Houli).
Final thoughts
This is by far the most exciting fixture we could have hoped for. If we are to chase down our first flag in 17 years, then we must go one better than Ricky The Dragon Steamboat and climb space mountain and take out the dirtiest players in the game. They may scream “woooooo” but we ******* roar!
Go Lions!
The truth is, it’s not often I’d sit down and watch my two most hated teams play a game of footy, but alas I like all Lions fans want to see us get our first ever minor premiership so we can head into week one of finals against the sissy Cats.
But is that our best opponent? I think not.
The truth is, if we are going to go all the way, it starts with the best. I reached out to the reigning premiers and some old bloke had this to say:
And doesn’t he have a point? If we are going to be the 2020 premiers, at the home of Queensland footy, we absolutely must beat Richmond at one point or another. What better time to do it week one with a returning Harris Andrews?
There are still two quarters of the Prison Bars cup to go so while I wait for that result, let’s look at the boys in maroon, blue and gold and how I see the team lining up:
The Team
Backs:
Lester Andrews Starcevich
Birchall Gardiner Rich
The impact Luke Hodge has had on our back six is undeniable. For a 300 game veteran of the Hawks, he’s left a huge legacy behind at Brisbane in two short years. Our back six are a cohesive unit and is full of leaders.
Dizzy Gardiner is an incredibly underrated defender and has stood up in the absence of Andrews. He’s often forced to play on taller opponents, but when getting the chance to play on small to medium forwards, he starts to shine. Expect him to get Martin assuming Port win. He kept him goalless earlier in the year after all!
Lester has been a revelation, taking Hodges general role and flourishing. His leadership and calm demeanour has been extremely import on field, but during the Covid break had a huge impact on players and is a big reason we came back from the break and have gone on to win all bar two games.
The quartet of Starcevich, Birchall, Ah Chee & Rich have been pivotal to this success. All four bring different weapons, but have an uncanning ability to drive the ball forward with precision. Ah Chee took a while to find confidence, but has stepped up as an intercept marking, hard hitting player and is worth noting he had the third most intercept marks of any player this season against Carlton. Fagans faith is starting to be repaid as we see the player he can be start to shine more and more each week. In similar fashion, Starcevich has built belief and is rarely beaten in one on one contests. Rich is a superstar and as we saw against Carlton, can take games over when playing higher up the ground. Birchall brings a wealth of finals experience and has completed his pre-season and is ready for the real deal!
But what good is our army without its Dad? Harris Andrews looks set to play week one of finals (Peter Blanch I could kiss you!) in what is a huge win for the club. He can intercept, spoil and blanket opposition talls. Whether that’s Tomahawk or Lynch remains to be seen (later in this preview when the game finishes), but regardless of who, we will be well equipped to keep our opposition forwards honest. The intercepting power of Ah Chee, Starcevich and Andrews will prove to be an important part of winning any games of finals.
Mids:
Martin Neale Lyons
McCluggage Berry Robinson
Our midfield is the perfect mix of A grade senior talent and young up and coming stars. It’s also extremely balanced – all mids can win their own ball (which in finals is extremely important) and can all damage when given space.
Lyons would have to be considered for the All Australian squad in 2020. His inside work has been incredible, but his disposal by foot has gone up a level. He’s everything you want in an inside mid – he rates elite in ground ball gets, clearances, kicks, pressure acts, inside 50’s and intercept possessions. He is every bit as important as Neale when it comes to his work as an inside mid.
Speaking of Neale – the soon-to-be-named-Brownlow-Medalist is an out and out gun. What I love the most about Neale as a player is his ability to take a tag and find ways to impact the game to a high level, even if his touches are limited. He may be a superstar in his own right, it’s his team first mentality that makes him truly elite.
Hugh McCluggage May be struggling to hit the score board this year (hitting the post six odd times doesn’t help!). His ability to weave through traffic and set up scoring shots is incredible. He has an ability very few in the AFL possess in that time seems to slow down when he has the ball. If he can fix his accuracy up, he will be a Brownlow calibre player.
His partner in crime Jarrod Berry has started to well and truly break out as he’s been allowed to spend more time in the middle. The quickfire games seemed to effect his form early on, but his ability to impact the game both in the middle and up forward is becoming less of a rare occurrence and more of an expectation. If we are to go far in finals, we will need his grunt work and scoreboard pressure.
Martins return from injury is a welcome addition to the team, while Mitch Robinson is starting to find his 2019 form which has given many of us supporters big smiles (and opposition wingman nightmares).
Forwards:
Zorko Hipwood Cameron
Rayner McStay McCarthy
If we were to look back to round 13 – fans and media pundits alike spoke of the big question mark on the Lions – their forward line. Last year it was our overreliance on Cameron that cost us. In 2020, it’s our accuracy and lack of a dominant key forward. Turns out all we needed was a bye and our forwards started to hit their straps.
Hipwood has taken a huge step in his work up the field, impacting contest after contest and starting to use his weapons (height + speed) to beat quality defenders. He made an absolute mockery out of Darcy Moore and a few days ago completely outplayed Weitering. To top it off, we’re starting to see Hipwood kick freakish running goals off both feet and playing with the confidence he seemed to be lacking.
His partner in crime Dan McStay has competed week in week out, crashing packs and taking contested marks. His consistency has fluctuated, but nobody (well, at least nobody not named 3KZ is Football ) can deny his importance to the team in 2020.
