Leon

[ant22]

I have said it before and I will say it again. He is our biggest front runner. when the going gets tough Leon always goes missing. I really hope he would prove me wrong but unfortunately he keeps proving me right.

I stated on a post earlier in the year that he will not win me over until he starts playing consistantly well in big games, finals and when the side loses. For mine he has not ticked any of these boxes. Everyone looks good when your flying but its when you struggle that some get found out.

He did the same thing last year. Once we lost a few he was no where to be seen. Some will argue that it was his injury that slowed him down but he did that injury playing for willi because his form was not good once the side stoped winning.

I know alot of people love him and I will cop stick for this. But this is not a knee jerk reaction. Its the way i have always felt about him and the reason I think he is lucky to be on our list.

Yer his flashy and has a great highlights tape but give me a bloke like maxwell who has a heart the size of phar lap any day. If anyone wants to know why shaw and maxwell are future leaders of this club then you just have to watch the weekends game.

 

[JBMKII]

Don't agree mate, leon is one player who has earnt his spot.

 

[Lestat]

He did the same thing last year. Once we lost a few he was no where to be seen. Some will argue that it was his injury that slowed him down but he did that injury playing for willi because his form was not good once the side stoped winning.

Err....he actually got injured playing for the seniors. Against Hawthorn to be precise, did his ankle.

I suggest you check your facts first.

 

[ant22]

Your full of shit mate, leon is one player who has earnt his spot.

Its my opinion mate and I think I have backed it up with some pretty good logic rather than the mindless stupid predictable reply that you just gave. How about coming up with something constrcutive.

Name a final that he has played well in? Name a time when the side has been struggling that leon has played well in?

 

[ant22]

Err....he actually got injured playing for the seniors. Against Hawthorn to be precise, did his ankle.

I suggest you check your facts first.

I honestly thought it was in the twos but my point still stands. If it was not for willi then it may have being coming back from willi after being droped for poor form which happened to be at the same time the side started losing a few.

I had a feeling I would cop a bit of flack for this because for some strange reason leon is a favorite and we all know that our supporters cannot except criticism of our own

 

[ChipDouglas]

I have said it before and I will say it again. He is our biggest front runner. when the going gets tough Leon always goes missing. I really hope he would prove me wrong but unfortunately he keeps proving me right.

I stated on a post earlier in the year that he will not win me over until he starts playing consistantly well in big games, finals and when the side loses. For mine he has not ticked any of these boxes. Everyone looks good when your flying but its when you struggle that some get found out.

He did the same thing last year. Once we lost a few he was no where to be seen. Some will argue that it was his injury that slowed him down but he did that injury playing for willi because his form was not good once the side stoped winning.

I know alot of people love him and I will cop stick for this. But this is not a knee jerk reaction. Its the way i have always felt about him and the reason I think he is lucky to be on our list.

Yer his flashy and has a great highlights tape but give me a bloke like maxwell who has a heart the size of phar lap any day. If anyone wants to know why shaw and maxwell are future leaders of this club then you just have to watch the weekends game.

Just about all of our wins have been close and if you take out Leon's goals this year we would have lost more than a few of them, so much for your front running theory. Some people just don't like him, of which I'm not one, and I suspect it doesn't have much to do with his football which is disappointing, I thought we were past all that. He played well up in Brisbane in our WIN up there (kicked 3) and he played well against Geelong in a game where we were never in front. Get some perspective, he's not a Nathan Buckley who plays well every week, and it's difficult to shine all the time as a small forward.

 

[gormanisahack]

I have said it before and I will say it again. He is our biggest front runner. when the going gets tough Leon always goes missing. I really hope he would prove me wrong but unfortunately he keeps proving me right.

I stated on a post earlier in the year that he will not win me over until he starts playing consistantly well in big games, finals and when the side loses. For mine he has not ticked any of these boxes. Everyone looks good when your flying but its when you struggle that some get found out.

He did the same thing last year. Once we lost a few he was no where to be seen. Some will argue that it was his injury that slowed him down but he did that injury playing for willi because his form was not good once the side stoped winning.

I know alot of people love him and I will cop stick for this. But this is not a knee jerk reaction. Its the way i have always felt about him and the reason I think he is lucky to be on our list.

