Review Round 1, 2017 - Gold Coast vs. Brisbane Lions

[TheRoyLuckClub]

What did Fagan say when the assistant coach suggested playing no small forwards?

"You've got to pick a pocket or two!"

 

[jackess]

Bell had a tough night for sure, but I think Barrett did a reasonable job last night.

Sure Saad had plenty of dangerous moments, but there was also a lot of stuff that Barrett in terms of pressure acts that would have gone largely unnoticed. Much easier to apply pressure to a player if their targets are limited in front of them, but when the side is tiring like last night and there are lots of open options, much more difficult to apply pressure

True but also you look at their forward line and they have Jack Martin, Ainsworth, Ah Chee and all these smalls that are incredibly dangerous and we have Barrett, Bell and Robbo. We need forwards that will genuinely worry defenders and stop them running off. Especially when they're as dangerous as Saad.

 

[Milux]

Watching the game I wondered if we considered upgrading Reuben ahead of Barrett. Barrett seemed to have Saad playing on him and William could have done a better job. Also worry about Bell losing his opponent when they run it out of the back line. You never really see him up the ground.

I watched the neafl game and reuben just doesn't make it for mine. Barret is a goer. Got abit of rockliff in him i feel.

 

[iBeng]

Couple of times I saw Close hesitate going for the mark because there was body contact, thats a concern...

 

[WA Lion]

True but also you look at their forward line and they have Jack Martin, Ainsworth, Ah Chee and all these smalls that are incredibly dangerous and we have Barrett, Bell and Robbo. We need forwards that will genuinely worry defenders and stop them running off. Especially when they're as dangerous as Saad.

No doubt, for us it is case of working with what we have. William has more speed and agility, but is he a better tackler for example? (Genuine question as I'm not sure of his tackling ability). Robbo brings intensity and brute tackling, and can spark us. Bell was the worst of the 3 last night for sure, but he brings something different with his strength and height.

 

[jackess]

I watched the neafl game and reuben just doesn't make it for mine. Barret is a goer. Got abit of rockliff in him i feel.

But if you took away Rockys one on one ability and goal sense would you play him forward?

 

[jackess]

No doubt, for us it is case of working with what we have. William has more speed and agility, but is he a better tackler for example? (Genuine question as I'm not sure of his tackling ability). Robbo brings intensity and brute tackling, and can spark us. Bell was the worst of the 3 last night for sure, but he brings something different with his strength and height.

Probably depends on the situation. He'd be better at running down someone from behind.

 

[roscreasl98]

Should beat Essendon next week with them coming down from an emotional game with all the returning players as well.

Will it be at the Gabba, with all the stuff about the ground?

 

[lioninthesand]

Just watched again and that was a real effort to stem the flow in the last. It was still 15 points at the 14 minute mark, it looked like they would pile on 6-7 goals very quickly to dead the contest early in the 4th, that alone is a real feat. Without the emotion, I looked at it.. and.. we slaughtered the first, won the second (4 goals to 1) - they owned the third (albeit with us still squeezing a few againts the flow goal in there. And the 4th was just a fight to the death. Yes they won the inside 50's but we just repelled lots of them beautifully. The more I look at it, the more I just think it was a good win. Its not uncommon to see big leads evaporate in modern footy. I always walk away from a game with a team 30+ points up, go water the garden, come back in and the scores a level, I am not focusing on the lead loss or their winning the stat lines, I am re-watching that last 1/4 and marveling the effort to hold on.

 

[roscreasl98]

Sorry no analysis from me other than to say " You little beauty "...

Was never in doubt...

 

[jumpstart]

Congratulations Lions. As long as there is a certain level of effort that is sustained every quarter of every game, reasonably minded supporters should be fine, with the situation the club is in right now.

 

[POBT]

I think Rich did try last night. He put his body on the line a few times sitting in front of a hard leading Lynch which shows he is now defending as a midfielder to block of space for the opposition forwards. I just don't think Rich has a footy brain that allows himself to read the play and gain a few easy possessions like a Rocky for example he will never be a 25+ touch a game player. I thought he went okay last night doesn't deserve to be dropped IMO.

Something I've thought for a little while but it was really evident last night - Rich has really slow reaction times. A guy like Beams reacts instaneously to the ball whereas Rich is a lot slower. As a result, when the ball is bouncing around a stoppage, Rich struggles to react. When the ball is more static, he can attack it and, in that situation, his contested work is really good. But he's never going to get as much of the footy inside as Beams or Rockliff because he just doesn't react quick enough.

 

[BigEasyPeasy]

Something I've thought for a little while but it was really evident last night - Rich has really slow reaction times. A guy like Beams reacts instaneously to the ball whereas Rich is a lot slower. As a result, when the ball is bouncing around a stoppage, Rich struggles to react. When the ball is more static, he can attack it and, in that situation, his contested work is really good. But he's never going to get as much of the footy inside as Beams or Rockliff because he just doesn't react quick enough.

