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Leon Davis last night thoughts

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DJ Black @ White Blood

DJ Black @ White Blood

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I know this is a constant thread but im interested in thoughts.

I love him and cant think to drop him because he is capable of coming out and haveing a blinder and kicking those 3 or 4 important goals.

Last night.

2nd lowest possesion getter

8 Disp 50%Eff 6 kicks 2 Handballs 1 goal and 2 Tackles :thumbsu::thumbsd:
 
Simply I think if Geelong are silly enough to drop Josh Hunt when they play us (Thompson seemed intent on making him the scape goat for his 10 minute brain fades on Milne) then we might find Leon cuts loose in the most important game of the year.

I like Leon because he offers forward pressure and pace, creates goals for others, warrants a fast restricting defender, and as has been mentioned before, offers something in the midfield if we ever need it.

I think it's that defensive intensity and the ability he has to lift the team, and the slightly better fitness than Medhurst that has him a cigarette paper in front in my books.

Keep the faith
 
i know this seems crazy, but i thought he actually played well, he played his role for the team thats al that counts. I thought every time he got the ball something good eventuated.

He is a matchwinner, you have to role the dice on him to win the big dance.
 
SwanBet said:
i know this seems crazy, but i thought he actually played well, he played his role for the team thats al that counts. I thought every time he got the ball something good eventuated.

He is a matchwinner, you have to role the dice on him to win the big dance.
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Strangely enough I agree with you. He didn't do anything last night but I just can't see him out of the side. When the ball came into the forward line I can't remember him being in a position to get the ball like a forward should either on the lead or first to the ball on the ground. BUT every-time it hit the ground after one of the big guys contested for it I just felt him there ready to tackle. I could be wrong but he always seem to be a whisker a way from getting it.

Stats wise he doesn't deserve a game in the Prelim but I cant see us with out him.
 

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He's playing a role. Buggered if I know what it is.
 
one on one Leon wins most contets, but he only gets about 4 shots at that a game. The reason for that is that we congest the game into our forward line, it's just not possible for him to get high possessions in his role with our style.

Thought he got into some good spots with balls going over his a bit.

I was watching him pretty closely and he was taking his man out of Cloke's space a lot which allowed Cloke his marks.

If his opponent sags off Leon then Leon will get easy ball and use it, so they can't. This means Leon is controlling the positioning of his opponent and it's giving Cloke and Dawes more one on ones
 
Leon is finished imo. Would rather see Medhurst or Tarks in the team.

He was gifted a goal from Swan, but other than that he looks slow, ends up what looks to be the wrong position and always is behind his opponent on a one on one or marking contest. Then again I'm probably totally wrong but that is the way I see it.
 
Poor stats but it just shows that stats don't always tell the full story. Davis was involved in a lot of passages of play where his work in the forward line resulted in us winning the ball. Whether that was harrassing players, getting to the ball first, keeping the ball alive in 50-50 situations... he played his part last night. It's a worry that his touch seems to be off, he missed shots on goal that he used to bury and thats been a theme for him this year. Really I don't have the faith that he'll tear apart a game this finals series but I think it is important that we have a dedicated forward pocket. All our small forwards right now are natural midfielders and I think we need to play a true forward pocket. Davis is ahead of Medhurst and Dicks out of the equation so Davis is the man.
 

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Does what the team needs him to do. Has capabilities to turn games on their head, not that we need that any more (by that I mean almost every player we have is in some way capable of doing some great things).

Regardless, pressure created by him, the drawing of a quality backman (small Rocca?), his decent accuracy and x-factor I really think he'd walk into most teams in the competition.

Milne had a massive question mark over his ability in finals prior to the Geelong game and stood up. I don't buy much into that anyway, but writing him off when he's been good all year (those who say he has been poor just read the paper I feel) would be a bad idea.
 
I also agree with SwanBet. I didnt see what he did off the ball since I wasn't at the game, but whilst the cameras were focused around the forward line I could see him constantly around the play trying to get the ball but on most occassions the ball just didnt come to him so he could either crumb it or get a pass. I remember seeing a play in the game in which Dawes had the ball and Leon ran right next to him to get the handball but Dawes hesitated for a second to long and the handball was ineffective. He only had one goal last night but I saw him get into space and also position himself for a goal but he didn't get it on those occasions. He doesn't rack up the goals as much as he used to because he isn't our best small option, more-so players are not trying to pass it off to him rather trying to kick the goal themselves or finding a tall forward in most circumstances.