Yer his flashy and has a great highlights tape but give me a bloke like maxwell who has a heart the size of phar lap any day. If anyone wants to know why shaw and maxwell are future leaders of this club then you just have to watch the weekends game.

Correct me if I'm wrong but two matches ago we played essendon in front of a packed MCG not a big game? And at three quarter time the game was in the balance. Pretty sure Leon kicked 4 and stood up. Our whole bloody team went missing against Brisbane with the exception of a few players.

 

[ChipDouglas]

I honestly thought it was in the twos but my point still stands. If it was not for willi then it may have being coming back from willi after being droped for poor form which happened to be at the same time the side started losing a few.

I had a feeling I would cop a bit of flack for this because for some strange reason leon is a favorite and we all know that our supporters cannot except criticism of our own

It's strange that you don't like him. I'm glad our football department doesn't agree with you. Leon's the least of our problems.

 

[chappo52]

I have said it before and I will say it again. He is our biggest front runner. when the going gets tough Leon always goes missing. I really hope he would prove me wrong but unfortunately he keeps proving me right.

I stated on a post earlier in the year that he will not win me over until he starts playing consistantly well in big games, finals and when the side loses. For mine he has not ticked any of these boxes. Everyone looks good when your flying but its when you struggle that some get found out.

He did the same thing last year. Once we lost a few he was no where to be seen. Some will argue that it was his injury that slowed him down but he did that injury playing for willi because his form was not good once the side stoped winning.

I know alot of people love him and I will cop stick for this. But this is not a knee jerk reaction. Its the way i have always felt about him and the reason I think he is lucky to be on our list.

Yer his flashy and has a great highlights tape but give me a bloke like maxwell who has a heart the size of phar lap any day. If anyone wants to know why shaw and maxwell are future leaders of this club then you just have to watch the weekends game.

leon will be seen as a front runner because of the position he plays, the style he plays means that if the ball is not coming in long to a contest to rocca or cloke then he will struggle and on saturday the delivery into the forward line was shocking.

to be honest leon has only just begun to become more consistant and for the season the pies have had and the amount of close games, he has in a few of them been the difference.
leons tackling and forward pressure is what has really stood out to me and although he will never be captain, i didn't see him stop even in the final quarter on saturday

leon will be in the team till he retires because of the excitement and as BT says is the igniter for the pies

 

[ant22]

Just about all of our wins have been close and if you take out Leon's goals this year we would have lost more than a few of them, so much for your front running theory. Some people just don't like him, of which I'm not one, and I suspect it doesn't have much to do with his football which is disappointing, I thought we were past all that. He played well up in Brisbane in our WIN up there (kicked 3) and he played well against Geelong in a game where we were never in front. Get some perspective, he's not a Nathan Buckley who plays well every week, and it's difficult to shine all the time as a small forward.

Mate I can handle obejections to my theories but I take total offence to you basically calling me a racist. I am no such thing. I am a big fan of indiginous players and have the upmost respect for many of these players allthough I am clearly very different from you and tend to look at them is footballers and people and try to take much notice of skin colour. I was embarrased of the monky long issue but very happy to see how far we have come since.

I base my opinions purely on what happens on the field. I did state earlier in the year the once we lose leon will be the first to go missing , I also stated I hoped he would prove me wrong . The rest of your argument is intelligent and while not agreeing I can except it but we should be able to critic players based on their footballing ability and not on there skin colour. In other words if every time someone gets criticised and they happen to be over another colour or race then the person who criticised them should not be labelled a racist unless there is some kind of racist intent.

Very very poor form and I would ask the mods to remove both these posts because of the very unfair accusation towards me.

 

[ant22]

leon will be seen as a front runner because of the position he plays, the style he plays means that if the ball is not coming in long to a contest to rocca or cloke then he will struggle and on saturday the delivery into the forward line was shocking.

to be honest leon has only just begun to become more consistant and for the season the pies have had and the amount of close games, he has in a few of them been the difference.
leons tackling and forward pressure is what has really stood out to me and although he will never be captain, i didn't see him stop even in the final quarter on saturday

leon will be in the team till he retires because of the excitement and as BT says is the igniter for the pies

See some people can actually post a legit agrument without resorting to insults and racist allegations. Excellent post, I dont agree but you make a good argument. thanks for actually giving me some respect

 

[ChipDouglas]

Mate I can handle obejections to my theories but I take total offence to you basically calling me a racist. I am no such thing. I am a big fan of indiginous players and have the upmost respect for many of these players allthough I am clearly very different from you and tend to look at them is footballers and people and try to take much notice of skin colour. I was embarrased of the monky long issue but very happy to see how far we have come since.

