Licuria on the rebound..

[Coin_Toss]

I am an avid believer that Licuria will be back to his best. He had an interrupted preseason and was always going to lose touch with the others. He is a quality player whose all heart and thrives on the contest week in and week out, and is consistent ball-winner.

C'mon Lica, show those doubters age shall not weary the brave - not yet anyway.

 

[Lonie_from_50]

He is criticised alot for his disposal however the guy consistently finds the ball, shows his toughness on the field, and is a great leader at the club. He has also come off several knee reco's in his early career at the Swans. He has done more than anyone can ask for at the Pies, and his omission mid year may have been warranted, however he did enough to get back in the side and he is capable of doing what he does best, getting out there and finding the ball.

 

[Nesian]

Yeah I agree with both of you, he had an interrupted preseason and then carried that ankle into the beginning of the season. Wasnt his best year at all but i thought his last month, we saw him getting back to his best. Licca will be back to his best next year, he isnt someone who is just gonna let a few interruptions ruin him. And I also see him allowing time for younger players to come through, he is a self sacrificing bloke and he will do what is best for the club as he has done since he arrived at collingwood. I love this guys attitude and work ethic and surely has at least another 2-3 years.

 

[Dj Chriss]

I love licca more than the next collinwood supporter, but his disposal is just not up to AFL standard, maybe its time we let him go, just like we did with tarrant. We are not going to win a primership unless we go full out and do what west coast and st kilda have done and play some kids and get over the likes of licca obree burns holland

 

[doppleganger]

I love licca more than the next collinwood supporter, but his disposal is just not up to AFL standard, maybe its time we let him go, just like we did with tarrant. We are not going to win a primership unless we go full out and do what west coast and st kilda have done and play some kids and get over the likes of licca obree burns holland

sydney won a flag with blokes like kirk, bolton etc as their leading midfielders........both blokes lack skill but their biggest strength is their desire to win.

need a mixture of skill & grunt

you cant have a team full of Dal Santo's who go missing when it matters.

 

[Vinnie Vegas]

My problem is not with his disposal, or with his ball-finding abilities.

It is with the fact that in the past two years, he has become a loose, outside receiver, and with his lack of skill and pace, we simply cannot afford that.

I loved Lica in 2002-2003, but we simply cannot afford to have him in the side unless he is going to get back to being that hard nut, in and under, hard tackling player that he was in those years, and quite frankly, it's disappointing that he is not that any more.

 

[Stakerz]

surely a player that every collingwood fan must love, we all know him as a ball winner. Hopefully he can get back to his best and have a great 'last year'?

 

[FIGJAM]

My problem is not with his disposal, or with his ball-finding abilities.

It is with the fact that in the past two years, he has become a loose, outside receiver, and with his lack of skill and pace, we simply cannot afford that.

I loved Lica in 2002-2003, but we simply cannot afford to have him in the side unless he is going to get back to being that hard nut, in and under, hard tackling player that he was in those years, and quite frankly, it's disappointing that he is not that any more.

Testify!

 

[njac3]

Licuria is not a ball winner, as vinnie said he is an outside midfeilder. He is simply not hard enough any more. Dont get me wrong the guy tries his heart out but AFL has past him i think.

The thing is collingwood loves him too much, i dont know how we can get rid of him. If he doesnt have a really solid seasion next year we would have to say thats it. Young players ie Davies, Iles, Toovey, Cook, Stanley and even Pendlebury need his spot as that outside midfeilder as the more games we can get into them the quicker they will develop into the ball winners we hope they can be.

These are the players we are hinging our premership hopes on, not Licurica

 

[Dj Chriss]

sydney won a flag with blokes like kirk, bolton etc as their leading midfielders........both blokes lack skill but their biggest strength is their desire to win.

need a mixture of skill & grunt

you cant have a team full of Dal Santo's who go missing when it matters.

kirk and bolton are better than licuria and holland, even though i love licca and he did get me a sherrin signed by every collingwood player for my birthday, maybe he should end things on his own terms n retire for the good of the team!

WE LOVE U LICCA

 

[Stakerz]

He will retire at the end of next season for sure, anyone should know that.

 

[Jabso]

Anything could happen with Licuria.
He is still a handy contributor. He hardly had a horrible year at all last year. Just needs to get back to the tagging role a bit.
You are kidding yourself if you think he is purely a receiver. He gets the in and under ball but when we are attacking he provides a linking option through hard running.

 

[Vinnie Vegas]

He's not purely a receiver?

Than why did he average less clearances a game than the likes of Blake Caracella this year, to finish 10th on our list of clearances per game, or 7th on our list of contested possessions, despite being 2nd on our possessions per game list.

 

[goalpie]

What a crock of ****. Licuria is important to our side and one of the best in and under players. MM should be playing him in that role.

Licuria is a dual Copeland Medalist and a leader of the side.

 

[goalpie]

He's not purely a receiver?

Than why did he average less clearances a game than the likes of Blake Caracella this year, to finish 10th on our list of clearances per game, or 7th on our list of contested possessions, despite being 2nd on our possessions per game list.

Why did Buckley have a bad year?

Why did Rocca run out of puff after round 3?

You base a player on a career not one interupted preseaon year.

 

[MarkT]

Licuria to the back pocket, Lockyer to Freo, Obree to wherever and move forward with a new midfield that has some pace and skill or wallow in mediocrity.

 

[Timmy from Thomastown]

I've got no doubt that injury has played a part in redcuing his effectiveness in recent years. I also agree that to return to nearer his best form, he has to revert to playing "inside" rather than as a receiver.

Personally I doubt that we'll get much more out of him. He's had a great career, but he doesnt have the skills to have a long career.

The quicker we replace Licuria Burns O'Bree Davis Lockyer and even, sadly, Buckley, the better. The new breed of kids must come in over the next year or two.

 

[Vinnie Vegas]

Why did Buckley have a bad year?

Why did Rocca run out of puff after round 3?

You base a player on a career not one interupted preseaon year.

It's not just this year - It's the last two years.

He hasn't played a genuine hard-man's game since 2004, IMO.

It's not as though he couldn't get his hands on the ball - However, all of the ball that he got was loose possession, wide of the contest. If he has the fitness to run wide and rack up 23 possessions, then he has the fitness to get in and under packs.

 

[MarkT]

I actually think there is a misnomer that Licuria has undergone a recent transformation or role change. Go all the way back to 2002 - a Copeland year - and his final v Port. That is widely regarded as his high water mark. His opponent (Francou) got a hell of a lot of the ball. Licuria was just a good scrapper that knew when to run to receive and how to link up. I think he was prior to that time a good tagger and stopped some good players but it is a long time since he was primarily a tagger or an inside midfielder.

Many midfielders start out with more defined disciplined roles, particularly the slower ones that rely on stamina, but as they develop and get better they get more creative license. The problem with Licuria is that has slowed down and he started a bit short of pace to begin with. Licuria's deficiencies by comparison to the elite midfielders are compounded by our slow, soft and poorly skilled midfield. Licuria isn't soft by any stretch of the imagination but he is slow and relatively poorly skilled yet he is one of our main midfielders. He just doesn’t have the weapons. When Buckley was The Man and Burns was clearing the congestion at will Licuria was a great 3rd banana.

Time to move on. We can't win a flag with what we had or what we've got so we have to try and win one with what we will get.

 

[Snoop Dog]

I agree with VV - he has been played in the wrong spot. they have been using him like the bullies use West and he aint that good.

for mine, you make him play a man on man/tagger role.