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

[Harris Specter]

Bugger, forgot to record the game on Foxtel and AFL Replay is not working. Anyone got a solution?

 

[John_Proctor]

Overall I'd lean to minimal changes. Given mcluggage and schache are coming back from injury maybe a week in the neafl before coming back into the team would be required. Frost really just depends on if fagan sees him as best 22 (ahead of mcstay in defence with potential consequential changes eg close out, mcstay forward).

Heaps of positives to take out the game. I honestly think Zorko, beams, Rockliff, Andrews and Martin are good enough to make the 40 man shortlist for all Australian. Solid base to build from! Hipwood obviously a gun would be brilliant if he can kick 2 goals a game. Agree with an earlier comment re: how much better we were at transitioning to defence after turnovers and actually vice versa as well, was great to see us have numbers around the ball defensively and options going forward for most of the match (periods late where it didn't happen as we slowed)

Someone mentioned the only horror Clanger was martins kick late in the last quarter. I disagree we dropped heaps of dead easy marks after the first quarter that would have opened opportunities for us that instead opened options for the Suns.

I thought lester was a statue in the second half. Think he'll be one to be replaced as others come through.
Id have mcluggage in ahead of Keays when fit just cleaner with the ball, Keays still too scrappy although was an improved overall performance from him.
Don't understand the calls for Harwood to be replaced, there is room in 22 players picked for a defensive small back, scrapped well and gives good balance in the team freeing up Mayes and cutler to attack more.
Mcstay played well but for me still is frustratingly lazy for his level of talent and physical gifts which manifests by dropping marks, being out of position and not reacting to chase quickly enough.
Think Barrett was good, able to win his own ball more than we've had as that 18-22 player picked the last few years.
Rich is nowhere near worthy of being dropped. Thout he played great (more 1%rs than usual for him, eg punched the ball onto bell who gave to Squizzy for the sealer), just need to accept he is a 15-20 possession player who will never be a genuine star. He's a solid 12-15th best player.
While rocky had heaps of it in the last I thought he could have been more composed with those possessions. Often just grabbed it and flicked it on blind.
Gardiner best game I've seen him play. Excellent.

 

[SRH17]

Bugger, forgot to record the game on Foxtel and AFL Replay is not working. Anyone got a solution?

It will be replayed about 5 times during the week on FOXTEL won't it?

 

[jackess]

Did Lester tag Hanley? Spent some time on him and Hanley barely touched the footy.

 

[Nunez]

Did Lester tag Hanley? Spent some time on him and Hanley barely touched the footy.

100% - Lester was with him all game and absolutely negated Hanleys run. I actually forgot about how good Lesters body on body work was against Pearce. In fact, I'd say he toweled him up.

 

[jackess]

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.

Went at less than 50% DE though. So many contested disposals makes it tough but he butchered the ball a lot and I don't think he linked up with the handballs as well as Fagan would like.

 

[knaf]

Very happy with the effort last night. The boys gave it everything they had. Not sure how they will come up next week.

The negative that stood out for me last night was our lack of pace around the contest. This is where the Suns got back into the contest. Our first string mid-fielders Beams and Rockcliffe are one paced, Zorko has some zip and acceleration but last night was an example of him burning himself out early and disappearing for a quarter. So we need to look at our second string on ballers. While Rich and Lester have some strengths ( I have been a big supporter of Lester) they are just too slow over the ground and reaction time. Not sure how we replace them and bring some acceleration into the side.

Overall the defence was magnificent last night. We defended particularly well against the long ball. However, particularly in the third quarter, the Suns' small forwards out marked our medium defenders repeatedly. I think lack of pressure in the mid field contributed, but something to worry about as we develop.

 

[M Malice]

great summation John_Proctor it will be interesting to see if Fagan decides to make any changes for the bombers, with Colyer and Tipungwuti in their side they have some pace that may worry us eg. Adam Saad from last night.

IMO Fagan will make minimal changes, Frost + Schache and McCluggage if deemed ready would be in consideration along with a few that played the NEAFL trial yesterday in Berry, Cox maybe.

if they bring Schache and/or Frost in they would probably have to come in for Close and/or McStay.
McCluggage and/or Berry for 1 or 2 of Keays, Lester or Bell.

as a spectator you usually look for the highlight package type stuff where as the coach will see the shepherds, blocks etc. and whether you are sticking to your role in his game structure.

 

[jackess]

I think Frost has to come in. McStay played well but I don't think we should be relying on him as a key back and I could see Hooker kicking a few on him and we wouldn't have anyone to put on him. I also don't think we can't rely on Hipwood or Close to be consistent over 4 quarters. Hipwood is too young and Close has to ruck. So McStay can give us a third marking option and swing down back.

Harwood is lucky to stay in because I think we'll need Harzy, Cutler, Mayes and Robertson down back on Essendons smalls.

Which leaves Keays or Barrett to be left out for Frost or both if McCluggage is available.

