Leon in the side?

[3066]

Re: Am I the only one who feels the coaching staff is leaning towards keeping leon in the side again

It's fair to say WE all want Leon to explode BUT the fact is he didn't perform. You can argue alot of other players didn't either but those other players aren't seniors and don't have a "tag" of choking in finals. Leon has.

If he is played and has another shocker win, lose or draw again he's playing future would have to be questioned. MM has always gone on about ranking players in finals yet has given more chances to Leon than anyone else. In a year where MM has been stern about dropping players not performing, and especially seniors players, Leon seriously can't be played next Saturday.

If he does he is playing for his career at Collingwood. Geez I wish he returns back to his onball AA year. He is no doubt much loved but grand finals can't afford to carry anyone.

 

[Butsy]

Re: Am I the only one who feels the coaching staff is leaning towards keeping leon in the side again

I cant see Leon going out if we are going to replace like with like. Medders has missed too much footy and we he did come in he was ordinary. Tarks is too slow for mine. I would like to see The sack come in but I feel it will be at the expense of Blair. I wish Dick was fit as we could use him.

 

[Swooop]

Re: Am I the only one who feels the coaching staff is leaning towards keeping leon in the side again

I'm with Zahki, shaw thing and a few others.

The chance that something will be great keeps us all going, even if sense tells us it's really unlikely... eg buying a lottery ticket

Nowadays, Leon is the lottery ticket.

Agree with those who pointed out, it's unlikely we'd have needed Leon's goal had someone else been playing and contributing in any meaningful sort of way, eg if Goldy had kept Fisher even remotely accountable.

When we flogged them second game this year, didn't we tag Fisher and Gilbert, stifling their run from defence?

Surely we need to do that again??

 

[jerry springer]

Re: Am I the only one who feels the coaching staff is leaning towards keeping leon in the side again

Being at the game... and personally expecting Leon to win us the game off his own boot in the last quarter I watched him closely in that time. He looked extremely dangerous in that last quarter and nearly won the game off his own boot in that time.

He looked magnificent in that last quarter with very limited opportunities... he was creating serious options in that time, most of those options were ignored for big men 1 on 1 contests.

Davis should not be dropped - he is ready to explode.

deluded.....you said the same crap last week and you still wont admit you were wrong...

 

[Markfs]

Re: Am I the only one who feels the coaching staff is leaning towards keeping leon in the side again

what an interesting new topic!!

I think the simple answer is no.

 

[DAWESOME!!]

Re: Am I the only one who feels the coaching staff is leaning towards keeping leon in the side again

God in heaven. Stop, just stop will you. Davis has never been ready to explode and will not ever, ever, ever be ready to explode. Not this year, not next year, not ever. If he plays next week you'll see his standard finals contribution, around half a dozen touches, 2 tackles and maybe an arsey goal if we're lucky.

Davis cannot handle finals football, that is undisputable undeniable fact. Please stop spreading false hope by suggesting he will ever play well in any sort of final, thank you.

This, pretty much

 

[abs_of_STEELE]

Re: Am I the only one who feels the coaching staff is leaning towards keeping leon in the side again

I've been a big Leon fan over the years, absolutely love the guy and would have to be me favourite player of recent times behind Bucks, Dids and Swanny.

I'll admit that deep down I wanted Leon to play last week, I didn't really think he'd play well but I'm a bit of a softie when it comes to Leon, I have a man crush. If we won a flag without Leon I would be devastated, I just couldn't take it.

But with the AFL saying they will give the drawn players a medal, I'm sorry Leon, but you need to go. If we win, you still get the medal that you deserve. It doesn't matter what everyone else thinks if you get one Leon, you will get one and that's all that matters.

I still dream today that Leon will play and kick the winning goal. I thought he did that last Saturday, I really thought Leon had done it. It was fantastic by Leon and I think he could do it again, but he won't do anything else and that's just not enough. Goldsack is probably the better option for some flexibility.

I don't even know what I'm saying now, but my feelings are that now he will still get a medal, I'm happy for him to go. Maybe nobody is as soft as me, but I love Leon and I want him to get that medal. But for this week, Leon has got to go.

 

[The Zone]

Re: Am I the only one who feels the coaching staff is leaning towards keeping leon in the side again

The coaching staff, unlike the rabbiting squawkers, probably aren't looking to pin the draw on one player.

Toss a coin, did Leon save it or cost it? He wasn't on his Pat Malone in not being at his best.

I saw some poor delivery to him that probably would have given him another two goals at least had it been clean. If he gets 6 marks inside the F50 he'll probably bag at least four goals.

I think Leon's a confidence player and he'd benefit from a close look at the ball early in the game. Maybe not first bounce but give him a taste reasonably quickly. Give him a crack at the centre bounce with Jolly looking for him and Ball (instead of having the Saints roving to Jolly). Run Pendles or Swan inside the F50 when Leon goes up the ground or give them a breather. We need a few creative options and responses to Lyon's game plan.

