I was wrong about...

[AFLQLD]

I thought it was worth a thread to admit the things we got wrong about the team or players since the start of the season.

Here is mine:

Stefan Martin
I thought he was, at best, a last-resort depth player that would be strictly a stop gap measure when we had no one else to throw in to the team. He had a fairly forgettable first season as a Lion and this season seemed heading the same way. But since he came in he has not just been handy, he has been a revelation. I thought he would be targeted for moving on at the end of the season. Now, I feel like we got a diamond at a garage sale!

Rohan Bewick
He seemed to me a modestly useful player who might fill in a gap in the team until something better came along. Now I can see him being an important part of the team. He seems to gave a role he understands and that plays to his strengths. From well outside the best 22 to beginning to look a genuine part of it.

Matt Maguire
I thought: Here was a player who really did seem to be waiting out retirement, far too slow and if he made the team it would just be because we couldn't afford to play a bunch of kids in defence. Instead, Goose and Patfull are guiding and leading the kids and since round 15 we have not had more than 79 points scored against us in any game, sometimes much less. He really seems to take the young guys under his wing off the field as well.

 

[KissKiss]

I thought Goose was done at the start of the year

 

[possum8]

I honestly thought Bewick was a bits and pieces player as well. I could see his potential but he was played out of position as i don't think he is a forward. Playing on the Wing/hbf allows him to use his running asset but also gives him time to get on his preferred foot and weigh up his kicking.

I thought Stefan Martin was a spud from what i had seen in previous seasons... However with his latest purple patch i feel he has more upside then both our other ruckmen. I like Luey but he just doesn't have that physical side to him that Martin has. Luey when fit and firing covers good ground but with his Achilles issues i don't see him getting much continuity.

I keep getting told Goose is cooked but he is proving doubters wrong. He has been a rock down back and i certainly can't fault him. His ankles are apparently quite bad but you wouldn't know from what we have been seeing.

 

[cotter101]

Daniel McStay.

Fairly sure I said he was always better suited as a forward but I wasn't a big fan of him last year(until the draft night for obvious reasons) But he shown a lot, down back and up forward at senior level.

 

[lionshine]

Even as recent as 3 weeks ago I thought Crisp would be gone at the end of the year. I am not so sure now. It has been awesome to see him get a run in the seniors and perform.

 

[Kevvo]

I said that I admired the Roos/Lyon defensive discipline plan.

That was a big error.

Also, like most other people, I figured Stef was on the way out.

 

[jackess]

I'm too stubborn for this thread.

 

[SizeMatters]

Thought Bewick was a goner but he has earned his contract extension through a high work ethic and ability to adapt to multiple roles. Has played some stellar games this year particularly as an offensive tagger.

I have been on the Martin bandwagon since the beginning and I ma glad he has strung together some elite games. Could be a smokey for AA but it will be tough considering he would only play half the games. Has been the best ruck this season by a fair margin in terms of impacting a game.

 

[Betty Noir]

I'm too stubborn for this thread.

Kind of one of those "I thought I was wrong once, but realised that I was mistaken" times right champ?

 

[Chasing the Dream]

I thought Port would not make the finals this year.

 

[John]

I have been on the Martin bandwagon since the beginning.

Really!

 

[snooplions]

I thought Close was going to be hopeless and have little to no impact (aka lisle). Seems like he's kicking two goals every week now.

 

[PaddleFoot]

I thought Close was going to be hopeless and have little to no impact (aka lisle). Seems like he's kicking two goals every week now.

Same - looked lost and raw boned but I did like his set shot deliberations. Why don't they all do that ? Now he's starting to impact as well as create spillage for our ace - small forwards.

 

[Elixuh]

Most things.

Martin in particular.

 

[PattyKwasagun]

Harwood. Still not completely won over, but didn't think he'd still be on the list at this stage a few years ago. He's proved me wrong on a few occasions now, though.

 

[SizeMatters]

I'm happy to be proven wrong about the Lep. Thought his game plan at the start of the year was atrocious. Glad that he has changed it up a bit with a well balanced style with an injection of speed.

 

[Haso]

I'm happy to be proven wrong about the Lep. Thought his game plan at the start of the year was atrocious. Glad that he has changed it up a bit with a well balanced style with an injection of speed.

I'd say that was always part of the plan buddy, the guys are just starting to execute it properly now. A group of people won't all learn a strategic plan at the snap of the fingers.