He is vital to our team and even though his stats on paper warrant a dropping, I still think he should stay in our team cause he brings a presence and threat if hes let off his chain and his off the ball effort was pretty damn good.
 
As others have said in this thread, stats don't always tell the truth. I thought Leon was actually pretty good last night. He caused atleast 3 turnovers, one of them where he jumped up attempting to smother and two where he put enough run down pressure to casue the mistake. He was also unlucky not to get the goal from 50m which was just touched, so he couldve kicked 2.

I'm not sure he'll play well against Geelong or not, but he shouldn't be dropped IMO.
 
Zahki said:
He's playing a role. Buggered if I know what it is.
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I'm with you on that one.

Everyone talks about how he's playing a great defensive role. He had 2 tackles last night! Compare that to Milne who had 9 against the cats on Friday to go with his 21 disposals and 3.2 on the scoreboard. We all know Leon is capable of exploding with 3 or 4 goals but I can't remember him ever doing it in a big game. It's usually against a side like Carlton or Richmond when we're already 6 goals in front.

What's of more concern with me is that Leon looked lost out there. He was always in the wrong position when our key forwards were in a marking contest. Leon should be front and square to crumb the footy or waiting for the ball to go over the back. I thought he stood too far back from the contest and let his opponent get between him and the footy all night.

Having said all that, I've come to accept that Leon will never be dropped on form. I also can't see Mick giving him a run in the midfield because he hasn't done that all year. The obvious replacements are Medhurst and Lockyer. Unfortunately, even though Medhurst has killed them in the VFL lately it looked like he struggled with the intensity at AFL level the last time he played. I think Lockyer is more capable of standing up in the big games than both Davis and Medhurst but he's also struggled with the intensity and doesn't have the speed anymore.

This is clearly the toughest selection decision in my opinion but I've got faith in the club having gotten us this far and I think they'll stick with Leon.
 

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abs_of_STEELE said:
As others have said in this thread, stats don't always tell the truth. I thought Leon was actually pretty good last night. He caused atleast 3 turnovers, one of them where he jumped up attempting to smother and two where he put enough run down pressure to casue the mistake. He was also unlucky not to get the goal from 50m which was just touched, so he couldve kicked 2.
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Can't just about any player do that though? I've said this before but every player is required to run, chase, tackle and pressure. You wouldn't give Pendlebury, Swan or Thomas a free pass if they only got 6 touches in a game no matter how good their defensive pressure is so why make allowances for Leon?

I think the fact that he hasn't been given any midfield time is a clear sign he's carrying some kind of niggling injury thats making it hard for him.

Editl: Vendrell said it better.
 
People have been making excuses for him for the last year and a half, the fact that he's still in the side means Malthouse reads this board.
I'd rather play with 22 players on the ground especially in the finals not 21 but each to their own i guess.
 
I believe when he isn't playing we actually miss his constant chasing and forcing kicks under pressure... Which i think is almost his sole purpose at the moment. Add to that the ability he has to kick those miraculous goals, but his 'role' this year hasn't allowed him to execute the flashy stuff as often as he once had.

I don't know, i think i'd rather him be in there than not...
 
Well what happened when we didn't have Leon in against Adelaide? No pressure from our forwards at all. I've bagged him before but I think some of you guys are being really harsh on him. I'll ask again who do you want in the team instead of Leon??
 
Zahki said:
Can't just about any player do that though? I've said this before but every player is required to run, chase, tackle and pressure. You wouldn't give Pendlebury, Swan or Thomas a free pass if they only got 6 touches in a game no matter how good their defensive pressure is so why make allowances for Leon?
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Good points. Look at Macaffer who's been playing the defensive forward role this year but also finding the footy and kicking goals. Caff's game against St Kilda was the perfect game - he completely shut down Gilbert, had 12 disposals, 5 tackles and kicked 3 goals. That performance set the bar for our small forwards this year. Against Geelong he backed it up again and it was only poor goalkicking that blemished his stats with 22 touches, 8 tackles and 1.3.

Those are the sort of games that Leon should be aiming for and like everyone of us, I hope he can get it together.
 

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