The 22 selected last week was our best 22 available and match ready IMO.

 

[abs_of_STEELE]

Re: Am I the only one who feels the coaching staff is leaning towards keeping leon in the side again

I think Leon's a confidence player and he'd benefit from a close look at the ball early in the game.

Actually this could be quite a good idea. It would probably be a bit too risky starting him in the centre square, but why not start him on the wing? Just leave him there for the first 3-4 minutes and hope he can get into it. Leon started to look more in the game after he kicked his goal on Saturday and you could tell he picked up a lot of confidence from it.

MM has been reluctant to play Leon in the middle this year, whether that be due to poor form or lack of fitness, so I doubt MM will go for it. But starting Leon in the middle could work wonders for his confidence if he gets an early touch.

 

[didaka]

Re: Am I the only one who feels the coaching staff is leaning towards keeping leon in the side again

I couldn't quite grasp why Davis' played so little midfield time unless injured. He was an absolute weapon up the ground with footy in hand.

I remember people even rating as a top 5 player in the league mid last year.

 

[alfiiee]

Re: Am I the only one who feels the coaching staff is leaning towards keeping leon in the side again

Get some early touch in the guy. Believe it or not he is still a worry for the opposition. The ball doesn't get in his hands a lot but when it is he is definitely one of the most dangerous out there..

Definitely leave him in, but bloody hell Leon, stop training in trackies..

 

[Vampire013]

Re: Am I the only one who feels the coaching staff is leaning towards keeping leon in the side again

It's a hard decision, but to be fair on Leon he was not involved in many contests. The others did not look for him. When he did get a sniff he looked dangerous. We stuffed up when going into the forward 50. Most of the time they just bombed it in there and hoped for a mark. As a result we were chopped up by Fisher and co.
More thought
needs to be put into how we deliver the ball to the forward line.
If we did what we did last week, Fisher will be BOG.

 

[rose jam]

Re: Am I the only one who feels the coaching staff is leaning towards keeping leon in the side again

I couldn't quite grasp why Davis' played so little midfield time unless injured. He was an absolute weapon up the ground with footy in hand.
.

ABsolutely this. He must be carrying a leg injury this year, I heard knee but you can't be sure.

Why they have kept him out of the midfield all year baffles me unless he just hasn't got the fitness base to get through there. From the best mid/small forward in the game in 2009 to no minutes in the middle even with a changed game plan is baffling.

 

[The Royal Sampler]

Re: Am I the only one who feels the coaching staff is leaning towards keeping leon in the side again

I thought quite the opposite of the OP, I thought Bucks was struggling to find something positive to say about his game so that he wouldn't be openly bagging his former teammate in the media. I don't see how they'll retain him in the side.

To those saying he kicked a freak goal in the last; yes he kicked a goal, but there was little freaky about it. Crumbing packs and snapping goals is your bread and butter as a small forward. Davis doesn't get enough of the ball in intensely fought contests such as finals, and his forward pressure in this instance was nowhere near up to standard.

The positive is, if we win without him on the weekend, he'll still get a premiership medal to thank him for that one goal last week.

 

[ROCK07]

Re: Am I the only one who feels the coaching staff is leaning towards keeping leon in the side again

You mean like one arsey goal he made out of nothing that lifted the Pies on Saturday and kept us in a game that has now resulted in a draw and we have another shot at the holy grail...

Would you rather he wasn't there and had not lifted the team... and lost?

He has played in 3 Grand Finals... the first 2 was very young and inexperienced and was massively shown up. Saturday, in the final quarter, the most pressure quarter of the year, he held his own and with more opportunities was putting himself in a position to win us the game - FACT.

You want to drop him because he didn't play well in 2003? I'll take his last quarters form over something that happened 7 and 8 years ago thanks.

You can apologize to Neon next Saturday night.

(P.S:- a little more respect is deserved for a member of the Black and White army who will go to war this week, if you have nothing good to say about anyone at Collingwood - don't say anything)

Very good post, he has give us more highlights over the years than any player. The roar when he kicked that last quarter goals is the loudest i have ever heard.
I am a big leon fan and there is no doubt he must have carried an injury all year and even in the finals last year. After a few weeks off he looked to get better and gain confidence as the game went on, he is a match winner and must play in my opinion, but at the end of the day no matter what any idiots write on here the coaching staff who are the very best in the business know what we need and what players are capable of.
As a collingwood person i support them all 100% players included.
Most of us would love to have half their talent so instead of potting blokes from behind the fence lets just support!!!