 

[SizeMatters]

Definitely a change IMO. His plan evolved when the new blokes have come in such as Zorko and Hanley on ball etc. I agree that it would have taken a while to adapt to but the first 8 weeks or so was just short kicks around the d50. After that they seem to be playing Voss gameplan. Looks very similar IMO just with a bit more emphasis on defending and pressuring from
The midfield especially this makes the opposition kick long into third forward line Nd with 4 talls down there we are well placed to mark and rebound. People at early training sessions said it was all about switching now that seems
To have died off a bit.

 

[Davemonkey]

Certainly wrong on Martin. I thought all Stef was good for was appearances on Lions TV (a la Polks) and swanning around East Brisbane and Woolloongabba cafés.

Similarly on Wowan. He seemed to have the wow factor but he just wasn't lifting. He's done that now and Leppa seems to have found a role for him. Still concerns me in the back 50 from time to time but I wonder how much of that is players not presenting for him.

 

[karix]

Definitely a change IMO. His plan evolved when the new blokes have come in such as Zorko and Hanley on ball etc. I agree that it would have taken a while to adapt to but the first 8 weeks or so was just short kicks around the d50. After that they seem to be playing Voss gameplan. Looks very similar IMO just with a bit more emphasis on defending and pressuring from
The midfield especially this makes the opposition kick long into third forward line Nd with 4 talls down there we are well placed to mark and rebound. People at early training sessions said it was all about switching now that seems
To have died off a bit.

"Definitely a change." FACT?

I think, because I don't know know for certain, that we are now seeing more of the game plan, rather than it changing. Where as the start of the season we were only seeing as much as the team could handle/remember. We still use short kicks around the d50 but there are more release options because the guys up field know where to run / lead to be used as an option, so it doesn't stay there as long.

And we still switch a fair bit, and set up to switch, but our opposition knows we like to do it, so they seem to set up to counter it a bit more - so we don't see it as much. The stuff that you've identified were obvious while the team was learning them and overusing them. Now they're all integrated into the game plan a bit more seamlessly.

 

[Haso]

"Definitely a change." FACT?

I think, because I don't know know for certain, that we are now seeing more of the game plan, rather than it changing. Where as the start of the season we were only seeing as much as the team could handle/remember. We still use short kicks around the d50 but there are more release options because the guys up field know where to run / lead to be used as an option, so it doesn't stay there as long.

And we still switch a fair bit, and set up to switch, but our opposition knows we like to do it, so they seem to set up to counter it a bit more - so we don't see it as much. The stuff that you've identified were obvious while the team was learning them and overusing them. Now they're all integrated into the game plan a bit more seamlessly.

My thoughts azacly.

 

[SizeMatters]

"Definitely a change." FACT?

I think, because I don't know know for certain, that we are now seeing more of the game plan, rather than it changing. Where as the start of the season we were only seeing as much as the team could handle/remember. We still use short kicks around the d50 but there are more release options because the guys up field know where to run / lead to be used as an option, so it doesn't stay there as long.

And we still switch a fair bit, and set up to switch, but our opposition knows we like to do it, so they seem to set up to counter it a bit more - so we don't see it as much. The stuff that you've identified were obvious while the team was learning them and overusing them. Now they're all integrated into the game plan a bit more seamlessly.

Exactly

 

[luthor]

I thought Geelong were shot before the season started and would struggle to make the eight.

With regards to individual Lions players, I never like to write any of them off anymore because I've been wrong so many times in the past.

 

[Ray Button]

Bewick is a bit of an enigma for me. When he's allowed off the leash he can be very damaging, but he has some traits that I find extremely frustrating.

He doesn't seem to read the play going forward very well - he either takes a mark and loses impetus going back for his kick when it seems he should play on, or quite often when there is open ground ahead he will go for a run, ignoring some obvious leads and keeps going until he runs himself into trouble and fouls up the disposal under pressure. Hence his tendency to miss targets and overturn the ball a lot. However, overall I'm happy and can see that as the team improves, Bewick has the potential to cut the opposition up.

On topic, I was wrong about Martin's capabilities - he's a gem, but always thought Goose had something to offer - he has a good football brain.

 

[cotter101]

Harwood. Still not completely won over, but didn't think he'd still be on the list at this stage a few years ago. He's proved me wrong on a few occasions now, though.

Good one. Has worked very hard to get to where he is now.