Zorko has been huge for us with his two way running. Even as he edges closer to the end of his career, he plays an incredibly important role. He’s been a supurb leader for the club, especially considering he was thrust into the role out of sheer necessity. He’s handled all the pressure that comes with the role and will need to be at his two way running best, and hopefully start hitting the scoreboard a little more.
McCarthys value to the team cannot be understated. He can play as a leading forward and kick multiple goals a game. Equally, he can tag out opposition back flankers. If all else fails, he can rotate into the middle and win clearances. He is an important jack of all trades in a team built on role playing flexibility.
Cam Rayners starting to show the one thing that many questioned about him – consistency. He is no longer impacting in a cameo role and is showing his presence in at least three or four quarters – be it kicking goals up forward or bulldozing in the middle. One thing that has been extremely impressive is his team first mentality at stoppages, often blocking or protecting other mids, while still knowing when to go himself. He loves the big time, and this will be his moment (first of many) to truly shine.
Charlie Cameron… the best for last. We all know what an in form Charlie Cameron brings to the table, and the past few weeks we have seen Charlie at his best. Has that meant 3 goals a game? No. Does it need to though? Charlies ability to score is a huge asset, but his ability to pressure up the ground, start offensive chains down the wing and hit perfect kicks inside 50 has made him a bigger asset than he was in his AA year in 2019. He will be hard to stop in finals.
(score update – Pies are still chopping and there is only 7 minutes left on the clock. Can’t wait to see the Eagles kill them).
Bench:
Ah Chee Bailey Coleman McInerney
Squads win premierships. Throughout 2020, we’ve had to test our depth more than any year under Fagan. We’ve asked questions of players such as Hinge, Witherden, Answerth, Archie Smith etc and have proven our undefeated NEAFL squad are hungry and waiting in the wings for their opportunities, often capitalising and performing their roles well. None though have been better than Coleman. He exudes X-Factor and has fast become a fan favourite. What he’s brought is extreme pressure, pin point kicking and goal assists. He’s slotted in seamlessly, and while it was very hard to include him over Answerth (who you’d assume would get the spot over Kiddy if we want an extra defender), he just brings something we need and could prove to be a huge asset to the team in finals, especially against Richmond (lol Pies).
I’ve already discussed Ah Chee, but feel he’ll be best used as an intercept defender while Andrews takes on Lynch. If he can chime in with 4-8 intercept marks again, it’ll go a long way at stopping Richmond from scoring and in turn create many opportunities for us to rebound which, along with pressure, is a big part of beating Richmond.
Bailey has enjoyed his breakout season and is starting to get recognition by the footy media. He has elite pressure and is averaging just under a goal a game. I feel he’s got several levels of development left in him which will no doubt be a pleasure to watch for Lions supporters.
Last and certainly not least is the Big O – Oscar Mcinerney. He’s a heart and soul kind of guy – a player we all love watching. Getting the chance to play as the #1 ruck while Stef was injured gave him a tonne of belief and confidence. His arial work is superb and with Stef back can start to have a bigger impact up forward. He will match up extremely well against any Richmond ruckman, so having both he and Martin fit will be a hufe bonus for us.
(game update: lol Pies).
Richmond: How do we beat them?
If you’re reading this, there is every chance you’ve lived through ten years of losing to the yellow and black. It hasn’t been good viewing. Lately though, it feels the winds have begun to change. Richmond are winning, but not convincingly. We’ve been guilty of beating ourselves with poor kicking, whereas a senior team such as Richmond will make you pay every single time.
Is it as simple as tidying up our shots at goal? In some ways, I believe the answer is yes. Statistically, we actually top Richmond in scores, tackles, clearances (both stoppage and centre) and contested possessions. If we play at our best, we will once again generate more scoring shots than Richmond (which will make it the third game in a row to have done so against the Tigers). We absolutely must use our contested dominance to create better shots on goal, and if we do that I can see us getting a second week off and heading to the Prelim.
Of course, it’s easier said than done. Richmond look like an incredibly hungry team and are a proven quality side. They’re extremely well coached and have some superb players. Their lack of a dominant ruck (Nank doesn't look to have much in the tank and Chol is highly unproven) will play to our strengths and if we can dominate centre clearances, we will beat them.
Dustin Martin and Shai Bolton loom as their biggest weapons heading into this match. Head to head we may beat them, but I wouldn’t mind someone like Mitch Robinson staying with Shai at stoppages. Darcy Gardiner will need to be at his best and devote his full attention to Dustin Martin while I see Lester taking on Riewoldt. If Richmond get on top in clearances, I can see us struggling to maintain Riewoldt if Lynch plays. If Lynch doesn’t make it back from his hammy, expect Harris to take Jack and wear him like a glove. Regardless, expect Jack to play for frees and have a cry.
I feel we need to use Birchall and Rich as much as possible when it comes to kicking inside 50. Vlastuin and Grimes will mark every stray kick that comes in, so keeping the ball in the hands of our prime users will be extremely important. I would love to see Rich rotate on the ball at times too – he could be an absolute weapon against Richmonds mids. Up forward, we just need more of the same – Hipwood using his aggression and confidence to run Astbury ragged, McStay to crash packs and mark up the wing, Cameron to kick some motorbike-revving goals, Rayner to become Mr. October and McCarthy to apply his elite pressure (and potentially tag Houli).
Final thoughts
This is by far the most exciting fixture we could have hoped for. If we are to chase down our first flag in 17 years, then we must go one better than Ricky The Dragon Steamboat and climb space mountain and take out the dirtiest players in the game. They may scream “woooooo” but we ******* roar!
Go Lions!