 

[daics_35]

Re: Am I the only one who feels the coaching staff is leaning towards keeping leon in the side again

Oh god, you people have really scared me now. If Leon actually plays I will be so nervious from tommorow onwards but he probley will play and the thing that might actually save him is the last quter becuase he actually got abit of the ball and kicked a goal so he might have some confidence to take on Saturday. Previously he has been poor in every final he had played in so he gets scared of the big occasion but like I said the last quter might just save him.

We have to bring Goldsack in and even though Leon should make way for him I think poor Blair will. I love Blair and he will have a good long career at the Pies but hopefully he plays.

 

[daics_35]

Re: Am I the only one who feels the coaching staff is leaning towards keeping leon in the side again

Very good post, he has give us more highlights over the years than any player. The roar when he kicked that last quarter goals is the loudest i have ever heard.
I am a big leon fan and there is no doubt he must have carried an injury all year and even in the finals last year. After a few weeks off he looked to get better and gain confidence as the game went on, he is a match winner and must play in my opinion, but at the end of the day no matter what any idiots write on here the coaching staff who are the very best in the business know what we need and what players are capable of.
As a collingwood person i support them all 100% players included.
Most of us would love to have half their talent so instead of potting blokes from behind the fence lets just support!!!

Spot on mate, Its the coaching staff that have taken us to a GF and what ever they make I will support them.
I love Leon as well but his poor record in big games have frustrated me, I just wanna bloody premiership, If Leon is playing he will have my full support just like the other 21 boys will.

 

[Smoky]

Re: Am I the only one who feels the coaching staff is leaning towards keeping leon in the side again

deluded.....you said the same crap last week and you still wont admit you were wrong...

So I said Davis was magnificent in the last quarter of the prelim final did I... when he didn't play?

... or were you calling yourself deluded?

I wasn't the only person on this thread who recognized he looked dangerous in the last quarter on Saturday... the last quarter was half the time he was on the ground! Fact.

 

[Scodog10]

Re: Am I the only one who feels the coaching staff is leaning towards keeping leon in the side again

I couldn't quite grasp why Davis' played so little midfield time unless injured. He was an absolute weapon up the ground with footy in hand.

For an explanation on his lack of midfield time look no further than todays Herald Sun, to put it bluntly he looks fat. His skinfolds would be through the roof judging by his waste line.

The only possible reason I can come up with for him to be in such shape is that he's been carrying an injury for most of the season which hasn't allowed him to train at his normal intensity. I really hope we don't go with him on Saturday, because Goldsack provides more flexibility.

 

[Rohan25]

Re: Am I the only one who feels the coaching staff is leaning towards keeping leon in the side again

If you have a look through the games that the Saints have played this year, you'll actually see that none of the small forwards that they play against make an impact. Whether it be their defenders, the game plan or what ever, small forwards have a terrible record against the saints.

On the whole I do agree with you, but Betts and Garlett ran rings around St.Kilda in Round 7. Something slipped up in their defensive structures that night obviously.

 

[Copeland]

Re: Am I the only one who feels the coaching staff is leaning towards keeping leon in the side again

Anyone think he looked out of shape in the hun today.Its a pity Malty didn't persevere with Medders late in the year so'd we know exactly what we'd get with him, can't play him now.

 

[jerry springer]

Re: Am I the only one who feels the coaching staff is leaning towards keeping leon in the side again

So I said Davis was magnificent in the last quarter of the prelim final did I... when he didn't play?

... or were you calling yourself deluded?

I wasn't the only person on this thread who recognized he looked dangerous in the last quarter on Saturday... the last quarter was half the time he was on the ground! Fact.

dont pretend to be naive.you were sprouting on how he was going to fire up for the granny and now you are either too pissweak to admit you were wrong or you have seriously no ****ing clue about football,take your pick...

 

[buzzbuzz]

Re: Am I the only one who feels the coaching staff is leaning towards keeping leon in the side again

dont pretend to be naive.you were sprouting on how he was going to fire up for the granny and now you are either too pissweak to admit you were wrong or you have seriously no ****ing clue about football,take your pick...

No, no, no, no, just no. The word you're looking for is 'spouting'. There, I've saved you a lot of funny looks down the pub.

 

[Optimax]

Re: Am I the only one who feels the coaching staff is leaning towards keeping leon in the side again

dont pretend to be naive.you were sprouting on how he was going to fire up for the granny and now you are either too pissweak to admit you were wrong or you have seriously no ****ing clue about football,take your pick...

Now come on Jerry don't make me find the posts where you said malthouse was finished and we'd never reach a grand final with him.

I agree Davis should be dropped but isn't it a bit rich throwing up another posters big call to discredit them when the same could be done to you?

 

[Go_Brad_Dick]

Re: Am I the only one who feels the coaching staff is leaning towards keeping leon in the side again

No more in fighting guys.. save up your spite and unleash on that tiprat Milne on Saturday.

Leon to kick the winning goal this week for real..
Go Leon!