Lynch - Good forward or average forward who was lucky enough to have Cousins and Judd?

[Jimmy_the_Gent]

I've noticed a little bit of a division recently in relation to Lynch and how he's rated as a forward.

Some say he's very good, pointing to the fact that he kicked 60 goals in 2006 and 50 goals in 2007, and then had his forward output limited when he was moved into second ruck duties.

Others say that any shitster could've kicked those goals when Cousins and Judd were running around and that Lynch's inability to kick more than 25 goals in the last 2 years is evidence that he's s**t. In fact, he was so s**t after Ben and Chris that we had to move him into the ruck to make him worth a spot in the 22.

Now, I'm interested where the majority stands.

Personally, I reckon he's an ace forward, even though it didn't look it until relatively late. I actually recall saying we should trade him for a second round pick at the end of 2005 citing that his value would never be higher.

In 2006 and 2007, however, he was excellent, even taking into account the awesome midfield. I think a lot of people forget that we were a team that refused to flood when it was in vouge, and we would match up men in defence, which crowded the be-jesus out of our forward line. With that in mind, 2.5 goals per game was an excellent return.

Likewise, I think he's been supreme as a second ruckman and has added a lot of flexibility to our side.

I'm looking forward to seeing what he'll produce next season as a stay at home forward.

 

[Lach72]

Average player who gets the most from what he's got...Can't ask for more than that

 

[Mop]

I think he's neither.
He doesn't have the natural ability of a Fevola or a Jonathan Brown, but he does work his ass off and is certainly an adequate forward.

If we left him at FF instead of tossing him around like salad then he'd prove his talent and quash his critics.
Will it happen? Doubtful.

 

[WCErevival]

Well hes the best full forward we've had for a while. Since Sumich and Cummings who have we had? Mcdougall? Lynch may never be elite but he tries his heart out everygame and he seems to get the job done. He is in the top 5 all time WCE goal scorers.

 

[eagles rule]

I`d have to say he`s a average forward that had a couple of good years and has struggled at f/f since Judd left,no doulbt he tries hard but he doesn`t have natural instincts in the forward line.

 

[larrikin]

You need a middle option

 

[EagleMan87]

Greatest Full Forward of all time. OF ALL TIME!

 

[Mattman93]

This thread is an insult to the great man.

 

[Quinz]

Not the most skilled, but always, always tries his best in whatever position we throw him into. He has been successful as a FF, as a backup ruckman, running through the midfield, he even dominates when sitting on the bench. There are plenty of players more naturally skilled, but very few work as hard. He will never be a superstar, but he is a deserved premiership player.

Lynch enjoys mocking those who will never be premiership players

 

[Jimmy_the_Gent]

You need a middle option

I thought about it but thought that it would be best if I left it out.

I suspected that most people wanted to sit on the fence but I didn't realise that so many people would consider "ace player" to mean "top line forward in the AFL". I meant it as "handy type who is good enough to hold his own", which most people are saying is the case...That's what I get for being vague.

 

[kane249]

Yes he got good service but you still need to kick it when you get it. In 06 he kicked something like 65 goals 30 so he was converting at a good rate. Backed it up with 50 goals in 07 as well despite playing a bit more time up the ground so wasn't just the one good year.

Lynch isn't the most talented player, but he gets the most out of his abilities which is all you can ask for given other more talented players take it for granted and don't work as hard *cough* McDougall *Cough*

 

[SS_Fury]

i cringe when woosha puts him in the ruck. He is nowhere near a ruckman. Leave him at FF or on a f/flank and let him do what he does. He is not an ace forward but he is quite serviceable. Not fence sitting but the poll needs a middle of the road option

 

[Monocle]

He was a very serviceable FF in the 05/06 era. He was at times our only real KPP option as AH was so often injured.

I think he will be a very handy FF this year... why you ask :

• Kennedy will be his KPP partner in crime.
• Le Cras and Benny Mac will assist him hence a better forward option spread.
• He is now a better mark than he was then.
• He is now a better crumber and can burst packs , a trick he learnt in 07 whilst playing as a mid.
• He is more experienced and uses his bulk much better and smarter.

He will have benefited from the last two seasons away from FF and will bring a more effective bag of tricks to FF this time round.

I would be happy with and expect 50 goals from him at FF this year.