 

[Matchu]

Funny to see two of your best players last night (Beams and Zorko) are in fact Gold Coasters. Considering they are only a year a part in age, they probably played against one another in the junior ranks for Southport and Broadbeach. I guess they probably played together for the GC Stingrays and QLD state team back in the day as well. The Suns could have had both of them but they messed that up.

Anyway, good start to the season for you guys.

 

[SizeMatters]

100% - Lester was with him all game and absolutely negated Hanleys run. I actually forgot about how good Lesters body on body work was against Pearce. In fact, I'd say he toweled him up.

The first half Lester was also providing insane pressure when the ball was within 10m of him laying some great tackles in the first quarter especially that lead to goals for us. His blocking of opposition at stoppages doesn't go unnoticed to me, freed up Beams and Zorko nicely throughout the game. Second half went missing but still done his job on Hanley who was a non factor throughout the whole game.

 

[M Malice]

I think Frost has to come in. McStay played well but I don't think we should be relying on him as a key back and I could see Hooker kicking a few on him and we wouldn't have anyone to put on him. I also don't think we can't rely on Hipwood or Close to be consistent over 4 quarters. Hipwood is too young and Close has to ruck. So McStay can give us a third marking option and swing down back.

Harwood is lucky to stay in because I think we'll need Harzy, Cutler, Mayes and Robertson down back on Essendons smalls.

Which leaves Keays or Barrett to be left out for Frost or both if McCluggage is available.

i think the back 6 played really well as a unit and Fagan may be reticent to change it. we are building a back 6 who are adept at taking the intercept mark ah la hawthorn, that intercept mark in defense is so much better than the big Rog Merrett type fist tactic, just puts a full stop to any attacking raid albeit sometimes it is needed. Fagan has probably given them a license to go for it, Gardner was outstanding last night with his marking and then on occasion spotting up players in the corridor.

who goes to Green? i wouldn't mind Cutler going to him and really make Green defend on the way back out, if not him Harwood.

 

[lioninthesand]

Funny to see two of your best players last night (Beams and Zorko) are in fact Gold Coasters. Considering they are only a year a part in age, they probably played against one another in the junior ranks for Southport and Broadbeach. I guess they probably played together for the GC Stingrays and QLD state team back in the day as well. The Suns could have had both of them but they messed that up.

Anyway, good start to the season for you guys.

There was no way of Beams playing there, they didn't pass him up at any stage. They missed zorks.

 

[Matchu]

There was no way of Beams playing there, they didn't pass him up at any stage. They missed zorks.

They were able to recruit Beams at the end of 2008 for their 2009 TAC Cup season, as they did with Beams' Southport teammate Rory Thompson. Dayne decided to enter the national draft instead and Collingwood picked him up. As for Zorko, they actually did draft him but instantly traded him to the Lions. So, officially, Zorko was actually a Gold Coast player at one stage.

Regardless of how you look at it, Gold Coast should never have let them slip out of their grasp.

 

[lioninthesand]

They were able to recruit Beams at the end of 2008 for their 2009 TAC Cup season, as they did with Beams' Southport teammate Rory Thompson. Dayne decided to enter the national draft instead and Collingwood picked him up. As for Zorko, they actually did draft him but instantly traded him to the Lions. So, officially, Zorko was actually a Gold Coast player at one stage.

Regardless of how you look at it, Gold Coast should never have let them slip out of their grasp.

Yeah we got zorks for chips too, well aware of that.. 'missed' meaning missed and opotunity to hold onto him.

Didn't know that about Dayne, but if it was hos decision doesent that mean they couldn't puck him up?

 

[dlanod]

They were able to recruit Beams at the end of 2008 for their 2009 TAC Cup season, as they did with Beams' Southport teammate Rory Thompson. Dayne decided to enter the national draft instead and Collingwood picked him up. As for Zorko, they actually did draft him but instantly traded him to the Lions. So, officially, Zorko was actually a Gold Coast player at one stage.

Regardless of how you look at it, Gold Coast should never have let them slip out of their grasp.

Gold Coast wanted Beams. He turned them down to enter the draft. Same as Murphy turning down our father-son offer. In both cases the club made its best offer but the player knocked them back.

 

[Matchu]

Yeah we got zorks for chips too, well aware of that.. 'missed' meaning missed and opportunity to hold onto him.

Didn't know that about Dayne, but if it was his decision doesn't that mean they couldn't puck him up?

I suppose it depends on how you look at it. They had access to Beams but couldn't convince him to join the club. They also had access to Rory Thompson and were able to convince him to join the club, despite the Lions signalling their intention to draft Thompson at the 2008 national draft.

When a club is given special access to players I think the onus is on the club to take full advantage of said access and recruit the most talented players available. The Suns tried but Dayne really wanted to enter the AFL straight away. They tried even harder to recruit him in 2010 but it turned out that Collingwood won the flag that year so it was always going to be a hard sell. In fact, the 2010 grand final probably cost the Suns their chance to recruit another Gold Coaster in Nick Riewoldt as well. Riewoldt later said he came very close to signing for the Suns but couldn't bring himself to leave a team that had an open premiership window.