I base my opinions purely on what happens on the field. I did state earlier in the year the once we lose leon will be the first to go missing , I also stated I hoped he would prove me wrong . The rest of your argument is intelligent and while not agreeing I can except it but we should be able to critic players based on their footballing ability and not on there skin colour. In other words if every time someone gets criticised and they happen to be over another colour or race then the person who criticised them should not be labelled a racist unless there is some kind of racist intent.

Very very poor form and I would ask the mods to remove both these posts because of the very unfair accusation towards me.

I said "some people" only you know if you fit into that category. Your front running theory has been well and truly been debunked which makes me wonder why you don't like him because the vast majority of us do.

 

[Palmer Stoat]

Just about all of our wins have been close and if you take out Leon's goals this year we would have lost more than a few of them, so much for your front running theory. Some people just don't like him, of which I'm not one, and I suspect it doesn't have much to do with his football which is disappointing, I thought we were past all that. He played well up in Brisbane in our WIN up there (kicked 3) and he played well against Geelong in a game where we were never in front. Get some perspective, he's not a Nathan Buckley who plays well every week, and it's difficult to shine all the time as a small forward.

So people who don't like Leon are racists? Get your hand off it! There are plenty of reasons not to like Leon Davis as a footballer that have **** all to do with his skin pigmentation. What a cheap, glib, insulting way to dismiss the opinions of anyone who doesn't like Neon Leon.

EDIT: I didn't read the following posts before I wrote this. Still, I think it's a low-rent insinuation to throw out there like that.

 

[ant22]

I said "some people" only you know if you fit into that category. Your front running theory has been well and truly been debunked which makes me wonder why you don't like him because the vast majority of us do.

Your pathetic. I am not stupid you indirectly called me a racist. That is exactly what you insinuated and you have followed this up by saying you dont know why I like him because the vast majority of us do, once again insinuating that there must only be one reason I dont like him. You replied to my post and stated that you felt we where past this. This is very insulting and very very weak of you. It was my post so obvisouly the comment was directed at me.

I knew I would cop flack on this because our supporters cannot handle any of our players being criticised. The same thing happened to the bloke who criticsed johnson last week. I did not agree with the post and I thought that the bloke who wrote it went overboard with some of his comments but they where his opinions and he should not be subjected to personal attacks just because people dont agree.

I do not take the opinions of many people on this board all that seriously so IMO my theory has not been debunked. I would rather hear the opinion of someone who is perhaps a little objective and does not wear rose coloured glasses. Now that I think about it I have no idea why I even posted it on this site.

People like you need to except that these are opinions. There is no right or wrong. And you should not be accusing anyone of being a racist that does not like leon Davis. He might be a great bloke but I am yet to be convinced that he a great footballer.

 

[doppleganger]

He plays as a FP who rotates onto the ball, he is a finisher not a creator.

When we are getting smashed in the middle he isn't able to finish

Bit rich to come out swinging at Leon over Satday's performance, if ur a FP when ur team isn't giving a yelp through the middle ur always going to not do much!

Fraser, Burns, Lockyer, Johnson, Licca, Richards, O'Bree these are the blokes who were swamped and didn't give a yelp on Satday night......how they go determines how the forwards will go

 

[ant22]

He plays as a FP who rotates onto the ball, he is a finisher not a creator.

When we are getting smashed in the middle he isn't able to finish

Bit rich to come out swinging at Leon over Satday's performance, if ur a FP when ur team isn't giving a yelp through the middle ur always going to not do much!

Fraser, Burns, Lockyer, Johnson, Licca, Richards, O'Bree these are the blokes who were swamped and didn't give a yelp on Satday night......how they go determines how the forwards will go

Agreed they were terrible with the exception of Johnson. Had 21 touches until 3 quarter time and probably covered more gournd than anyone, poor last quarted but better than the others mentioned. He was not the loan ranger leon but It is my opinion that whenever the side starts to struggle he is the first to drop off. I hope he proves me wrong but that is my opinion. It happened last year and its happened very other year.