The forward line in general is taking shape.... just need a small crumbing opportunist. Oh how would a Philip Matera just finish off this forward structure..... Lets just pray that Brandon come home to his rightful place.

 

[Total_Juddshanks]

I reckon he is a good forward. Some points-

We had a genunely elite midfield from 2004 onwards. We cycled through 3-4 potential FFs during that time, none of which cut the mustard till Lynch came of age.

His form in 2006 and ability to kick goals in finals was basically the missing link from the previous year- he averaged 3 a game for the finals series, including the 3 very critical majors and multiple contested marks in a low scoring and rather important game played at the MCG.

He has also continuously improved for several years now. His lack of leap means he will never be a super pack mark, and he looks like he will always be one of those guys whose kicking is adequate rather than genuinely reliable in front of goals, but he has learned how to use his bulk to take contested power grabs in one on one situations, his kicking means he can threaten from well outside the 50 and is actually quite freakishly accurate over those distances when spotting up teammates in general play, and the one thing the last year or two has done for him is develop his windtank and ground level agility to genuinely impressive levels. All that put together means he has developed into a player who will score a lot of goals, will be very difficult to match up and will add a certain amount of X factor to the forward line.

I suspect that 2010 will represent his peak season, and I am very comfortable with him playing that season at FF, or alternatiing with Kennedy to CHF.

 

[dext]

Not an AA player by any means. But very underatted and harshly judged by his supporters. Strongest bloke in the afl. Not scared to go in and get it himself and quite often emerges with it with 3 or 4 guys hanging off him. Not gifted with pace or agility but makes the most of what he's got. And his long kick along with hurn is quite important to the team at current as it breakes the zones that teams now play with

 

[Empire_Persian]

With Lynch, you can be certain he will give 100% every game.

I think he has been a far better, well rounded player in 2008/2009.

Versatile, quick off the mark, long booming kick, ferocious and not to mention the most I50's in the team.

I just love watching TBU play.

 

[Wirra for PM]

The knocks on Lynch are that he's not a great lead-up mark and because he struggles to get off the ground isn't a great pack mark. So he'll never be a top-tier FF but all the other things ppl have rightly said he does well means he is a more than serviceable player.

Personally I think he's best beyond the 50 as a CHF/HF with Kennedy playing more as a FF but then Kennedy is the future so it wouldn't make sense to not to play him at CHF.

 

[sydney eagle]

Now that Lynch has spent some time in the middle we might find that his endurance has improved and he will go better as a full forward, especially where chasing and putting pressure on opposing defenders is concerned. I wouldn't mind seing him tried as a " stay at home" full forward with a crumber nearby to collect the spilled ball and a "medium sized" player such as McKinley starting in the pocket and leading out towards the 50 mete line. If nothing else he can block for the other marking forward, try for contested marks, and keep a tall defender busy, even if he doesn't kick a lot of goals himself. However he has shown when played at full forward in the past that he CAN kick goals so having him up there may provide the Eagles with a "triple threat" (Lynch/McKinley/ leCras or some other crumbing forward).

 

[Marlin01]

Lynch's success as a FF in the future will be determined by one factor... whether or not he kicks accurately for goal from inside 40m.

I think from 50m or beyond, he's very good, but the shorter and more angular kicks give him trouble.

He's proven in the past that when he is kicking reasonably well, he can contribute very well, but if he squanders shots from 30m on a slight angle, it destroys the work of his teammates.

He's not in the league of the great goal kickers, but if he spends this pre-season getting his kicking at goal from mid distance to an acceptable level, I expect him to kick 50 goals pretty comfortably, assuming he plays the full year at FF.

If I was the coach, I'd be getting him to improve his goal kicking from next to the point post also. They are pretty simple kicks if you know the technique and in the past Lynch has missed too many from there.

 

[BK Eaglesfan]

Good full forward for mine.

Did he benefit from having Cousins, Judd etc? Did it give him more opportunities than if he was playing at say Richmond? Of course, but even with a supreme midfield it is a fallacy to suggest any old spud can kick goals just because the midfield is good. Reminds me a bit of what Mooney is now going through at Geelong. Good player (not great) who opposing fans claim is crap and only gets anything because the rest of the team is so good. Still believe the AA selection was a too much, but anyone who claims Mooney (who I can't stand by the way), or Lynch is 'lucky' has never stood toe to toe with a good full back and had to fight for every kick they get. The 05' GF with Gardiner at FF still gives me nightmares as he lead under balls, dropped marks etc.