 

[carnthemlions]

There are probably four guys who stood out to me as having put themselves under pressure last night- Keays, Barrett, Harwood, and Robertson. None got anywhere near enough of the ball and were probably a level below the Suns' bottom 6. For me, it's Keays vs Barrett and Harwood vs Robertson.
Harwood only made one mistake with the ball, but handballed too much and was clearly trailing his opponent on several occasions. Robertson was pretty scrappy with the ball, made a massive error grubbing one off the side of the boot in the last quarter when we really should've ended up with a shot at goal. Effort was good though, did well in some contests and has more upside.
Keays really needs to sort his hands out, cost us a goal by fumbling in the last quarter. Neither he nor Barrett were particularly involved in the game, but Barrett was invisible after quarter time and also may well be a worse kick than Bell. Both will probably stay in anyway because we don't really have many options. Keays is slightly ahead based on last night though.

I think Frost has to come in. McStay played well but I don't think we should be relying on him as a key back and I could see Hooker kicking a few on him and we wouldn't have anyone to put on him. I also don't think we can't rely on Hipwood or Close to be consistent over 4 quarters. Hipwood is too young and Close has to ruck. So McStay can give us a third marking option and swing down back.

Harwood is lucky to stay in because I think we'll need Harzy, Cutler, Mayes and Robertson down back on Essendons smalls.

Which leaves Keays or Barrett to be left out for Frost or both if McCluggage is available.

Given Gardiner wasn't really playing tall most of the night, I think we could also drop Harwood/Robertson for Frost.

 

[BlackGun1]

Keays reminded me a bit of Robertson's struggles when he came into the side. A bit fumbly, not dealing with the pace of the game and too hesitant making decisions. He'll fix those things with game time.

I dunno that I necessarily agree that he should definitely be dropped for Mcluggage though. They bring different things to the side but McCluggage's preseason form wasn't too superior to what Keays has produced.

Overall, I'd be reluctant to make changes. The side we played last night matches up quite well on Essendon. If anything, I'd maybe consider giving Harwood a run in the Reserves and bringing Frost in. That would allow us to use McStay at either end and have two genuine KPDs to match up on Daniher and Hooker. I didn't think Harwood was too bad, mind you.

Hit the nail on the head RE Keays. Watched him fairly closely last night and he actually did some really nice things, his quick hands in contests are vastly underrated IMO. However, he definitely struggles with the pace of the game - but is going back to the NEAFL going to fix that?

On another note, Barrett was another one who brought alot of intensity around the contest and his endeavour at the footy often freed up the likes of Beams etc to gather possession. I actually nearly gave him a vote.

 

[chopperduck]

Barrett was good. He isnt in the team to accumulate the ball, he is there for his defensive work. He positions well to be an option on the wings, but his main job is to simply lock the ball in up forward.

 

[Milk Steak]

Who comes out for frost?

Don't mind Frost,but depending on the Bombers side chosen,does he need to come back in? Andrews to go to Daniher, Gardiner/Mcstay to Hooker and their 3rd tall.

 

[chopperduck]

Id bring in frost and let Gardiner play on a medium. Dont like McStay as a genuine defender. He is good when he can come off his man to intercept mark.

 

[BlackGun1]

Barrett was good. He isnt in the team to accumulate the ball, he is there for his defensive work. He positions well to be an option on the wings, but his main job is to simply lock the ball in up forward.

Exactly. Only his second game of footy as well, his skill level will improve in time.

 

[Len S]

I think Frost has to come in. McStay played well but I don't think we should be relying on him as a key back and I could see Hooker kicking a few on him and we wouldn't have anyone to put on him. I also don't think we can't rely on Hipwood or Close to be consistent over 4 quarters. Hipwood is too young and Close has to ruck. So McStay can give us a third marking option and swing down back.

Harwood is lucky to stay in because I think we'll need Harzy, Cutler, Mayes and Robertson down back on Essendons smalls.

Which leaves Keays or Barrett to be left out for Frost or both if McCluggage is available.

Reading what the coaches said at the Melbourne meeting, and the ensuing set up against the Doggies,I think Frost is strongly in the frame or structure. I doubt Scache or McLuggage will be risked given the nature of their injuries and time missed.I think the run and spread factor will be addressed, and that William,Cox and McLuggage will be in at some stage,along with Christensen .I think Martin needs support as there is no one capable in the current 22.Close is vulnerable given Hipwood s form and Schache's mortgage on a spot.

 

[MarkCatsFan]

Just watched the replay of this game, you guys have some guns coming up. Doubt there'll be much of a push for finals this year, but that first quarter and the last 10 minutes of the 2nd was some of the best looking footy of the round. I'll definitely be tuning into a few lions games based on that, even if you're not at the level to turn it on for 4 quarters yet, there is something there, which I haven't said about the Lions in about 6 years. Good game