 

[ChipDouglas]

Your pathetic. I am not stupid you indirectly called me a racist. That is exactly what you insinuated and you have followed this up by saying you dont know why I like him because the vast majority of us do, once again insinuating that there must only be one reason I dont like him. You replied to my post and stated that you felt we where past this. This is very insulting and very very weak of you. It was my post so obvisouly the comment was directed at me.

I knew I would cop flack on this because our supporters cannot handle any of our players being criticised. The same thing happened to the bloke who criticsed johnson last week. I did not agree with the post and I thought that the bloke who wrote it went overboard with some of his comments but they where his opinions and he should not be subjected to personal attacks just because people dont agree.

I do not take the opinions of many people on this board all that seriously so IMO my theory has not been debunked. I would rather hear the opinion of someone who is perhaps a little objective and does not wear rose coloured glasses. Now that I think about it I have no idea why I even posted it on this site.

People like you need to except that these are opinions. There is no right or wrong. And you should not be accusing anyone of being a racist that does not like leon Davis. He might be a great bloke but I am yet to be convinced that he a great footballer.

We have racist supporters just like other clubs do, its why Nicky Winmar lifted up his jumper up. You say Leon you're not a fan because Leon's a front runner. Clearly thats not the case so why don't you like him?, and why do you think it's strange he's a favourite? your words not mine. As for your other assertion that I labelled you a racist I did no such thing, thats a conclusion you drew, why I don't know. Are you suggesting we don't have racist supporters or people in this country because that is drawing a very long bow.

 

[Palmer Stoat]

He plays as a FP who rotates onto the ball, he is a finisher not a creator.

When we are getting smashed in the middle he isn't able to finish

Bit rich to come out swinging at Leon over Satday's performance, if ur a FP when ur team isn't giving a yelp through the middle ur always going to not do much!

Fraser, Burns, Lockyer, Johnson, Licca, Richards, O'Bree these are the blokes who were swamped and didn't give a yelp on Satday night......how they go determines how the forwards will go

Who's doing that? Ant22 made it clear that this is a longstanding criticism that he's had of Leon.

 

[PieLebo87]

Leon is one of my favourites to watch. I can understand your point Ant22. But as was pointed out earlier, as a Forward Pocket, its difficult to be consistent. Especially with a midfield like ours, and the delivery that our forwards have to deal with at times. You just have to look at Didak this season, people will use his knee as an excuse but he has been very disappointing in my eyes, he isn't playing as a midfielder, he has been playing as a forward. I think Davis has contributed more then Didak has in the time they have both played.

You name for me a consistent forward pocket in the AFL and I will accept your criticism of Leon Davis.

 

[shawthing09]

Just about all of our wins have been close and if you take out Leon's goals this year we would have lost more than a few of them, so much for your front running theory. Some people just don't like him, of which I'm not one, and I suspect it doesn't have much to do with his football which is disappointing, I thought we were past all that. He played well up in Brisbane in our WIN up there (kicked 3) and he played well against Geelong in a game where we were never in front. Get some perspective, he's not a Nathan Buckley who plays well every week, and it's difficult to shine all the time as a small forward.

as he stood up against essendon in a big game when they where charging home and correct me if i am wrong but was he not the most important foward in our lose to west coast at subbi earlier in the year last years preimiers IMO still the best team in the comp and he gave us a real shot in that game so front runner is a lil over statement as other people have said already the position he is most comfortable requires the ball to be delievered to the foward line is having a good year and IMO is one of the better goal sneaks in the comp and a lot of sides would love him on there list leon davies was the least of our problems on the weekend never gonna be a consistant week in week out player but the games he does play well in lifts the whole team intensity and can often be the difference

 

[PieLebo87]

We have racist supporters just like other clubs do, its why Nicky Winmar lifted up his jumper up. You say Leon you're not a fan because Leon's a front runner. Clearly thats not the case so why don't you like him?, and why do you think it's strange he's a favourite? your words not mine. As for your other assertion that I labelled you a racist I did no such thing, thats a conclusion you drew, why I don't know. Are you suggesting we don't have racist supporters or people in this country because that is drawing a very long bow.

I really think you should drop it, and if you have issues then solve it privately because you're simply accusing without giving valid evidence.