At times, our supreme midfield and our tactics would have been of little help to Lynch at all. As was pointed out earlier, the forward line was generally crowded, and we encouraged a spread of goalkickers. No idea what the stats are, but I would hazard a guess that even with the ball going forward more often into the Eagles forward line, Lynch would have been the primary target of forward entries less than the likes of Fevola, Brown and co.

 

[archiemoses]

I remember when Lynchy couldn't take a chest mark with his rubber chest.

He has improved considerably since those days.

 

[Truckosaurus]

Good player, decent and hard-working forward. He's a good player because of his versatility; you can put him just about anywhere and he'll work his guts out and get the job done, which is pretty much what he did at FF. When he spent 2005/6/7 at FF, you could also see him learning and improving each year. First he worked on his marking and now he's actually capable of a good contested mark, when he had a rubber chest at the start. Then he worked on his agility and picking the ball up below his knees, so now he can pick up a loose ball and snap at goal. The next step, and the one (apart from getting more time at FF) that will see him go back to a 60-70 goal a year forward without having a midfield of quite the same calibre yet as the 06-07 midfield, is to fix his kicking for goal. It's just so painful to see him take a good mark about 15m out and just know that he's going to stab at it and miss. We know you can fix it Lynchy.

 

[Scotland]

Lock in 'average forward who didn't benefit from Cousins and Judd the way the peanut gallery would have you believe'.

Q is a good footballer. He's strong, he's big, he's nimble for his size and can kick dead straight 60m drop punts from a few steps. On the lead he can take a grab, and in a wrestle you'd back him more times than not to beat an opponent. The fact he's played 96 games in a row including 2 years in a top side is testament to this. He will have a limited life in the AFL IMO, as after 150 games he still doesn't really have a set position. Mind you, Leigh Brown is neither quick or skilful and still gets a game so what would I know?

A good forward however, he is not. In a cramped 50m arc, he is not in his element. He doesn't time his leads well, nor does he control the area and set up space. He is also not a good pack mark. He is not a natural forward, and many players who are much fall into that category. Watch LeCras play deep forward, he knows where to run, knows how to time his leads and always knows where the goals are. He is a natural forward, which is why he is so much more dangerous there than teammates with similar physical attributes.

The fact Lynch booted 65 and 50 odd goals om 06/07 as our FF is testament to his physical abilities and application to improving himself. Let's remember he only managed 31 goals in 2005 with the same midfield we had in 2006.

He benefited from our jet midfield by virtue of a fair amount of supply, but the quality of supply he received was more often than not poor. Fev in a weak Blues side had the 50m arc to himself, and opposition sides didn't bother to flood back as they were 10 goals up. When Carlton do win the ball, Fev (a good forward) leads into space and snaffles the mark 35 out from goal. Lynch at WC had 15 or so bodies to contend with and due to that and his aforementioned lack of natural forward instincts (plus our coaching staff didn't seem to be working that hard on putting a forward decent structure in place) had the ball bombing in long to contests, hence he kicked a lot of his goals from general play, wide leads and outside 50m. That and he can't kick from 20m anyway.

The 'Lynch always got silver service and should've kicked 200 goals' is one of many BigFooty myths perpetuated by those who rarely if ever watched him play.

 

[larrikin]

Some good points there Scotland.

I also think that the style of the midfielders we had (Cousins, Kerr and Judd) made it hard for leading forwards. All 3 of them like to carry the ball, and take on the tackler or do something a bit different, which makes timing the lead difficult. The other factor with those guys is that, as skillful as they are/were, none of them are what I would call brilliant kicks to the lead. Cousins and Judd both tend to get under the ball more, while Kerr's stab passes are quite inconsistent. In fact I'd go so far as to say that Fletcher and Braun were probably the best kicks to a lead we had, with their lower kicking style.

I think in the current line up, Masten is starting to show signs of being a good kick to a lead with his low action, not sure of how many of the others are though.

 

[NYJetsfor2029]

Ebert's very good at kicking to the lead larrikin, it was him to Le Cras quite a few times this year.

Plus on topic we wouldnt have won in '06 without Lynch and he kicked 50+ goals in '07 when Cuz went somewhere for something? and Judd was a cripple in the second half of the season.