Yeah I agree. Admittedly I didn't get to watch last night but to this end I've noticed that he doesn't do much to overcome his slow reactions- his anticipation and body positioning at the contest don't do him many favours.

 

[Harris Specter]

At the ground, Beams just looked a class above at every contest. Whether it be breaking away from a contest or footy smarts, he looked real good as a leader.

 

[Milux]

But if you took away Rockys one on one ability and goal sense would you play him forward?

Havent seen a great deal of barret to make this call id say. I think as the year goes on we may see barret in the middle.

 

[Nunez]

At the ground, Beams just looked a class above at every contest. Whether it be breaking away from a contest or footy smarts, he looked real good as a leader.

It is crazy how good he is. Honestly when you hear a player is elite and one of the best in the comp, you believe it but at times don't see it as clearly as you think you should. When Beams joined us, it was unbelievable to see how he was legitimately a level above our next best player.

The truly elite are the players that can improve a side just by being there, and Beams is in that small group of people.

 

[royboys4eva]

Something I've thought for a little while but it was really evident last night - Rich has really slow reaction times. A guy like Beams reacts instaneously to the ball whereas Rich is a lot slower. As a result, when the ball is bouncing around a stoppage, Rich struggles to react. When the ball is more static, he can attack it and, in that situation, his contested work is really good. But he's never going to get as much of the footy inside as Beams or Rockliff because he just doesn't react quick enough.

Spot on mate. He is a poor reader of the play. How many times do you see him get caught with the ball. To get the best out of Richy we need him to be the final link in passages of play. That decisive kick into the 50 or running into goal. I think others have said on here before he is more the cream on top then the bulldozing 25+ disposal player. I'm sure Fagan will find a way to make best use of his talents. I for one can live with Rich getting 15-25 touches a game provided he can kick a goal or two and send the ball inside 50 half a dozen times a game.

 

[POBT]

Yeah I agree. Admittedly I didn't get to watch last night but to this end I've noticed that he doesn't do much to overcome his slow reactions- his anticipation and body positioning at the contest don't do him many favours.

I always thought he was too flat footed at contests and allows his opponent front position. But, it is now increasingly noticeable that his hands just don't get into position all that quickly.

Beams,on the other hand, is a freak. An opponent can shoot a lightning handball past him and he sticks out a mitt and stops it. He'd be a great slips fielder.

 

[iBeng]

So what can be done with Rich? What can he provide us going forward?

 

[BuntonRules]

Petrol tickets. We used ours in the first half, they kept theirs for the second. But we gutsed it out. Great win. Just what this club needed.

Hippy's one handed pickup in the last was sublime. We have a genuine superstar in the making.

I woulda given the medal to Harriss Andrews - as good a game as a KPD as you will see.

 

[The Zork]

The reason the bulldogs won the flag last year was due to how clean they were - and are.
They showed it again Friday at times how slick and clean they could be.
Beams ground level game is absolutely elite and is at the level the dogs play consistently, his feeding out of handballs in traffic is top shelf.
Being clean in the contest is underrated and wins/saves games.

 

[M Malice]

The reason the bulldogs won the flag last year was due to how clean they were - and are.
They showed it again Friday at times how slick and clean they could be.
Beams ground level game is absolutely elite and is at the level the dogs play consistently, his feeding out of handballs in traffic is top shelf.
Being clean in the contest is underrated and wins/saves games.

hopefully McCluggage is that kind of player as well. players that seem to create time around the contest are invaluable eg. Beams, Pendlebury, S.Mitchell.

 

[JayJ20]

My main concern from last night is that Gold Coast made us look seriously slow at times, especially through the midfield. Will be interesting to see how we compare to the Bombers because they're not full of lightning fast runners either.

Might not have caught the game yesterday (as we were both playing at the same time), but the main reason why we won so comfortably vs Hawks is our pace all over the ground, especially throughout the midfield

Great win for you guys nonetheless and Beams looks to have improved your side a lot!

Looking forward to a fairly close game next week! We tend to come out flat after a big win like that and you guys were very impressive in the first half

 

[knaf]

Michael Close will be out when the Schache is back. Shame he didn't take a grab all night.

I don't agree. Close looked to be well beaten but May. It is a worry that he spilt marks and May showed that he is a superior judge of the mis kicked ball in the air. However Close got to the contest every time the ball was kicked long and direct into the forward line, causing a contest and tacking hard when the ball was on the ground. Close went to the ground level contest, while May often stayed out of the contest and was reward by his team mates hard work getting the ball on the out side. I thought Close's ground coverage and defensive running was very important. He was in the back pocket at least twice while not rucking and yes he rucked while Martin.rested for four minutes a quarter. Overall beaten and I want him to take a mark but extremely important to our structure.

 

[Back2Back2Back]

Geez Rocky with 37 disposals and 23 contested. That's insane. I honestly didn't see too much from him (or didn't pay attention to it at least) - but that's an awesome game.