There are plenty of people that dislike Lonie, there are plenty of people that went through a hate faze for Shane O'Bree, there are plenty of people that can't stand Richards. Im quite sure there are a few of them that are white supporters.

 

[ant22]

Leon is one of my favourites to watch. I can understand your point Ant22. But as was pointed out earlier, as a Forward Pocket, its difficult to be consistent. Especially with a midfield like ours, and the delivery that our forwards have to deal with at times. You just have to look at Didak this season, people will use his knee as an excuse but he has been very disappointing in my eyes, he isn't playing as a midfielder, he has been playing as a forward. I think Davis has contributed more then Didak has in the time they have both played.

You name for me a consistent forward pocket in the AFL and I will accept your criticism of Leon Davis.

I think he should be more than a forward pocket. The problem with most forward pockets and the reason they are so inconsitant is they dont work hard enough and are not good enough to play in the midfield. I get frustrated by forward pockets who should be good enough to play in the midfield.

I could even put Didak in the same boat to an extent. gun footballer but In my mind a bit of a dissapointment because in terms of talent he should be in the top 10 players in the league.

 

[MACDAICOS]

What a stupid thread! Even Daics would have his bad days, finals included Davis isnt going to turn on the magic and the spark every weekend, it's all part of the Davis package.

 

[doppleganger]

I have said it before and I will say it again. He is our biggest front runner. when the going gets tough Leon always goes missing. I really hope he would prove me wrong but unfortunately he keeps proving me right.

He is a small forward, he is a finisher......so yes he is a front runner, he relies on team mates further up the ground at least being competitive so he can at least get a crack at it!

I stated on a post earlier in the year that he will not win me over until he starts playing consistantly well in big games, finals and when the side loses. For mine he has not ticked any of these boxes. Everyone looks good when your flying but its when you struggle that some get found out.

Small opportunist type forwards like Leon will always struggle when the team as a whole isn't doing well

Leon in our losses this year

Rnd 2 - West Coast, 3 goals 9 touches 4 tackles, had a purple patch but was quiet apart from that

Rnd 4 - Port, 1 goal 8 touches 8 tackles, in the wet he struggled his defensive pressure was good tho as seen by his tackle count!

Rnd 8 - Dogs, 2 goals 18 touches 6 tackles, good game from Leon

Rnd 11 - Dees, 2 goals 11 touches 7 tackles, solid game from Leon

Rnd 13 - Hawks, 1 goal 20 touches 3 tackles, almost BOG at half time a good game from Leon

Rnd 15 - Cats, 4 behinds 13 touches 5 tackles, missed too many opportunities but still a solid game

Rnd 17 - Brions, 0 goals 7 touches 6 tackles, didn't do anything but still chasing and tackling which is more then some blokes did!

In 2007 Leon is behind only the great Sir Scott Burns in terms of tackles for the season, he is a changed player!

He did the same thing last year. Once we lost a few he was no where to be seen. Some will argue that it was his injury that slowed him down but he did that injury playing for willi because his form was not good once the side stoped winning.

last year Leon was having his best ever game for the club, had 24 disposals against the hawks until he went down injured

I know alot of people love him and I will cop stick for this. But this is not a knee jerk reaction. Its the way i have always felt about him and the reason I think he is lucky to be on our list.

U aint noticed the change in Leon's game, he is great defensively now, where in the past he was rubbish in this regard!

Yer his flashy and has a great highlights tape but give me a bloke like maxwell who has a heart the size of phar lap any day. If anyone wants to know why shaw and maxwell are future leaders of this club then you just have to watch the weekends game.

Leon has laid more tackles than Maxwell this year, he applies plenty of defensive pressure and also is a reliable goal kicker

How many FP's can u name that average 1.5 goals a game and lay 4+ tackles per game?? That is Leon in 07

 

[ChipDouglas]

I think he should be more than a forward pocket. The problem with most forward pockets and the reason they are so inconsitant is they dont work hard enough and are not good enough to play in the midfield. I get frustrated by forward pockets who should be good enough to play in the midfield.

I could even put Didak in the same boat to an extent. gun footballer but In my mind a bit of a dissapointment because in terms of talent he should be in the top 10 players in the league.

There have been times this year when Leon has played predominantly forward but in most games he's been part of the midfield rotation. He leads the club for tackles inside forward 50 so he does work hard and does play in the midfield.